NICK KOSMIDER
WICK NEWS SERVICE

For their hard work in the

classroom and contributions

to their communities, four

Cochise College students

will be awarded today with

tuition waivers to complete

bachelor’s degrees at any of

the state’s public universities.

Staci Smith, Ellen Whitehead,

Ajaa Jackson and

Adayr Martinez earned the

scholarships by being

named to the 2011 All-Arizona

Academic Teams, a

program created to help

some of Arizona’s brightest

community college students

secure enrollment at the

University of Arizona, Arizona

State University and

Northern Arizona.

Since the program began

in the 1990s, it has provided

more than 700 Arizona community

college students

with full-ride scholarships,

according to a news release

from Cochise.

The students are receiving

their waivers today during a

luncheon ceremony at Mesa

Community College.

Recipients were selected

based on their academic performance

as well as their

service to the school and

community, the college

said.

Smith, of Huachuca City,

is a mathematics major who

has worked on the kennel

staff at a local animal hospital

and as an English tutor at

Cochise. She has also been

involved with the campus

newspaper, the Kaleidoscope,

and is involved with

Bisbee’s Obscure Production’s

community theater,

where she has helped interpret

plays for the deaf and introduce

deaf actors to the

stage.

Whitehead, a native of

McNeal, is the treasurer for

the Douglas Campus Student

Government Association

and is also a member of

the school’s rodeo team. She

has mentored kindergarten

students at a local school and

also created a program to

teach about hate groups. She

also interned at the district

office of Congresswoman

Gabrielle Giffords and plans

to become a sociology professor.

Jackson, from Sierra

Vista, is a computer science

major who plans to attend

ASU in the fall. In addition

to serving as the president of

the Sierra Vista campus

SGA, Jackson helped organize

the Reading Rocks! children’s

reading circle and has

worked as a preschool volunteer.

Martinez, a Douglas native,

is currently enrolled at

the University of Arizona after

earning his associate’s

degree early this year. Martinez

has served as Douglas

SGApresident and also volunteered

at Faras Elementary

School, where he promoted

a bowling school for

kids. Martinez hopes to

work as an economist for the

U.S. government.

All-Arizona honorees are

automatically qualified to

compete for the All-USA

Academic Teams, which

will be announced in April

by USA Today.