Jasmin Curlin and Andrew Garfield received a full scholarship to the university or college of their choice.

Students who are members or direct descendents of the Tule River Indian tribe have the benefit of receiving a full scholarship to a university or college of their choice. This past year there were two students, Jasmine Curlin and Andrew Garfield, from Granite Hills to receive a college scholarship.

The Tribal Education Program was established in 1999, the first year the scholarship was given. Previous to this program, Native Americans received their assistance from the Bureau of Indian Affairs; however, the help was very restricted.

Although the Tule River scholarship has been a step up in assistance from the BIA program, there are some limitations to the scholarship. For instance, the student must be a tribal member or a direct descendent of a member; students must be in reach of a GED or have a high school diploma and students must go to a college or university nearest their home, unless they score a 1200 or better on the SAT. Also, students must attend school fulltime and the student must maintain a 2.0 GPA or better.

As long as the students do well academically, the scholarship covers 100 percent of the funds not covered by FASFA.

The majority of those who have taken advantage of this tribal scholarship have prepared themselves by majoring in law, criminology, sociology, and cosmetology.

When asked how she felt about getting her scholarship, Jasmine Curlin replied, “The scholarship has helped very much…I appreciate my tribe for all they do.”

Currently Jasmine is attending Porterville College. This next school year she is headed towards LA recording school to advance her knowledge in the music industry in hopes to further her career as a music producer.

“Get a job and make some money so I can have a big house in Springville” this is what Andrew had said about his future plans.

Andrew Garfield had informed us that he is currently attending College of the Sequoias and is planning on transferring to Cuesta College and finally finish his education plan at San Luis Obispo.

“The major goal of the scholarship is to get our kids, as young as possible, motivated to want to further their education” stated by Ron Carillio the Programs Specialist of the Tule Rive tribe.