Gonzaga Welcomes 8 New Act Six Scholars

SPOKANE, Wash. — Gonzaga University will welcome eight new Act Six Scholars, all first-generation college students, to the incoming class of 2024. The urban and community leaders from Spokane, and the Tacoma and Seattle, Washington, areas will receive full-tuition, full-need and four-year scholarships as members of the latest Act Six cohort.

Selected through a rigorous three-month competition, these diverse student leaders were chosen for their commitment to serving on campus and in their communities, their passion for learning, eagerness to foster intercultural relationships, and willingness to step out of their comfort zones.

A community celebration to recognize the new scholars from Spokane was held March 5 at Gonzaga Preparatory School. A celebration for the new scholars from the Tacoma-Seattle area is planned for later this spring.

Gonzaga University (Cadre 12)

Following are the Act Six recipients who will enroll at Gonzaga this fall:

• Elizabeth Figueroa, Gonzaga Preparatory School (Spokane), pre-medicine major.
• Rodney “R.J.” McGee II, East Valley High School (Spokane), sport management major.
• Micah Bell, University High School (Spokane), pre-medicine major.
• Syvana Arwood, University High School (Spokane), communication studies major.
• Carlos Nunez, Bellevue Senior High School (Tacoma-Seattle), education major.
• Nisha Bk, Foster High School (Tacoma-Seattle), pre-medicine major.
• Aaron Danh, Lincoln High School (Tacoma-Seattle), nursing major.
• Analesa Ligon, Bellarmine Preparatory School (Tacoma-Seattle), psychology major.

About Act Six

Act Six seeks to develop urban leaders to be agents of transformation on campus and in their home communities. Since the program’s inception, nearly 950 ethnically diverse and mostly first-generation, low-income Act Six scholarship recipients from Tacoma, Seattle, Yakima and Spokane, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota; Chicago, Illinois; and Indianapolis, Indiana have enrolled at 16 private colleges and universities. 

Act Six develops leaders through a simple but powerful, four-step strategy:

• Recruit and select diverse, multicultural cadres of the most promising urban and community student leaders.
• Train and prepare these groups of students in the year prior to college, equipping them to support each other, succeed academically and grow as service-minded leaders and agents of transformation.
• Send and fund the cadres together to select colleges across Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, Illinois, and Indiana on full-tuition, full-need scholarships.
• Support and inspire by providing strong campus support, ongoing leadership development and vocational connections to inspire scholars to serve their home communities.

Act Six alumni continue their leadership once they step foot into their communities. Eighty-two percent of Act Six scholars earn their bachelor’s degrees within six years, more than double the rate for low-income, first-generation students nationwide. More than two-thirds of the program’s graduates are working or serving in their home communities.

Following recent celebrations, the scholars begin an intensive six-month training program that involves weekly meetings with Act Six staff, retreats and campus visits. The scholars are scheduled to return to Gonzaga’s campus April 16-18 to prepare for their transition to the University.

Learn more about Act Six online.