Darla Rivera

When Darla Rivera enrolled at the University of Alaska Anchorage in 2019, she was a single mother working two part-time jobs. The Higher Education Scholarship from The CIRI Foundation covered her tuition and freed up hours she could spend studying instead of picking up extra shifts.

Darla grew up in a family of CIRI shareholders. Her grandmother talked about ANCSA, about what land and self-determination meant. But Darla didn't fully understand the connection between those stories and her own path until she applied for the scholarship.

"The application process made me articulate my goals for the first time," she says. "I had to explain why nursing mattered to me, what I wanted to do with the degree. That clarity stayed with me through every hard semester."

By her junior year, Darla was maintaining a 3.6 GPA while raising her daughter. She reapplied for the scholarship annually and received funding each time. The consistency mattered — she never had to wonder whether she could afford the next semester.

In 2023, Darla graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She now works at Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage, providing care to the same community that supported her education.

"I see patients who look like my family," she says. "They trust me because I understand where they come from. That trust is everything in healthcare."

Darla plans to pursue a master's in public health, focusing on rural healthcare access in Alaska Native communities. She's already started her application to TCF's graduate program.