Four Cochise College students have been selected for the 2013 All-Arizona Academic Team and will receive tuition waivers to complete their bachelor’s degrees at one of the state’s public universities.
On Feb. 20, Antonio Pena, Berenice Acosta, Casey Carrillo and Wheeler Reece will be among more than 75 community college students from across the state to be awarded scholarships from the Arizona Board of Regents. The scholarships are part of the All-Arizona Academic Team program, which aims to point the best and brightest community college students toward enrollment at Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona. Since the program began in the 1990s, it has awarded about 1,000 full-ride scholarships to Arizona community college students.
Students nominated to the All-Arizona Academic Team are evaluated for academic performance and service to the college and the community. The nominations are reviewed first by business, civic, education and government leaders, then judged a second time by representatives of various federal agencies and education associations. They are ranked and placed accordingly on first, second and third academic teams.
Pena, who attends classes on the Douglas Campus, was selected to the All-Arizona First Team. First Team students go on to compete for placement on the All-USA Academic Team, announced later in the spring in USA Today, co-sponsored by Phi Theta Kappa, the American Association of Community Colleges and USA Today. Acosta, also from the Douglas Campus, Carrillo and Reece, both from the Sierra Vista Campus, were each named to the All-Arizona Third Team.
In addition to tuition waivers, each of Cochise College’s All-Arizona scholars receive a cash scholarship from the Cochise College Foundation in the amount of $1,000 for First Team placement and $500 for Third Team.
Cochise College’s All-Arizona scholars:
Antonio Pena
Antonio Pena, of Douglas, is majoring in engineering with plans to transfer to Arizona State University to earn a degree in mechanical engineering. His long-term goal is to earn a doctorate degree.
“Community college was, at the time, one of my only choices because I did not think I was ready to attend a school with thousands and thousands of students,” he said. “I have lived in a small area my entire life and taking a risk to go study with more people than that of my own town’s population was a risk I was not willing to take. I figured I would learn more in smaller classes and have time to ask more questions, therefore enhancing my learning and giving me a chance to broaden my skill set.”
Pena stays involved on the Douglas Campus as a math and physics tutor, Honors Committee student representative, and in Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society of two-year colleges and academic programs, Alpha Beta Zeta chapter. He was named Math Student of the Year in 2012. He has also served the community as a team leader for City Clean-up Day and fundraiser for Relay for Life.
Berenice Acosta
Berenice Acosta is working toward completion of her Associate of Arts degree in general studies with plans to major in political science, specializing in foreign affairs, upon transferring to a four-year university. She hopes to obtain a master’s degree and eventually work in a U.S. embassy.
Acosta has received a number of honors, including Obama’s MLK Drum Major for Service Award in 2012 and the Douglas Campus Sociology Student of the Year award in 2011 and 2012. She is a member of Phi Theta Kappa and part of the college’s Holocaust Project. She said her own experiences with bullying as a child have led to her desire to expand the Holocaust Project to interested students in Sonora.
“Harsh circumstances shaped my character at a very young age and opened my eyes to the awful kind of place the world can be,” she said. “I also came to see that the solution to this problem rests in children’s education, including their values, morals and beliefs. … I want young children to know they are not alone, so that one day, they may also overcome their problems, just as I did.”
Casey Carrillo
Casey Carrillo began taking dual credit classes as a high school junior at Buena and will finish her Associate of Arts degree in communications this spring.
She is set to transfer to the University of Arizona in the fall, with a career goal of becoming a sports reporter.
“Growing up in Sierra Vista, I have always been a part of Cochise College, whether it was attending Student Government activities such as Haunted Union or traveling to Douglas to go to basketball games,” she said. “I have always been an Apache.”
Carrillo stepped into the vice president seat of the Sierra Vista Campus Student Government Association this spring semester. She has participated in delivery and collection duties for Toys for Tots, as well as fundraising for and participating in the annual Relay for Life. Carrillo is a member of Phi Theta Kappa – Alpha Mu Zeta chapter.
Wheeler Reece
Wheeler Reece will complete his Associate of Arts degree in May, with plans to attend Arizona State University and major in journalism. He hopes to write professionally after earning his bachelor’s degree.
Reece is active on the Sierra Vista Campus as a past president of Phi Theta Kappa and an English tutor, as well as in the community as an amateur theater performer with the Tombstone Repertory Company. He was chosen as the college’s representative at the Regional Honors Conference in 2011, and he has completed the requirements for an Honors Certificate.
Last fall, Reece began working on an individual honors project, Cochise Crunch, an online podcast he hopes will continue as a medium to deliver college news to students after he moves on.
“Combing all of my varied interests — music, English and journalism — I chose an honors endeavor that would impact my fellow students, rather than just me,” he said. “I decided to take advantage of new technology, and, with feedback and interest from other students, began to develop it into Crunch.”