Accessibility and connection: Mat-Su Health Foundation opens new scholarship space

Of the many ways that the Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF) supports and gives back to the community, the scholarship programs have made significant impacts on the lives of students pursuing careers in health or human services. To date, over $3 million in scholarships have been awarded as of April, 2025.

Beginning in 1997, the MSHF has been supporting Mat-Su scholars who want to enter the local healthcare workforce through two scholarship programs-the Academic Scholarships, which help reduce the cost of higher education for students wanting to earn a two-year or four-year degree. This scholarship application is open once a year in January.

The other program is the MSHF Vocational scholarships, which helps students pay for training and certificate programs in health and human services fields such as Certified Nurse Aide, Emergency Medical Technician, Chemical Dependency Counselor, and Medical Billing and Coding, to name a few.

Now the MSHF has created a new space with students in mind, complete with on-site support and computer access for filling out the Free Applications for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms, college, and vocational training applications, as well as having support as they navigate the steps to start the next phase of their lives.

The MSHF Scholarship Team is now located on the first floor of the MSHF Building, Suite B111, a move designed to bring community members closer to staff closer as they need assistance and support.

“My hope is that being down here opens up access to connect our community with resources. Connect them with Nine Star, the Jobs Center, Mat-Su Regional, any other workforce in which they’re training in,” says Adelina Rodriguez, Scholarship Program Officer.

The motivation, Rodriguez explains, is accessibility. “The drive is to be accessible to the community.” Previously, the office as located on the second floor of MSHF in Wasilla, but often felt more like a stop rather than an area to sit and connect and have conservations about education and what services and assistance Rodriguez and the staff can provide.

“The idea is for individuals to feel welcomed and have their questions answered, because sometimes it can be a barrier to go into an office space,” she says. Rodriguez has been in education for over 20 years, bringing customer service in to the conversations, understanding that sometimes people need that extra time and one-on-one conversations when thinking about something as big as their educational futures.

“I stop whatever I may be doing and help students, give them the confidence they need to pursue their dreams.”

MSHF kicked off the new space with an open house, letting people tour the new spaces last week and meet with Rodriguez and other team members at MSHF.

Rodriguez envisions the space being available for students to fill out their applications and other necessary paperwork, realizing that some perspective students do not have access to computers or internet, but also having access to people trained to understand the sometimes lengthy and confusing paperwork required.

“People can come in here, fill out their applications, and if they need support, troubleshooting the forms, something as simple as the right places to click.”

Rodriguez is also looking at planning workshops as the need expands for assistance, as well as creating a pipeline for people preparing for employment during and after college.

“Students can come in as they enter college and starting their careers who might need help support printing their resumes, cover letters.” She says the plan isn’t to take away from services already out there, but offer an additional space and connection to resources within the community.

Another aspect Rodriguez is excited about is creating an alumni program for previous scholarship awardees. “The goal is to create an alumni program to support our scholars that graduated.”

To learn more about the MSHF scholarship programs, please visit www.healthymatsu.org/how-we-fund/scholarships