Full-tuition Scholarship Program Now Open to Yakima Students

Act Six, a leadership and scholarship program that connects local community affiliates with faith- and social justice-based colleges, is making $240,000 available to Yakima area students to attend PLU. The deadline to apply for free is December 1. 

“As someone who grew up in the Yakima Valley, I know firsthand that community is full of young people who are passionate about learning, justice, and equity, and who are eager to make a positive difference,” said PLU President Allan Belton, himself a first-generation college student. “The expansion of the Act Six Scholarship to that region represents an invaluable financial and organizational support system to help students from Yakima attend and succeed at PLU.”

PLU has partnered with Act Six since 2007 and enrolled and graduated more than 90 scholars. The expansion into the Yakima Valley means students will have an opportunity to attend PLU and receive leadership training, academic preparation, mentorship, and give back to the community through acts of service. 

“I truly believe that students in the Yakima Valley have the drive and passion for higher education and that with the right opportunity they will thrive,” said Amber Ortiz-Diaz, Yakima Valley Community Foundation program director. “This partnership allows for Act Six Yakima to be able to extend our services to students who are interested in venturing out to receive their college education in hopes to return to Yakima to create positive change. I am so grateful that we have college partners who believe in this mission as well and believe that our next generation of leaders are here in the Yakima Valley.”

Act Six scholars who attend PLU have a graduation rate of 87 percent, and 67 percent of students are first-generation college students. Founded and run by a Tacoma-based nonprofit Degrees of Change, the Act Six program identifies and rewards scholars who are passionate about learning, eager to foster intercultural relationships, willing to step out of their comfort zones, committed to serving those around them, and want to use their college education to make a difference on campus and in their communities at home. To learn more about the PLU Act Six program and to apply, visit actsix.org/apply 

Yakima students who meet the basic requirements may also be considered for the 253 PLU Bound Scholarship, which covers tuition for a student’s four years. Learn more at www.plu.edu/253.