“I’ve always been conscious of how much money I’m spending,” he said. “I don’t want to have tons of debt I’ll have to pay back later, especially at high interest rates.”

And so for Vasquez, who works a part-time job at The Home Depot, financial aid from the Montgomery GI Bill, the Virginia Tuition Grant (VTAG), and a new National Science Foundation (NSF) S-STEM Scholarship has been a godsend in covering the full cost of his college education.

“Without the NSF S-STEM Scholarship, I would’ve struggled financially,” he said. “The scholarship really takes the pressure off my shoulders, because now I won’t have that debt looming over my head.”

Born and raised in Harrisonburg, Vasquez graduated from high school in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and attended Blue Ridge Community College while enlisting in the military. After completing recruit training, taking time to reassess his academic goals, and changing majors from business to computer science, he transferred to 91����Ƶ last fall.��

He is among an initial cohort of 91����Ƶ students receiving the NSF S-STEM Scholarship, which provides:

• Up to $15,000 in unmet financial need annually for the length of the degree
• A paid one-week Bridge to College program
• A STEM mentorship program
• An eight-week paid internship
• Free conference attendance
• Forest restoration opportunities in Park Woods (91����Ƶ’s on-campus woodland)

The scholarship is open to high-achieving, income-eligible students who are majoring in Biochemistry, Biology, Computer Science, Engineering, Environmental Science, Math, or Psychology (research/STEM track).

Applications for the S-STEM Scholarship
are due by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026.

For more information, visit .

‘A welcoming community’

Forming friendships at a new school can have its challenges.

Along with other initiatives provided by the scholarship, a Bridge to College program helps new 91����Ƶ students adjust to life on campus by moving them in a week early, introducing them to STEM faculty and staff members, and engaging them in activities to build camaraderie and form connections with one another. Students participating in the weeklong program receive a generous stipend for their time.

Ani Koontz, a first-year biology and secondary education double major from Newton, Kansas, is a recipient of the S-STEM Scholarship. She recalled traveling to Shenandoah National Park with students and faculty the week before classes, surveying salamanders and hiking trails, before bicycling around Downtown Harrisonburg on a tour led by city officials.

“That first week showed me how friendly and approachable my professors are,” she said. “They’ve done a great job creating a welcoming community.”

Another S-STEM Scholarship recipient, Mara Carlson, is a first-year psychology major from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. “Many of us have become close friends,” she said. “I’ll see the other scholarship recipients around campus and we’ll say hello to each other.”

Through the scholarship, each student is paired with an academic advisor specific to their major, who can answer questions and help guide them forward. Carlson said she meets with Kathryn Howard-Ligas, assistant professor of psychology at 91����Ƶ. “We discussed a four-year plan, and I was really grateful for that,” she said. Part of that plan includes gaining invaluable experience through internships and conferences, additional perks of the S-STEM Scholarship.

Carlson said she already knew she wanted to attend 91����Ƶ, and that receiving the S-STEM Scholarship was “a nice surprise.”

For the Kansas-born Koontz, 91����Ƶ had always been on her radar, but she also considered attending in-state schools that normally would’ve been cheaper. When she learned she had been offered the S-STEM Scholarship and that it would lower her college costs to “a very affordable amount,” her choice to attend 91����Ƶ became an easy one.

“It’s 100% the reason I came,” she said. “When I got that, it meant I could completely afford to go here, and it honestly made 91����Ƶ more affordable than any other college in my area. It’s my joy to share how grateful I am because this is truly just an amazing thing that 91����Ƶ has.”

After a full day of classes at 91����Ƶ, Kevin Garcia clocks in at 5 p.m. for his eight-hour shift at George’s Inc., a poultry plant in Harrisonburg. By the time he gets home, it’s 1:30 a.m. and he’s eager to get some much-needed sleep. In less than seven hours, he’ll be back on campus bright and early for his 8 a.m. class.

The hardworking, indefatigable first-year student emigrated from Cuba three years ago to join his family in Harrisonburg. He graduated from 91����Ƶ’s renowned Intensive English Program (IEP) this spring. When he learned he could transfer 15 credits from his IEP classes to his college degree and that he would receive the 91����Ƶ Promise Grant, which fully covers the tuition costs for eligible students, he knew his future belonged at 91����Ƶ.

The biology and Spanish double major, whose full-time job helps support his family with their expenses, said his parents both graduated from college in Cuba. “They had an expectation that I needed to go to college, as well,” said Garcia, who is interested in the emerging and rapidly expanding field of epigenetics. “Without the Promise Grant, that wouldn’t be possible.”

Garcia is one of 76 first- and second-year students at 91����Ƶ who have access to an exceptional, tuition-free college education thanks to the 91����Ƶ Promise Grant. The initiative is open to Virginia residents whose adjusted gross family incomes are below $75,000. It is for first-time, full-time undergraduate students. See checklist below for more eligibility criteria.��

The 91����Ƶ Promise Grant covers 100 percent of all remaining tuition costs after state, federal, and institutional grants or scholarships have been awarded. It does not cover any fees or living expenses.

Now in its second year, the tuition-free initiative continues to tackle systemic barriers by offering more financial aid, in alignment with 91����Ƶ’s 2023-28 strategic plan, Pathways of Promise: Preparing Tomorrow’s Unifying Leaders.

Troy Martin, director of financial aid for 91����Ƶ, said that raising the income threshold for Promise Grant eligibility (it was previously set at $65,000) ensures that a college education at 91����Ƶ is accessible to more students in Virginia than ever before. “We don’t want money to stand in the way of a student choosing to attend 91����Ƶ,” he said. 

“We have lots of prospective students who show promise, and our promise is to help them fulfill their promise,” Martin added. “We offer a transformative education for these students and allow them to achieve their educational goals and dreams in a setting that will support them every step of the way.”

While there is no deadline to apply for the 91����Ƶ Promise Grant, the deadline for submitting a VTAG application is Sept. 15, 2026.

For more information about the 91����Ƶ Promise Grant, visit .

Let Braydon Hoover, vice president of enrollment & marketing, walk you through the 91����Ƶ Promise Grant in the video below.

The grant, awarded through the NSF’s , will fund up to $15,000 annually for each scholarship recipient throughout the length of their degree. Overall, the S-STEM Scholarship will fund a quality undergraduate education for 23 91����Ƶ students among three cohorts over the next six years, beginning with first-year students entering the Fall 2025 semester.

The scholarship is open to academically talented students with financial need who are majoring in the following fields: Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, Environmental Science, Math, and Psychology (research/STEM track).

Applicants for the S-STEM Scholarship must submit their application and reference forms by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. For more information about the program and how to apply, visit: emu.edu/stem/scholarship

In addition to scholarships, the program offers students a paid one-week Bridge to College experience, where they can meet professors, learn material from their discipline, acquire study skills, and become better prepared for college.

91����Ƶ Biology Professor Dr. Kristopher Schmidt said that some first-year students can struggle to adjust to life on campus, and that the grant aims to ease that adjustment.

“We want to create a sense of belonging,” said Schmidt, who is principal investigator for the grant program.

The program also provides funding for embedded tutoring services and paid tutoring opportunities for students, specialized advising, and guidance from professional STEM mentors.

“This would be a person outside the university in their field of interest who can encourage them, help them, and connect with them along their four-year program,” Schmidt said about the mentors. 

The S-STEM Scholarship program offers innovative opportunities for place-based learning and funding for an eight-week paid internship. Students can use grant-funded resources to conduct research on forest restoration in the Park Woods space, which serves as a key learning lab for STEM students.

This latest grant builds on the success of a similar STEM grant that wrapped up in 2023.

By leveraging grants like these, 91����Ƶ lives into its mission and vision, outlined in its 2023-28 strategic plan Pathways of Promise of opening new pathways of access and achievement, and can help the NSF achieve its goal of diversifying the STEM workforce.

“We were thrilled to receive this,” Schmidt said. “We’re excited and grateful the NSF has chosen to invest in our students at 91����Ƶ.”

Faculty members Kristopher Schmidt, Jim Yoder, Daniel Showalter, Stefano Colafranceschi and Dean Tara Kishbaugh wrote the S-STEM grant proposal.

The new statement reads:

“We the community of learners—students, faculty, and staff—of 91����Ƶ value:

Academic Excellence
As a teaching university, we prioritize student learning. Our approach to teaching and learning is equitable and engaged as we seek to inspire curiosity, creativity and academic achievement. 

Peace and Justice
As a leader in peacebuilding, conflict transformation, and restorative justice, we pursue peace by teaching and practicing intercultural understanding, justice and equity, and environmental sustainability. We value diversity and seek to form unifying, inclusive leaders.

Active Faith
As a community, we seek to embody faith in action and serve and learn together to repair harm and restore hope. Shaped by Anabaptist-Mennonite beliefs and practices and the life and teachings of Jesus, we practice compassion, mutual love, and appreciation for the diversity of religious and cultural expressions represented in our community.”

The goal of the process, as outlined in the Pathways of Promise strategic plan, was to invest in clarity and consistency regarding 91����Ƶ’s values. These values will be consistently communicated across the university and used to amplify the 91����Ƶ value proposition. The refreshed values connect more seamlessly with the university vision statement, which frames the strategic plan.

The process began in January 2024 with discussions about the scope of the review and revision, an audit of several peer schools’ value statements, conversations with the Executive Leadership Team about essential components, and drafting of a test revision. Throughout the spring, a total of 14 focus group sessions were held across campus, which included three student meetings, two Board of Trustees committees, and nine faculty and staff meetings. 91����Ƶ 40 students and 100 faculty and staff participated in these sessions. Feedback from the focus groups was gathered and analyzed and used to create a final revision. The Board of Trustees approved the new statement at its June 14 meeting.

Dean Daniel Ott facilitated the re-envisioning. “The campus conversation about shared values was an inspiring process,” he said. “Our students, faculty, staff, and supporters love 91����Ƶ. This process gave them an opportunity to name and articulate the values that drive our work.”

91����Ƶ’s previous values statement read: “91����Ƶ’s mission and vision are grounded in the enduring biblical values of Christian discipleship, community, service, and peace.”

For more information about 91����Ƶ’s 2023-28 strategic plan, Pathways of Promise: Preparing Tomorrow’s Unifying Leaders, visit: