Moapa Valley high school seniors may benefit from a decision just announced by Dr. Raymond Rawson, Chairman of the Board of Desert Valley Academy (DVA). DVA scholarships will be made available to deserving southern Nevada high school seniors who wish to attend Southern Virginia University (www.SVU.edu) in Buena Vista, Virginia.

Buena Vista is located in Virginia’s beautiful and scenic Shenandoah Valley. SVU is a private four-year university which holds to the values and standards of the LDS Church and offers a number of academic programs leading to baccalaureate degrees. LDS and non-LDS students are encouraged to apply.

Desert Valley Academy is a private four-year college planned to be built in Moapa Valley. DVA will be modeled after Southern Virginia University and the church-owned schools of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. DVA like SVU will not be affiliated with the LDS Church, but like those institutions, DVA will offer an effective and focused academic program of higher education merged with powerful moral and ethical standards to prepare young people for service and leadership in their communities, the nation, and the world. The DVA motto is “Leadership through Learning and Faith”.

Dr. Rawson, in making this announcement stated, “We are grateful for the generous support of the many donors who are making these scholarships possible. Our goal is to provide scholarships to as many southern Nevada students as possible. We know the value of the wholesome environment at SVU, an environment we want to replicate here in southern Nevada at DVA.”

Effective immediately DVA will begin accepting scholarship applications. Interested students may find scholarship applications, guidelines, and instructions online at www.desertvalleyacademy.org. Information is also available through LDS seminaries, and Clark County School District high school counselors.

Dr. Rawson also encourages public participation in the DVA Scholarship Fund.

“We welcome all contributions to the Fund,” Rawson said. “No donation is too small and all donations are tax deductible.”

“We hope to fund as many students as possible with scholarships large enough to be meaningful,” Rawson continued. “We are determined to make a difference in the lives of as many young people as possible who wish to attend an academically powerful, faith-based college. We encourage everyone who agrees with us to please join us by making a contribution to the DVA Scholarship Fund.”

Further information on giving and on scholarships may be obtained by contacting Ace Robison, DVA Scholarship Administrator at 702-239-4426 or by email at ace.robison@gmail.com. Applications must be submitted by January 31, 2012.