Moapa Valley HS student receives $100K for college

By ELISE DALLEY & VERNON ROBISON

The Progress

A Moapa Valley High School senior has experienced a series of life-changing opportunities over the past month which have removed significant obstacles to her future educational goals.

Last week, Kaelani Goodwin received a $100,000 4-year college scholarship from the Frias Trust, administered through the Public Education Foundation (PEF). The scholarship is meant to see that recipients are able to graduate from college debt free. It includes $25,000 per year for tuition, room and board, books, fees, supplies and more.

Earlier in the month, Goodwin also signed a letter of intent to be a member of the cheerleading squad at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana.

On Thursday afternoon, April 25, Goodwin was surprised by being awarded the Frias Trust Charitable Scholarship. She had been told that the gathering was merely an interview to be considered for the scholarship. So she came prepared, having researched the philanthropic efforts of Charles and Phyllis Frias, founders of the Frias Trust.

What Goodwin did not know was that she had already been selected to receive the award.
The meeting began with Frias Trustee John Mowbray retelling the story about trust founders Charles and Phyllis Frias. He told about the young couple landing in Las Vegas in the 1950s without a dollar to their name. They showed grit and determination, building a business that became the largest transportation company in the state of Nevada. Then they spent many years giving back to their community, Mowbray said.

“By the time of their deaths, the Friases had established a trust that would continue in their community spirit of grit and determination,” Mowbray said.

Last year the trust partnered with PEF to offer a new scholarship focusing on students who had shown that same grit and determination, he added.
“This scholarship program was designed to identify a senior who had experienced some adversity that might have pulled them off of their path,” Mowbray said. “But they had overcome it and demonstrated the true Frias grit.”

This year, the scholarship program received over 500 applications throughout the region, Mowbray said.
“Your application popped up to the top of that pool of 500,” Mowbray told Goodwin.

Frias co-trustee Jack Hanifan spoke about the process of selection for the scholarship. “When we, as a committee, read your application, we saw in you someone that has the qualities that this scholarship is seeking,” Hanifan told Goodwin. “You’re not going to shy away from an obstacle in your way. You always find your way over, around or through it. You’re a remarkable young lady with a bright future.”

Hanifan then announced to Mowbray that he and the selection committee had all agreed that Goodwin should be considered as a finalist for the scholarship. Mowbray then announced Goodwin would actually be a recipient of the $100,000 award.

Goodwin was overwhelmed and overjoyed, hardly able to speak.
“I am so excited!” she said when asked how she felt about the award. “I could truly not be more grateful. This will make things a lot less stressful.”

Kaelani has been involved in dancing since she was four years old,. She was on the dance teams of both Mack Lyon Middle School and Moapa Valley High School.

In her junior year, Kaelani made a switch away from dance to join the MVHS cheer squad. She said that she has loved every second of it.

When she began to think of college, Kaelani knew she wanted to continue her love for cheerleading. She found the perfect opportunity one day when she came across a social media video from the Rocky Mountain Cheer team.

“I contacted them on social media because they said they were recruiting,” she said. “I asked them how their recruiting process went. I had to send them a tryout video and, a few weeks later they told me I made their team.”

Kaelani worked hard to succeed during her tryouts. With the help of her coaches, she spent countless hours practicing for her cheer routine and making the audition video look professional.
MVHS Cheer Coach Desi Statsny expressed her pride for Kaelani. “She put in extra hours and improved so much this year,” she said. “She is a hard worker and the first person to volunteer for anything. She will be a wonderful cheerleader at Rocky Mountain College.”

Goodwin plans to major in Human Performance to prepare for a possible career in exercise physiology, fitness management, health rehabilitation and more.