Wind River Development Fund Continues Support for Youth Through Native Excellence Scholarship Program
The Wind River Development Fund (WRDF) has extended support to each of its four 2024-25 Native Excellence Scholarship Program awardees with an additional $2,500 scholarship for the 2025-26 school year. The recipients, all Native students attending Central Wyoming College and pursuing degrees in agriculture, have now received a total of $5,000 each through the Native Excellence Scholarship Program.
Erika Warren-Yarber (Northern Arapaho), Chief Operating Officer at WRDF, leads the scholarship program. “We are so proud of these four students and honored to continue supporting them as they work towards their agriculture degrees. They represent a bright future for the Reservation,” Yarber said.
Grace Neubauer (Eastern Shoshone), who is one of the scholarship recipients, will graduate this spring with two degrees – one in health science and one on equine science. She then plans on furthering her education at Casper Community College. Neubauer, who is also a member of the Central Wyoming College Rodeo team, is paying out of pocket for her college education with scholarships and a part-time job. Between school, work, and rodeo, she has an intense schedule, but this scholarship has helped her manage it all.
“I am so blessed to have been awarded this scholarship where I am now going to graduate with two degrees, going deeper into my studies, and being able to finish out my college rodeo career properly,” says Neubauer.
With the average age of agricultural producers trending close to 60 years, Yarber emphasizes the importance of cultivating the next generation of Native farmers and ranchers as a way to strengthen Wind River’s economy. “Investing in our youth is a critical element of WRDF’s strategy to create economic opportunity. It amplifies the work we have been doing with a group of community partners on our $36 million Recompete grant – strengthening our agriculture industry, building local food systems, and developing our workforce.”
Jerel Kohler (Northern Arapaho), another scholarship recipient who is pursuing a career in agricultural leadership, is examining community needs and developing bold ideas on how to implement traditional agricultural engineering into local systems by utilizing tribal knowledge.
Reflecting on this scholarship opportunity, he says, “My scholarship is helping me gather my education to pursue a bachelor’s in agricultural leadership. Agriculture is the lifeline for humanity. We have to come together and think differently about our future.”
Other scholarship awardees include Kaylee Cachelin (Northern Arapaho), who is pursuing a degree in agricultural leadership, and Kalijah Day (Northern Arapaho), who is pursuing a degree in Farm and Ranch Resource Management.
WRDF’s Native Excellence Scholarship Program received funding support from the Native American Agriculture Fund, a private, charitable trust serving Native farmers and ranchers created from the historic Keepseagle v. Vilsack litigation settlement.