Doctoral student from Wales and Nome wins BSNC's Tim Towarak Memorial Scholarship

Aapiaq Cheryl Ongtowasruk, a doctoral student raised in Wales and Nome, won the 2026 Tim Towarak Memorial Scholarship from the Beringia Settlement Trust, Bering Straits Native Corporation announced Monday. The competitive, merit-based $10,000 award goes each year to one high-achieving student at an accredited college or university and honors the late Tim Towarak's advocacy for Alaska Native people.

Ongtowasruk is the daughter of Gerri and the late Ron Ongtowasruk. She grew up in Wales before moving to Nome at 12, and she credits her parents with giving her confidence in academic spaces where she sometimes doubted she belonged.

She is pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership for social justice at Loyola Marymount University and expects to finish in May 2027. Her research examines knowledge shared through traditional practices and arts and how intergenerational learning supports Indigenous youth.

She works as a curriculum specialist for the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island, building materials grounded in community, culture and Indigenous ways of knowing. A Mt. Edgecumbe High School graduate, she earned a bachelor's degree in K-12 art education and a master's degree in education with an emphasis in teacher leadership from Fort Lewis College.

Ongtowasruk lives in Anchorage with her husband, Kenneth "PhrAustie" Hughes IV, and stepdaughter, Nova. Watching Nova grow has deepened her commitment to understanding how knowledge shared across generations can strengthen Indigenous youth, families and communities, according to the announcement.