BBBS and Concept Z Award First Scholarship to Tongue River High School Senior

Bob Utter, Maya Fritz and Zack Cummins

Concept Z Home and Property annually sponsors a Big Brothers Big Sisters $1,000 scholarship recognizing a graduating senior who has been a Big Brother or Big Sister their senior year in high school. This is the fifth year an annual scholarship award was given in Sheridan. For the school year 2021-2022, Concept Z added a second scholarship for Tongue River High school Bigs who are seniors. We are excited to announce that the first annual Tongue River High School scholarship has been awarded to Maya Fritz.

Presenter and broker at Concept Z, Zack Cummins, shared with the student assembly: “Many of you who know me, know that I get super excited about mentorship. Coaching is one way I get my fill of that. When it comes to mentorship, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a program quite as effective as Big Brothers Big Sisters….when I read the scholarship applications, I’m blow away, not only how the Big impacts the Little, but how every time, the Little has a profound impact on the Big….when you get “outside yourself” and focus on helping someone else, it just grows us in so many ways. So, thank you Maya and all the Bigs in Tongue River, for taking the time to really make an impact on the lives of someone who needs it.” Zack presented alongside Bob Utter, who is the founder of the BBBS scholarship and Sandy Thiel, Community Liaison for Big Brothers Big Sisters in Sheridan County.

In her essay, Maya shared that “Empowerment is the process of becoming stronger and more confident. Around Valentine’s day this year, my little and I did a self-affirmation activity. She was very unsure about it at first, so we took turns saying positive things about ourselves as I wrote them onto a giant heart. My intentions were to build her confidence and help her to see her worth. I wasn’t expecting to feel empowered myself. Seeing her smile while listing qualities she loved about herself was an indescribable, gratifying experience.

To have integrity means that a person is self-aware, accountable, responsible, and truthful and that their actions are internally consistent. In all honesty there are days when I feel like I have too much on my plate. I think about how easy it would be to call in sick; however, being a Big Sister has taught me how important role modeling is and how important it is to give our time to others. After I hang out with my little I always feel less stressed and being a Big Sister has increased my integrity as a person and a role model. The Big Sisters Big Brothers program has taught me the value of giving back to my community.”

Maya plans to attend Northern Arizona University in the fall and will study social work.

Big Brothers Big Sisters is proud to have a presence in the Tongue River Valley High School and looks forward to many more years of partnership with Sheridan School District #1 and with Concept Z Home and Property.

Big Brothers Big Sisters knows that every child has the potential to do incredible things. Their mission is to help empower them to reach higher by creating positive mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth.

For more than 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has been making professionally supported matches between adult volunteers and youth between the ages of 5 and 16. Youth with mentors do better in school, get along better with peers and families, develop healthier habits, avoid risky behavior, and create bigger goals for themselves and their lives. Volunteers and youth come from all walks of life, and being a volunteer is one of the most fulfilling things you will ever do.

You have the power to make the difference in the life of a young person!

Big Brothers Big Sisters knows that every child has the potential to do incredible things. Their mission is to help empower them to reach higher by creating positive mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth.

For more than 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has been making professionally supported matches between adult volunteers and youth between the ages of 5 and 16. Youth with mentors do better in school, get along better with peers and families, develop healthier habits, avoid risky behavior, and create bigger goals for themselves and their lives. Volunteers and youth come from all walks of life, and being a volunteer is one of the most fulfilling things you will ever do.

You have the power to make the difference in the life of a young person!

For more information, please visit www.wyobbbs.org and join the fight to ensure that every child finds the road to their biggest possible future. Together, we are the defenders of potential.