PBHS Students

Flinn Foundation Finalist: 

Riley Biter

By Stella Bock

The Flinn Foundation scholarship is the most competitive, merit-based scholarship in Arizona. The application process requires students to:

• Attain at least a 3.5 grade-point average (unweighted)

• Rank in the top 5 percent of their graduating class (if the school reports class rank)

• Participate and demonstrate leadership in a variety of extracurricular activities

  These are just a few requirements to qualify for a scholarship with this foundation. The Flinn Scholarship is an all-around package deal; It includes covered funding tuition, housing, meals, and study abroad. 20 Arizona high-school seniors are selected to attend the Honors colleges of the state’s three public universities. The foundation has three levels to its selection process. Making it into the semi-finals takes dedication and perseverance. Out of the 1,045 students that applied for the scholarship this year, 39 applicants moved forward. One of the 39 selected to move on was Poston Butte's senior Riley Biter.

Riley Biter is a dedicated, hardworking student. She continues to prove that anything is possible, but only some things come easily. She pushes herself and learns from her past mistakes to improve her future.  With Riley’s achievements throughout the year, FUSD is very proud of her. We interviewed Riley Biter about her thoughts and feelings on the experience so far. When asked how it felt to be selected she exclaimed that she was surprised to make it this far, but that she is excited and ready for the next round coming up in the next few weeks. Riley has been under a lot of anxiety over her accomplishments so far but that doesn’t stop her from being thrilled about this opportunity. Riley’s interviews have gone very well and though she says they are intimidating, she also finds them quite easy. Now, the big question is what will Riley do with the Flinn Scholarship? Well,Riley Biter currently wants to be an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or at the World Health Organization (WHO). An epidemiologist is a public health worker who investigates patterns and causes of disease and injury. They seek to reduce the risk and occurrence of negative health outcomes through research, community education, and health policy. With the Flinn Foundation Scholarship, she will pay her way all through college, and an exchange program. She plans to save the rest for graduate school. Riley is ecstatic to continue to make connections with the rest of her group. She has become close to her 38 other finalists and from her time spent with previous finalists and current finalists here’s some advice: BE yourself, no matter what. Be confident, be curious, and be funny, just as long as you are yourself, you can achieve anything.

Poston Butte has your back and wishes Riley Biter luck in the last interview, we are rooting for you! To stay updated on current events visit the Flinn Foundation Website at: www.flinn.org 

The Flinn Scholars Class of 2023 will be announced in April.