Workforce Scholarship Recipient Designing Affordable Homes for Tahoe Families

Tags: Economic Opportunity, Education, Scholarships, Workforce Scholarship Recipients 2025, Workforce Scholarships, Youth Development

In Tahoe-Truckee, the barriers to higher education are steep: tuition costs that feel overwhelming, a cost of living 73% higher than the national average, and the added pressures of housing, work, and family. For many, the path to a career in healthcare, education, or the skilled trades seems out of reach. Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation (TTCF) is working to change that. 

Since 2022, local donors, businesses, and foundations have joined forces to invest more than $350,000 in Workforce Scholarships, building a pipeline of essential professionals. In 2025 alone, TTCF awarded $520,100 to 27 students, including 17 first-generation college students, with an average scholarship of $19,263. These investments don’t just ease financial burdens—they open doors to careers that keep our community strong. For many students, they are the difference between a dream deferred and a future within reach.

Higher Education with Greater Purpose

“I know what that struggle feels like, and I want to be part of the solution. Professionally, it’s about building a career where my work directly improves people’s lives and strengthens the community,” Natalie Diaz told Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation (TTCF) after receiving a workforce scholarship for pursuing construction management and civil engineering to address the region’s housing crisis. 

Higher education was about more than earning a degree for Natalie Diaz. It was about solving the housing struggles she and so many in Tahoe-Truckee face. The choice to study construction management and civil engineering grew directly from her own struggles. 

Since moving to Tahoe, I’ve experienced firsthand how difficult it can be to find stable housing, especially while trying to focus on school. Those challenges made me think about the bigger picture, how homes are planned, built, and managed. I realized that construction plays a huge role in solving the housing shortage, and I wanted to be part of that process. 

As she pursued her associate’s degree in Construction Management at Sierra College, she often wondered if she could afford to stay in the community she loved. “There were times I thought about moving away just to make things easier,” she says. 

A Solo Struggle Transforms through Community Support 

In 2025, Natalie’s path forward became more clear when she was awarded $25,000 in scholarships — a combination of $20,000 from TTCF’s Workforce Scholarship fund and $5,000 from the Anna Jane Ellis Scholarship.

The Anna Jane Ellis Scholarship honors the lifelong commitment to education demonstrated by Dr. Anna Jane Ellis—a devoted mentor and professor in the Physical Education Department at the University of Wisconsin, who encouraged learning and civic engagement among her nieces, nephews, and her broader community. Established by her niece, Georgia Smith, and nephew, Earl Smith, the scholarship celebrates the value Dr. Ellis placed on education and community support, inviting recipients to carry that legacy forward as they transition from a 2‑year to a 4‑year college degree

Natalie is now able to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering with a minor in Construction Management. Her dream: to design and build affordable housing solutions that allow working families to live and thrive in Tahoe for generations. 

The support Natalie received is more than a financial lift, it’s the foundation of a future she’s determined to build for others.

It’s giving me the knowledge I need and the freedom to focus on building the skills and connections that will allow me to work in housing and community development.

Stories of 2025 Workforce Scholarship Recipients

Denisse Vega Zarate: In 2018, Denisse received a TTCF college scholarship. After graduating summa cum laude from UC Davis, Denisse returned to the region to support her neighbors as part of the Sierra Community House team. Now, after two years acting as housing coordinator, Dennise received a 2025 workforce scholarship to attend Harvard University’s Master’s Program with the intention of advancing education policy reform. Here is her story. 

Pablo Guerrero: Inspired by his cousins who worked as linemen, Pablo dreamed of training at Northern Lineman College but worried the cost was out of reach. In 2025, he received $21,000 in scholarships from the Steve Shippy Vocational Scholarship, the TDPUD Lineman Award, and the Martis Camp Foundation. With this support, Pablo is pursuing his lineman training, carrying forward the values of service and resilience. Here is his story. 

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Since the inception of TTCF’s workforce scholarship fund in 2022, TTCF has awarded $1,253,100 to 67 people looking to advance their career with higher education. This life-changing support is possible thanks to the generosity of many donors and longtime local philanthropists including Gina Vadnais, Richard and Theresa Crocker, Owens and Nancy Wallis, Earl and Georgia Smith, Peek Family Foundation, S.H.E. Foundation, Haas Family Fund at Marin CF, Baird Family Foundation, Martis Camp Foundation, Truckee Tahoe Airport District (TTAD), and Truckee Donner Public Utility District (TDPUD). Together, these partners are investing not just in individuals, but in the future strength and resilience of our region.