Tucson business inspires youngsters to dream big | Subscriber

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Tucson Iron & Metal is providing each fourth grade student at Mission View Elementary School with a $ 10,000 scholarship to be used for college tuition or a business school. The fourth graders Jonathan Gastelum (10) and Nyjah Ansley (9) are shown.

Mamta Popat, Arizona Daily Star

Gloria Rebecca Gomez Special for the Arizona Daily Star

Nine-year-old Xiomara Ramos wants to be an astronaut when she grows up, and a new scholarship from a family business in Tucson is set to help her make that happen.

Tucson Iron & Metal is committed to paying all 38 fourth graders of Mission View Elementary the equivalent of two years at Pima Community College, valued at approximately $ 10,000.

Most of the scholarships are awarded at the high school level, but the scrap metal recycling company plans to invest in students’ academic careers early on. This will give them time to consider secondary education attainable, said Andrea Kippur, who oversees the scholarship program for her parents, Gary and Tandy Kippur, owners of Tucson Iron & Metal.

The fourth grade is also where teachers at Tucson Unified Elementary School begin to discuss more about the college with students. A doll named Professor Sabe Lo Todo – Spanish for professor know-it-all – keeps kids busy. The goal is academic loyalty.

Gary and Tandy Kippur own Tucson Iron & Metal. Her daughter Andrea Kippur, who oversees the scholarship program, says, “Anything we can do to ensure that students have access to quality education will have an impact in the community.”

Courtesy Tucson Iron & Metal

“We have a rhyme that says the longer you stay, the better the pay. The better the pay, the longer you play, ”said Elizabeth Hoover, student funding coordinator.

Hoover leads weekly lessons that include college and career talks.

Mission View is a pre-K-5 school in South Tucson with free and discounted lunch eligibility that is 100% eligible, a measure of poverty, and nearly 93% of its 201 students are Hispanic, said principal Sandra Calkins . The inadequate equipment of the school and its community was a major factor in Tucson Iron & Metal’s investment.

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