On Q Financial Inc., a national home mortgage lender, has selected senior Royce Perez as the recipient of the Josiah N. Moore Memorial Scholarship, representing the ASU Native American Alumni chapter. Perez is from Mariano Lake, New Mexico, and graduates this spring with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.

“I feel very blessed that On Q Financial selected me as a recipient for this scholarship,” Perez said. “I’ve worked hard to receive excellent grades, and I’m appreciative that my work is being recognized through this scholarship.” ASU senior Royce Perez poses with Sparky at Old Main. Download Full Image

As a child, Perez was always intrigued with how things worked, which inspired him to pursue an engineering degree at ASU, after transferring from a small college in New Mexico. As a member of Diné (the Navajo Nation), he plans to eventually use his education to help implement new ideas that will improve natural resource usage in remote areas.

Throughout college, Perez has been involved with the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), the American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE) and Chi Epsilon, the National Civil Engineering Honor Society. This semester, he was involved in organizing and hosting the AISES National Conference in Phoenix.

“This scholarship could not have come at a better time, as I’m finding out that my senior engineering courses are requiring specific software and computer systems,” he said. “This scholarship will help me make the necessary purchases to complete my educational journey.”

“During his collegiate career, which includes the academic rigors of civil engineering as a major and participation in co-curricular activities, Royce has worked to support himself throughout his academic journey,” said Alyssa Bradley ('15 BS), vice president and treasurer of the Native American Alumni chapter.

“Royce has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to his coursework as well as identifying opportunities to extend his classroom experience in applied settings and leadership positions. From a Native American Alumni chapter perspective, one of our primary missions is to assist current Native American students in a variety of ways, so we are very excited to be able to help support such an outstanding person and student as Royce. Providing scholarships makes our responsibility as chapter members very fun and fulfilling.”

The On Q Financial team and staff of the ASU Alumni Association stand with Josiah N. Moore Memorial Scholarship recipient Royce Perez (right).

On Q Financial recently has taken on a commitment for scholarship support for a variety of schools and diverse groups.

“At On Q Financial, we understand the importance of a well-educated workforce and the increasing financial needs of many college students today,” said Juan Rodas, executive vice president at On Q Financial. “Through the scholarship selection process, we were deeply impressed with Royce’s commitment to his studies and attaining his degree as a first-generation student. Also his passion to someday serve the critical and unique needs of tribal communities is inspiring.

“Scholarships like this take a bit of the weight off of students. With our corporate headquarters in Tempe, ASU was a natural place to reach out for help in finding the right students for our first awards.”

Christine Wilkinson, ASU Alumni Association president and CEO, talks about the growing need for financial support for students: “One of our primary initiatives at the Alumni Association is to assist students, especially those with financial need. When community partners like On Q Financial step up to provide scholarships, we’re appreciative of their desire to help students reach their academic goals.

"On Q Financial believes in supporting students to build a well-educated workforce. We look forward to working with Juan Rodas and his team at On Q to continue supporting Sun Devil students so they can achieve their dreams of graduating from ASU and starting their professional careers.”

Learn more about On Q Financial and its scholarship programs.