Bright Futures for Bright Students

USD and Mount Marty. Photos by Jennifer Brave Heart '14. Copyright Red Cloud Indian School.

Bright Futures for Bright Students

By Jen Brave Heart ‘14

Five students, one chaperone, two days.

It was an early Friday morning, the sun was shining, and the cool air was crisp. The students gathered their homework and got their yellow slips signed by their teachers. They were about to embark on a college trip to the University of South Dakota and Mount Marty College.

When the van arrived out front of the school, the students and their chaperone loaded their belongings and began to get comfortable for the five hour drive ahead of them. Before leaving Pine Ridge stops were made at Big Bats and Higher Grounds Coffee Shop so that there wouldn’t be as many  stops on their voyage to Yankton. Everyone bought food and coffee to keep them busy and energized for the long ride ahead of them. Nakina even brought a laptop and movies so that no one would get bored. The students that attended the trip were Pedro Martinez, Will Belt, Jen Brave Heart, all seniors, and Shi-Dawn Hawk Wing and Kiaya Walking Eagle, juniors at RCHS.

Once their journey started, there was no turning back. The suspense started to build as they came closer and closer to the rez line.

   

Once they arrived in Yankton, everyone was exhausted from the ride and wanted to go to the hotel so they can rest, but there is no rest for the wicked. After checking into Holiday Inn Express, they headed to Mount Marty College where they were taken on a tour of the campus and even met some faculty. At the end of the tour they were given information on the school, an application with the fee waived, and free t-shirts. Once they left the campus, they went to eat at KFC and Taco Bell, went to Wal-Mart, and made a last stop at Starbucks to end their day. Once they got back to the hotel, the seniors worked on their homework and registered for the ACT with Nakina while the juniors watched TV in the other room.

The next day is when the real action started.

Early Saturday morning after checking out from Holiday Inn Express, everyone loaded up their belongings and made one last stop at Starbucks before heading to Vermillion. After a half an hour, their destination was right before their eyes. The moment they arrived at USD Nakina took the students to registration where they were welcomed with handshakes, warm smiles, and breakfast! The students were given name-tags, information about USD, and an application from the students that were helping with the open-house registration. Tickets to the following football game were also offered, along with tailgating, but tickets were denied due to the long drive. Once they were checked in, the students and Nakina went into an auditorium where they met up with everyone else that was participating in the open-house.

In the auditorium, speeches were given from faculty, such as the Dean of Students and students such as their Student Ambassadors. After they gave their inspiring and motivational speeches, a video was presented on the various majors, clubs and organizations, and new additions that USD has to offer. Not to mention their Native American Cultural Center, which adds diversity to the USD community and is also where the Native Student Services office is located. During the tours, the groups were taken to numerous locations on campus, caught a glimpse of the new additions, and even had the chance to see what the dorm-life was like. After the tours were over, everyone gathered in the Muenster University Center where numerous booths were set-up that gave information on majors offered.

“The most exciting thing was the tailgating because we got to see how a college person celebrates and the awesome food,” said Pedro when asked what he enjoyed most about the trip.

For the most part, the trip was very enjoyable and the students all had a great time. Like Sir Francis Bacon said, “Knowledge is power,” and not a lot of Native Americans further their education beyond high school, or even complete high school, so we hope to see our students become intelligent individuals and outstanding leaders because the future is in their hands.