I grew up on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. I am Gros Ventre. And I’m also Omaha, from Nebraska.
Why did you choose Great Falls College?
To pursue my education in the substance abuse program and become a licensed addiction counselor… also it’s not a big university. So, you can get one on one tutoring, and you can be in smaller classrooms and be able to learn effectively.
What has your experience been as a nontraditional student?
It was hard, because of being out of school for so many years… But that’s why I like Great Falls College, because you had tutoring here at the Academic Success Center…where they were able to help me to get acclimated.
I think being a college student is financially difficult (&) taxing…I’m used to having a full-time job and then going from a full-time job to part-time and being a full-time student it’s a difficult task to navigate.
Are there other resources that you used while here?
Some of the resources that I used here are the Academic Success Center…, the food pantry helped a time or two when I was kind of low on food… the student advisors, they’re helpful in helping you pick your classes… and I.T. tech department too, helped me set up my computer in the beginning…I was thankful for that.
How’s it going so far?
So far, it’s going really well. At first, you know, being a non-traditional student, thinking I can’t get through this because of the learning curve of computers and technologies and stuff. But I’ve been learning a lot and I’m getting closer to my A.A. degree, so it’s going pretty smoothly now.
Did you have some college experience previously?
I was in school in 2010, 2011 at the University of South Dakota. And so about 12, 13 years before I came back to try this thing again … But that 12 years of difference in that timeframe was just hard to get familiarized again in the beginning. But once you get going it starts to go smoother.
Why do you want to be a licensed addictions counselor?
The addictions field interests me because I’m able to help people and guide them and to let them know that there’s a different way to live and that they can do this… I believe a lot of addicts … don’t live up to their full potential. And I’m hoping that I can be part of the process for them, guide them along, so that they will be able to reach your full potential in life.
What’s been your favorite class so far?
My favorite class so far was art and only because I didn’t like art, and I didn’t think I had talent to be an artist or draw anything…I really impressed myself as I was able to draw a few pieces that I didn’t think I could. And it just showed me that, you know, there’s more potential and in my life to be an artist if I wanted to… But I’m glad I took the class… But it was one of the impactful classes I took so far at Great Falls College.
What are your future plans?
Find an organization that will (let me) work in the addiction field so that I can be able to help and guide other people that are looking to better their lives in recovery…a lot of people, they need someone to believe in them, you know.
What does returning to school mean to you and your family?
Coming back to school after so many years. My family and friends they’re supportive…I had a couple of good friends that went to college a few years back and watching them graduate at Great Falls College at Four Seasons Arena, I was able to watch them get their degrees and that sparked an interest in me that maybe I can do this, you know, maybe I can go back to school and get my degree. And so, if it wasn’t for them two boys, two men I should say, getting their degrees and me being a part of that and watching them, that really helped me. It gave me the motivation to get back into school. And like they say, you know, you surround yourself with people that are successful and achieve a lot of good things. You’re going to be successful and achieve a lot of good things as well.
Talk about your role as the student ambassador for the Native American Enrichment Center.
The Native American Center and ambassador is very important for our native students to see that there is a native person that that looks like them and they can relate to them. And I think that’s important because when you come to a college, you know, we all have different groups, different diversity. So, there’s different cultures here. And then when you get a native person into the door, you know, we want them to feel comfortable and let them know that, hey, there’s someone that looks exactly like me and I can go and talk to…to have the center here for them is just a comfort like, you know, a home away from home where they can come and relax…and have a safe space for them to come in, and also the fellowship with other native students, you know, because in college you sometimes pass by each other, but you might say ‘hi’, but you don’t say anything else, But with this center and me being an ambassador, I can, I’m trying to do my best to bring them all together so that there’s a community there for them and they can support one another while they go through the process of the college.
The Native American Enrichment Center is getting a new space right?
We’re going to be moving into our new center down in front of the college here, which I think is very awesome because it’s right in front where people can come in, they can see us as opposed to coming all the way to the back of the college…And I’m working with the Vet Center coordinator, Chris Sawhill, and we’re going to collaborate together to get more students into our area.
When will that be?
We’ll be in the new center at the beginning of spring semester (2025).