Student Focus

Getting Them to Believe
By Kelley Atherton
(from The Triplicate)

School helping students clear a cultural barrier The applications have been sent in, financial aid has been applied for. Now, some high school seniors play the waiting game.

American Indians historically  have a low college-going rate. For some, lingering negative feelings toward school stem from stories of white settlers who forced their culture on native peoples. Powell and Bowers are aware of those stories, but they have a strong drive to go to college and ultimately make a difference in the world.

“It’s where I always wanted to be,” Powell said, describing how at 13 she couldn’t wait to be 18, graduating from high school and going off to college.

Bowers and Powell both applied to the University of Oregon in Eugene and Southern Oregon University in Ashland — the latter is where both really want to go.

Believing it’s possible

According to the Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, 26 percent of American Indians ages 18-24 were enrolled in college in 2006 (the most recent year with data available). That statistic has doubled over the last 30 years. However, American Indians still constitute only 1.1 percent of undergraduates.

There could be any number of reasons as to why so few American Indians make it to college: it might not seem like a reality to some kids because no one in their family had gone before or they don’t want to leave their home, or it could be because no told them it was possible.

“Most are not raised in an environment where something was motivating them,” Powell said.

But while she dreamed about doing something profound with her life, she didn’t always believe college was going to happen — “I didn’t think I was going to go anywhere,” she said.

Geneva Wiki, director of KRECR, said a lot of people have to “see it to be believe it.”

“They don’t believe it’s possible until the first day of school,” she said.

Some barriers to college are perceived and others are real, Wiki said. Many Indians today have heard stories of relatives who were forcibly removed from their homes and sent to boarding schools where they couldn’t practice their culture or religion or even speak their native language.

“The legacy of the boarding school era still lingers in the hearts and minds of native people today,” Wiki said.

This not-so-distant reality has created a distrust of education. For many, they need to know it’s OK to be Indian in a place far away from their tribe and families. Wiki said that many don’t want to leave home because they have a strong support network there. Plus, the process of applying for college, signing up for classes and then paying for it can be overwhelming, she added.

Wiki said the school tries to prepare students for college as much as possible. In the school’s young life, the director and staff are still learning how to best help students not only fill out all the paperwork necessary, but to get them to overcome their fear and doubts.

Almost late to the post office

Bowers tells a story about how she was having second thoughts about college just as the application for the University of Oregon was due — the first one she had to send in.

“Oh well, I’ll just go to college some other time,” was her thought process at the time.

She fell ill — probably due to stress, she guessed — and was bed-ridden. The application was filled out, the essay written, Bowers said. She just couldn’t get out of bed until a phone call from Wiki pulled her out of the funk.

“I barely made it to the post office,” she said.

“The day came to turn applications in and they all had given up,” Wiki said. “We worked through it with everyone.”

When it came time to send off SOU packets a month later, the students were “much more process-driven,” Wiki said.

She’s told her students about how everything she has achieved in life — symbolized by all the plaques on her wall — almost didn’t happen for one reason or another.

“I explained how I almost didn’t get all these things that changed my life,” Wiki said. “By sharing those stories, they can dig deep and define their character.”

Helping themselves and others

Bowers wants to go into psychology and maybe become a social worker or work in juvenile justice. Powell said she wants to study child development. She’s currently volunteering with the Del Norte Youth Coalition for at-risk youth to get “familiar with that area.”

“I know the path I want to take,” Powell said. “I want to be somewhere I can make a positive influence.”

Bowers has lived in Eugene and Ashland before, but is currently living in Klamath with her “Grams.” She said she’s seen a lot of youths her age who are struggling.

“Some kids make the wrong decision and they’re in the system for life,” she said. “It would be cool to be the person to help those people.”

Bowers said she could have fallen into the wrong crowd. But, she’s watched her mother battle with her own demons.

“I had a parent who did drugs,” Bowers said. “I knew I didn’t want to be that.”

“She made some bad decisions and was never able to come back from it.”

So, in turn Bowers wants to help people who are struggling to help them become productive members of society.

“How can I help this person not be in this position again,” she said, “and not keep going down that path.”

There have been positive influences in her life as well. Bowers has a sister and a lot of cousins who went to college and became successful, she said, adding, “I want to do that too.”

Bowers is graduating from high school a year early and she and Powell are both enrolled in college classes through College of the Redwoods on top of their regular high school classes. One of the charter school’s missions is to help students meet the rigorous requirements to make it into a four-year university while earning up to an associate’s degree.

“It’s hectic and crazy,” Bowers said about how she manages her time. “When I go to college, I’ll just be in college.”

Paying your own way

Getting accepted into college is one thing. Getting the financial aid to pay for it is a weight that sits on many students’ shoulders. Bowers said she needs financial aid in order to afford college.

She applied for aid from the federal government and scholarships with the schools she applied to. But the big one Bowers is hoping to get is one of the Diversity Scholarships for under-represented minorities that would pay for all of her tuition and housing.

KRECR received a grant from the College Access Foundation to give scholarships to graduating seniors. The school’s board will be deciding how much each student will receive, up to $5,000. Wiki said that money is to help students pay for expenses outside of tuition.

All in all, despite the running back and forth between Klamath and Crescent City to take college classes, doing homework, filling out applications, writing college essays, taking the SATs and waiting next to the mailbox, “I feel pretty good about where I’m at,” Bowers said.