Lakota students visit SDSU
LaToya, Shay, Brittney, Jacob and Walker visited South Dakota State University with Pam for the Summer Experience.

Every year, Lakota (Sioux) high school students from St. Joseph's Indian School visit colleges and technical schools in the region to help them prepare for educational and career pursuits after high school.

Pam, St. Joseph’s Transition Specialist, recently took five students to South Dakota State University (SDSU) and spent a week visiting various departments on campus and participating in activities with students in the Upward Bound program.

“We began our Summer Experience program with SDSU last year,” said Pam. “It’s a great opportunity for our students to become familiar with the campus. The experience also offers insight to the programs available for study and the careers they lead into.”

High school juniors Walker and LaToya and sophomores Brittney, Jacob and Shay visited departments like Nutrition/Food Science/Hospitality, Dairy and Equine Sciences, Army ROTC, Nursing, Engineering, Journalism/Photography and Parks/Recreation.

Lakota students visit SDSU
At the Equine Sciences barn, students had hands-on experience with horses, learning about grooming techniques and other care.

In addition to visiting various departments on campus, students also visited Admissions and learned about the university’s multi-cultural program.

Ron, SDSU’s Native American Advisor, spent many years at St. Joseph's Indian School as a houseparent.

St. Joseph’s students visited SDSU at the same time as students with the Upward Bound program, which provides fundamental support to participants in their preparation for college entrance.

Upward Bound

Upward Bound focuses on high school students from

  • low-income families;
  • families in which neither parent holds a bachelor's degree; 
  • low-income, first-generation military veterans who are preparing to enter post-secondary education.

In the evenings, everyone participated in academic activities like the Upward Bound Olympics. Jacob, one of St. Joseph’s sophomores, won first place in the Brain Busters competition out of more than 300 high school students!

In addition to the Summer Experience at SDSU, Rozlyn, a junior, visited the University of Minnesota at Morris. She and Pam spent a weekend on the campus, visiting various departments and meeting professors.

 

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