Bridges
If I weren’t in the Bridges program this summer I would be working either at Ken’s Tours, Shonto Chapter House, or at a clinic somewhere on the Navajo Reservation. Last semester, I planned to participate in this program during Summer 2016, to learn how to conduct research, earn college credits and money. Regardless of whether or not I was accepted into this program, I was still planning on working to earn money for this coming fall semester since I struggled financially while attending school last spring semester.
Last summer I worked at Ken’s Tours, a touring company at Lower Antelope Canyon located near Page, AZ. It was my first actual working experience and I enjoyed working as a gift shop attendant. The neat thing about it was that I began working there in a new building and had the experience of what it was like to start up a business, specifically a gift shop. Before there was a building, there was only a shack outside that was for signing up tourists to hike the slot canyon and was also a waiting area. This meant that both the tourists and workers had to wait in the heat until their tour time was called. I am thankful that I did not have to experience working in that kind of environment, but instead inside where there was an air conditioner. In the end, working there I have learned how to keep inventory, organize items, work with the register, and communicate with customers, including non-English speaking customers. So for this summer, I wouldn’t mind having to work there again. Another place that I considered working at was Shonto Chapter House along with my little sister. Shonto Chapter House is a tribal chapter house that hold meetings regarding to the community. During the summer they usually hire students to work doing numerous jobs both indoors and outdoors. Jobs such as office work including, shredding and organizing papers; cleaning restrooms, offices, and conference rooms, as well as yard work. Since, I was wanting to explore new things, I thought that this could also be another option. Then, I also thought of working as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) either at Inscription House Clinic or Lechee Clinic. In order to keep my certification that I received in March, I am required to work a certain amount of hours. So far, I have not worked as a CNA yet. Working during the school year was not an option for me because I do not want to deal with having a hectic working schedule. Since I haven’t been able to work, I thought that this summer would be an excellent time to log the hours I need. Since my Freshman year of high school I have been keeping myself occupied during the summers by attending summer school at Southern Utah University through a program called Upward Bound. Upward Bound is a TRiO program that helps guide high school students to attending a university. The summer school with Upward Bound was designed to allow the students to experience college life while also living in the university dorms. They also assigned the students to a job site and paid them weekly. Being a part of this program for three years, I have earned college credits and understood what was expected of a college student. After I graduated high school, I began working and now I am participating in the Bridges program. I enjoy learning new things that can contribute to my future career and doing so during the summer time is excellent and a great advantage. The most challenging aspect of attending college is the cost and prioritizing your time. In high school, I was accepted to attend my first college of choice, Northern Arizona University. However with the scholarships that I was awarded, I did not have enough money to attend even one semester. So I ended up attending Coconino Community College (CCC) in Page, AZ for the fall semester. During my fall semester, I did not have to worry about where to stay or not having enough money, because I continued living at my house in Inscription House, AZ. Inscription House is located on the Navajo Reservation and it is two hours south from Page, AZ. So I basically travelled to Page like I did throughout my school years before, except for the fact that I was no longer riding the bus. During my spring semester is when I actually had to worry finding a place to stay and my finances. I stayed at a hotel for three days a week, which was much cheaper than renting an apartment. The scholarship that I received for the spring only lasted until the last few months of the semester. Overall, I had to budget my money. It was helpful when my brother worked during the weekends and I occasionally did too. Another thing that I thought was challenging was having to prioritize the time that I spent working on my homework for each of my classes. Taking Statistics, Philosophy, Creative Nonfiction Writing, and Colorado Plateau Overview does not seem to be an overload. But all the difficult homework that I was assigned from my statistics class and having to do all my calculations from a software called ‘R’, took most of my time. The R software is used to create different types of charts, graphs, and solve equations; which was more difficult than just simply handwriting it. The challenging thing about ‘R’, is that it required a specific wording for all the commands that you make. Commands meaning what you want the software to calculate. Just one mistake of a character meant that you would have to start all over. In order to earn good grades, I went to weekly tutoring sessions to better understand what I was trying to achieve with each lesson I was taught. My tutor understood the content of the class however, he never learned what the R software was, so I had to learn it myself. I mostly took notes on how to do each command in class, reviewed the notes that were offered online, and I would also ask my teacher for additional help. Overall, I am so thankful that I am now working in Dr. Wilder’s lab. Choosing between this program and working, I chose this program without any doubts because I wanted to learn more about science research. Attending college definitely comes with challenging aspects and I overcame my challenges by receiving help from others. With the TRiO program that I participated in at CCC, I was able to work with a tutor and attend several workshops. This type of guidance, is available to all students at CCC and is very beneficial.
2 Comments
Atheina Claw
7/18/2016 10:14:57 pm
Get it girl, no for real, keep striving for what you want in life. I am so astonished by the way you carry yourself, working hard and doing whatever it takes to received the degree. I wish they offered some of these programs when I was in school, maybe they did but not at Chinle High School, I was supposed to graduate with my CNA in HS too, but your teacher for the class walked out on us the last semester, so we were never able to complete it. I do think it's important to get as much experience and just learning new ways to conduct research and gaining knowledge to better yourself. All this struggle and dedication will pay off, you will be an amazing woman doing what you love. I think it would be another awesome opportunity to encourage younger HS to enroll in the programs you did, so they may experience what you have. You are going to be a great leader your family and show that anything is possible. yeego shelly
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7/19/2016 08:40:54 pm
Hi Joshelle,
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August 2016
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