Personal Letter Page (Indicate educational goals, & employment plans)
I am avid outdoorsman by fishing, hunting all my life, I enjoy participating and volunteering at community events, and value our traditions guaranteed in the Umatilla and Yakama Treaty of 1855 with the US Government. I began my journey with dreams of becoming a fishery biologist for our tribe long ago as a little kid growing up on the Columbia River. One day the opportunity came to me through a letter from the Veterans Affairs (VA) explaining I have 48 months of higher educational benefits. I decided to take up the challenge of higher education beginning at a Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton, Oregon. Returning to college as an adult student has not been easy and I have had to take entry-level courses to brush up on my math and writing skills. For me personally in order to be successful I had to set small achievable goals, so I set out to make the Deans list, then the Presidents list both of which I have accomplished. I commit to school work like I do a job; I put in the extra efforts so that I understand concepts as opposed to just getting by. I work hard, have a steady schedule and strive to do the best I can in my course works. Since 2003, I did graduate with Associates of Arts Oregon Transfer with an Associates of Science Resource and applied to Oregon State University (OSU) and was accepted into one of the top Fishery and Wildlife (FW) colleges in the nation, a step closer to my ultimate goal of becoming a tribal FW biologist. I am very dedicated to my studies and traditional tribal values that serve as a link to my appreciation of our Natural Resources.
Currently, I am attending OSU studying FW Science through the College of Agricultural Sciences. I have adjusted to this higher level of academics and have sustained good student standings since I have been here. I always have been involved by helping or assisting FW and people in whatever way I could. At OSU the American Indian residents is very underrepresented, I wanted to get people together to support one another to do the best they can in higher education. With this thought in mind I applied for work in student government primarily with the Native American Longhouse on the OSU campus, and got the job of External Coordinator. A job to help offset my living expenses each month; my job helped me more than just working with other Indians, I learned more about other peoples cultures as well, an experience I can maintain and grow off of in my future endeavors. Furthermore, I got more involved in student clubs and organization and was voted in as the Vice President of the American Indians in Science & Engineering (AISES) OSU chapter, President of the Native American Student Association (NASA). I am still involved in memberships of the Fish & Wildlife Club (FWC), Minorities in Natural Resources and Related Sciences club (MANNRS), Natural Resources club, Range Club, and an active member of American Fisheries Society (AFS) as well as Oregon American Fisheries Society (OAFS). Being a part of these organizations has enlightened my education by allowing me to network with professionals as well as gaining critical learning experience. This experience has enlightened me to be involved in biological research projects, conservation efforts, more research on migration patterns of different fish stocks, be involved in commercial fisheries, telemetry, radio tagging, ecosystem assessments, stream ecology, phenomenon mortality rates, stream surveys, learning about osmoregulation, environmental conditions, parasites, diseases, contaminants and the threat of marine ecology, fishery biology, applied freshwater fish biology, stock assessments courses, population dynamics, and predation. These are my major’s course titles within this last year either from internships and working in live aquatic/terrestrial labs on campus through the Native American in Space Science (NAMSS) program on the OSU campus. This educational experience is what I would like to share with other people, especially the people who might be considering higher education. I have two research papers I have done while on internships 1) Columbia River InterTribal Fish Commission Intern titled: SURVEY FOR PRESSENCE OF THE INVASIVE SPECIES, Potamopygus antipodarum, IN THE UMATILLA, WALLA WALLA, JOHN DAY AND GRAND RONDE RIVER SYSTEMS, and 2) REU recipient titled: Temporal patterns of larval Ghost Shrimp (Neotrypaea californienss) in Yaquina Bay Newport Oregon using a continuous zooplankton sampling system. Both papers I am presenting at the American Indians in Science and Engineering National conference in Detroit Michigan. I do have plans to present both papers at various symposiums in the following months/years.
In summary, a serious barrier to achieving my educational goals is finding a good graduates program. A program that would help meets our living expenses and college costs; my resources are very limited and stressed. I am applying to find out more about graduate programs in higher education and scholarships to help meet my college costs and living expenses. I believe that looking at my transcripts and letters of recommendation demonstrate that I will make good use of your scholarship and I am worthy of your investments. Thank you for your time and consideration.
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