While only half of the Native students who start kindergarten go on to graduate high school, much less than half will attend college. With only 16% of Native Americans holding a college degree, many Indigenous students may struggle to find gainful employment and break the cycle of poverty. The American Indian Education Fund (AIEF), a program of Partnership With Native Americans (PWNA), helps by providing educational support for Native students like 20-year-old Ryan of the Tohono O’odham Nation.

Receiving a 2022-2023 scholarship from AIEF, Ryan is currently a remote freshman at Tohono O’odham Community College (TOCC) in Sells, Arizona. Primarily growing up and attending school in Tucson (roughly 65 miles from his home community), Ryan feels that he’s missed out on a lot of his heritage. “I grew up without knowing our language or much about our culture,” he shared, which is why he chose Tohono O’odham Studies as his major for his associate degree. Most of Ryan’s family is still in Sells, so he returns there a few times a year for various ceremonies and celebrations.

With him and his sister being the first to attend college in their family, Ryan simply shared, “I just love learning new things.” Although his original plan was to study pre-law, Ryan is weighing his options early on. He may continue his education with a bachelor’s degree in outdoor studies or pursue his newfound love for photography and psychology. Ryan excitedly pointed out that one of his proudest accomplishments in school so far is introducing himself in the language of Tohono O’odham.

In addition to four classes this semester, Ryan also works for Tucson Village Farm through an AmeriCorps program where he teaches agriculture to children, plants crops and helps with kitchen duties. Despite the small stipend he receives for travel and living expenses, Ryan tries to cut costs as often as possible by shopping at the local Pima Food Pantry and using his bike as his only form of transportation. “Everything is so expensive now, and sometimes I don’t know when I’ll have food again.”

Luckily, Ryan’s scholarship helps lower his out-of-pocket school expenses and reallocate even more funds for rent, groceries and other necessities. Thankful for AIEF’s support, Ryan said, “The AIEF scholarship and laptop really saved me.” While 30% of Native students lack computer or internet access at home, Ryan appreciates the new laptop he received at the start of the school year and shared that his old one would not have handled the software needed for his classes, especially in photography.

With potential careers in law, forestry and park services, photography or mental healthcare, there’s one thing Ryan is sure of: “My dream would be to come back to the reservation and open a rec center to teach our language and culture or show young kids how to survive in the wild… basically to bring what I’ve learned back to the community.” As many areas in the Tohono O’odham Nation are remote, he added, “income is low and houses are falling apart… it seems like kids don’t have much else to do.”

Extending a “thank you” to AIEF donors, Ryan added a quick message to Native students who want to pursue higher education: “I had a lot of anxiety when I started, but just do it and try new things. There are a lot of opportunities out there and you can’t get discouraged.”

Help resilient Native students like Ryan work to make their dreams a reality by donating to AIEF today