Contrary to popular belief, college is not free for Native Americans. In fact, Native students face educational barriers from funding to the digital divide and racial prejudice. Partnership With Native Americans’ (PWNA) American Indian Education Fund (AIEF) program works to mitigate these issues for dedicated students like Michael of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony in Nevada. He was able to fund his dreams and improve his digital knowledge with help from AIEF’s Scholarship service and its collaboration with the Grow With Google (GWG) Indigenous Career Readiness Program.

Growing up on the reservation in Nevada, Michael shared it “was a little rough, to be honest.” Living in a remote area without many resources or attractions, most of his childhood involved passing the time with video games or riding bikes with friends and siblings. His childhood experiences and moving around schools for most of his life left him longing for more for both his family and community.

Learning about redlining – a discriminatory practice involving the denial of services to residents of certain geographic areas based on race or ethnicity – sparked his interest in policy and urban planning. “Policy is what affects our communities and everyday life.” Bringing that passion to his studies at Arizona State University (ASU), Michael’s favorite part of school has been seeing the different aspects of urbanization around the Phoenix metropolitan area. He was also pleased with how “there’s a good Native population at ASU” and his experiences in the SPIRIT program – a free program scheduled before the start of freshman year to help students from Indigenous communities adapt to college life in a new place.

Soon becoming the first in his family with a 4-year degree, Michael will graduate in May with his bachelor’s in public service and public policy with a focus on sustainability and urban planning. He’s enjoyed absorbing so much Native history, the exposure to new world views and “learning from other Natives” at school. Holding a part-time job at Foot Locker on top of a full course load in his final year, Michael is grateful for AIEF’s support. “The scholarship helps me afford other bills like housing and gas money to travel home for the holidays.”

Michael also uses everything he receives in his AIEF care packages, from the lotion and utensils to the little goodies he eats while studying. “I just used that conditioner this morning! It’s all much appreciated.” Sharing his proudest accomplishment of his current social justice internship working on Native law and voting rights, Michael’s digital training provided by the GWG Indigenous Career Readiness Program was most helpful and made AIEF stand out from any other scholarship. Frequently using Google Docs for both his academic and professional work, things like learning how to organize files in Google Drive, sorting by date for meeting notes and sharing permissions for important documents have come in handy. “I like how Google’s learning curve is not that steep, and it’s very universal and user-friendly.”

After graduation, Michael plans to bring his education back to his community. “I want to work for my tribe in some way and help with urban/land planning… We have to keep the fight going.” Extending a “thank you” to AIEF donors and GWG, Michael adds, “These scholarships mean the world to students like me; school wouldn’t be possible without them… It’s been good to see how those who don’t excel as much in school can also get scholarship opportunities like this. We’re only as strong as our weakest link, so everyone needs a chance.”

Donate to AIEF today to help more Native students like Michael pursue their dreams and improve life for future generations.