Wingate High student receives encouragement from President Obama

FORT WINGATE, N.M.

When Sean Kinsel, a junior at Wingate High School, wrote a letter to the White House back in April, he got the attention of the nation’s leader and more than just a letter back.

Kinsel also got the chance to address the state of education on the Navajo Nation to President Barrack Obama when he drafted a letter back in April. But first he had to draft the letter.

He knew what points he wanted to make to the president.

“I wanted to write him about education and scholarships,” he said.

Once he got the points down on paper, he wanted to tailor the letter to make sure they came across clearly.

For that, he turned to friends and teachers. Rayne Silversmith, a junior, recalled when Kinsel asked him to help with the letter. Study hall turned into a brainstorming session.

“During our study hour time, I didn’t really have anything to do, and I just started reading Sean’s letter,” Silversmith said. “We were just reading it, and we just started adding some other ideas.”

The final draft gave a general overview of some of the issues Kinsel saw in the education system around him, asked the president to help more Navajo Nation students get to college through scholarships, and asked for some words of encouragement from the president to students at the school.

Teachers said Kinsel, a special education student with a learning difference, remained extremely protective of the letter, wrote it by hand rather than on a computer, and mailed out the only copy he created.

“Throughout what he was saying it wasn’t really focused on Sean. It was, How can we get the word out to my peers that education is important?” said Grace Benally, head teacher.

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