Chief Manuelito Scholars take aim at future

 

Of the nearly 60 students awarded the Chief Manuelito Scholarship last week, most have plans to study away from home - a big step, particularly for those headed to other parts of the country.

"My parents always push me here," said Isiah Plummer, who is set to attend Stanford University in the fall. "I'm kind of scared. They are not going to be hassling me. I'm going to have to do it all on my own."

Plummer, who plans to major in civil engineering, was one of 59 students awarded the prestigious tribal scholarship, which provides recipients with $7,000 per school year provided they keep their grades up. The students were honored at a ceremony July 17 at the Wildcat Den in Chinle.

The award is named after the tribal leader and education advocate who helped arrange the Treaty of 1868, by which the Navajo were freed from confinement in eastern New Mexico and allowed to return home.

The numbers of Manuelito scholars have fluctuated since 2001, when the Navajo Nation Council approved the requirement that all students must complete a course in Navajo language, culture or civics in order to be eligible.

Before then, when the only requirements were high GPA and ACT scores, the number of winners soared to about 140 a year. In 2001, the number dropped to 50. In 2007, the number of new Chief Manuelito Scholars was 72.

The scholarship tends to target high-achieving students with an eye toward eventually returning to the Navajo Nation.

Plummer is one of the few Ivy League-bound Manuelito scholars this year. He is also among the few leaving the Four Corners states.

"It's going to be different," he acknowledged.

"In high school it's pretty easy to get your work done," he said of balancing school and home. "Sometimes I have to stay up late nights to get it all done. It's all about sticking to it. Others put it off."

But in college, without the constant family support - "My grandma always picks on me to stay ahead of the game," he said - Plummer is nervous of the consequences.

Tiffany Oliver, his classmate at Monument Valley High in Kayenta, also won a Manuelito scholarship but was not as nervous about college. She plans to study exercise science at the University of New Mexico, and then pre-med and physical therapy.

"I don't think it will be a problem," she said. "My parents weren't really tough on me. I know myself, I'm pretty much self-disciplined."

The trick, Oliver said, is to set priorities and stand by them. Even when friends are knocking at the door.

Mostly, she's excited to set out on her own, "but I'm scared at the same time."

Plummer was excited to move to California. There's the new culture, the intellectual stimulation and, well:

"Ahh, the food over there is so good," he said, recalling his visit to the campus earlier this summer. "After four years of Monument Valley cafeteria food, it's going to be so much better."

Most of this year's Manuelito scholars are staying closer to the Four Corners.

Erelda Gene, originally from Blue Gap, Ariz., graduated from Winslow High and plans to study nursing at Northern Arizona University. While in high school, Gene took college courses and will enter NAU as a sophomore.

"I'm pretty much used to doing things on my own," she said. "I discipline myself."

Such was not always the case. Gene recalls that she was once a procrastinator, sometimes waiting until the night before to finish major projects. At one point, she had three projects due and hadn't started work on any by the weekend before they were due.

Gene finished the projects, but under much duress.

"I knew I had a lot of time to do it but I slacked off," she said. "I thought, 'I don't want to be like this ever again.'"

Kit James, the only Manuelito Scholar from Gallup High, also admits to moments of slackery. He has been accepted into the BA/MD program at UNM, under which he has a reserved spot in the School of Medicine once he completes his undergraduate studies in pre-med.

"It might be a problem going to Albuquerque from Pinedale," James said. "During my senior year, it was always hard to finish my homework."

Fortunately, UNM faculty closely monitor students in the BA/MD program to ensure they attend classes and complete assignments.

"If we miss a class, they send an e-mail," James said. "We are going to have a lot of watching eyes on us."

He finds the irony undeniable. Throughout high school, his teachers said students would have no one watching them in college, that all the work and motivation would have to come from within.

"(The BA/MD program) is kind of like cheating," he said.

Both Gene and James plan to return, Gene as an optometrist and James as a physician at IHS.

"Ever since middle school I've been going to IHS and see it's mostly military people or people there to work off their student loans," he said, referring to federal student loans for medical school that are forgiven if the graduate agrees to work in an underserved area for several years.

"I don't see the motivation to be there for two years then leave," James said. "I'm motivated by helping my own people. I want to make IHS a better place."

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