Student Stories - Jamie

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STUDENT STORIES Jamie (Muscogee [Creek] Nation) Jamie is pursuing her Bachelor of Science in biology from the College of Muscogee Nation and hopes to educate her people on the importance of local, sustainable agriculture and stewarding a healthy relationship with the environment.

“I want to show the whole community how to appreciate and take care of nature.”

Jamie recognizes no limits to her future possibilities — not even to the Earth’s gravity. “I really want to do botany work with NASA,” she says, “to identify nutritious plants that can be grown in space as food for future astronauts.” Some of Jamie’s other career ambitions are more literally and ﬁguratively grounded. As both a biologist-in-training and a Native person, she has a longstanding interest in building sustainable food supplies for Native communities. “Many tribes suffer hardships on their reservations,” she says, “and I would like to help these struggling tribes build up the nutritional value of their food.” Jamie envisions a locally managed and responsibly produced food supply that reduces incidences of chronic diseases like diabetes mellitus while contributing to long-term self-sufﬁciency for Native people. She hopes to establish a co-op staffed by tribal members that would offer free food, clothing, education, haircuts, and other daily needs for the community. “This would allow people to work off their debts and build deeper connections between people of different generations,” she says. Jamie has built an impressive list of accomplishments, maintaining a 4.0 GPA while serving as secretary of the student senate and as president of the College of Menominee Nation chapter of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society. In her spare time, she is working towards establishing community gardens for various tribes. Jamie would like to express her gratitude for the generous support of College Fund donors: “Thank you so much for helping me achieve my dreams. Without these scholarship opportunities, I would not be able to reach my goals or help the Native community. I appreciate your willingness to help all Native American students achieve their higher education.”