AISES Announces the “Together Towards Tomorrow (T3) Fund”

COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund for Native American/Indigenous College Students

In support of Native American/Indigenous undergraduate and graduate students who have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, AISES has created the “Together Towards Tomorrow (T3) Fund” to provide one-time scholarships of $500. Scholarships will be provided based upon available funding. To expedite funding, all funds will be paid directly to students.

AISES has been closely monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak and has recognized that with the closure of colleges and universities many students are facing serious challenges and have only a short window of time to make alternative living arrangements. Additionally, many students are now finding themselves unemployed for many reasons. First, due to campus closures, many students employed through work study have lost their jobs. Second, many students are now finding their summer internships are being canceled by companies and agencies across the nation, leaving students with no employment/income over the summer. Third and finally, with the massive closure of many businesses in the service industry across the nation, many students who were employed in that sector are now unemployed. In addition to unemployment, we also recognized that many Native students are facing substantial challenges with online classes as a result of not owning computers and/or losing access to campus computer labs. This is further compounded by the fact that many students do not have internet access at home because of the associated costs with internet service. While all of these challenges are complex, we know that providing students some emergency funding will go a long way in helping them address their unique situations. Further, we know timing is important – students need help now.

AISES has set an initial goal of raising a minimum of $5,500 before accepting applications and making awards. Once the initial goal is met, applications will be reviewed and awarded on a rolling basis. Each time the T3 Fund reaches a balance of $5,500 (or greater in increments of $5,500), AISES will make awards. Awards are granted on a first come, first serve basis to those who meet all of the qualifications. When funds are available, it is anticipated awards will be made within one week. AISES will begin accepting applications on its website upon meeting initial fundraising goals. Visit the AISES website: https://www.aises.org/t3  or sign up here: http://aises.informz.net/AISES/pages/Sign_Up_Page to receive regular updates on this and other AISES programs.

Private foundations, corporations, businesses, or Tribes interested in making a contribution to the Fund should contact Kellie Jewett-Fernandez, Chief Development Officer, at kjfernandez@aises.org for more information. Individuals may make donations via AISES secure donation portal: http://www.aises.org/donate/t3 using a credit card. Individuals interested in contributing may also contact Montoya Whiteman, Senior Director of Marketing, at mwhiteman@aises.org for additional information. Contributions may also be sent directly to AISES:

American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES)
4263 Montgomery Blvd. NE, Suite 200
Albuquerque, NM 87109
Please be sure to indicate that your contribution is for the T3 Fund.

Contributions will be subject to a one-time 10% administrative fee to help offset the cost of bank fees and staff time associated with this program. As a 501c3 Public Charity, AISES relies on contributions, sponsorships, and grants to support its mission. Our actual administrative overhead is approximately 19%; however, we recognize the critical need for this assistance and are thus providing in-kind staff time to make this program possible. Contributions to the T3 Fund are tax deductible to the extent the law allows.

Students with questions can contact AISES at scholarships@aises.org.
As we anticipate receiving a large number of applicants, AISES will not be accepting any phone calls regarding the T3 Fund.

American Indian College Fund Names Sandra Boham, President of Salish Kootenai College, the 2019-20 Tribal College and University Honoree

The American Indian College Fund named Sandra Boham, President of Salish Kootenai College, Pablo, Montana, as its Tribal College and University Honoree of the Year. Boham was chosen for the award for her outstanding contributions to American Indian higher education. She will receive a $1,200 honorarium from the American Indian College Fund, which was sponsored by the Adolph Coors Foundation.

Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) serve remote reservation communities where residents would find earning a higher education to be difficult, if not impossible, without them, while also growing a pool of professionals in careers that tribal communities desperately need.

Salish Kootenai College (SKC), located on the Flathead Indian Reservation in northwest Montana, will provide a four-year nursing curriculum beginning in the fall of 2020, thanks to Boham and nursing department director Dr. Lisa Harmon. SKC is the first TCU to offer a four-year Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. Culturally responsive nursing training helps nurses give health care with better outcomes in their tribal communities, where people experience higher rates of health disparities.

The recent outbreak of COVID19 illustrates how vital tribal colleges and curricula like SKC’s nursing program are to their communities. “2020 is the year of the nurse,” Boham said.

Boham’s career in education started with her role as an adult basic education teacher on her home reservation, born of her desire to work in the realm of social justice, knowing that education creates opportunities. But it wasn’t her first job that hooked her. Rather, it was her first experience with SKC as a student herself.

“I first became interested in higher education in high school because my parents didn’t go to college. They didn’t have the opportunity. My mom is from the reservation and dad is from Southeast Kentucky, where his path was going to be in the military or coal mining. He went into military. They both wanted me to go to college. In 1977 Salish Kootenai College started and was holding classes.”

“‘Let’s try this together and see what you think,’ my mom said. It started with taking night classes with her, and that got me excited about higher education,” Boham said.

Boham graduated from St. Ignatius High School in 1978. In the winter of 1979, while she was attending the University of Montana as a freshman, SKC was looking for someone to teach adult education classes.

“I loved it because it served a social justice issue at the time: I was helping to increase the very low graduation rates in my community. We had a lot of students interested in getting their GEDs. For every student that was told college wasn’t for them and had barriers put in place, I felt by going into education I could help break down those barriers,” Boham said.

After working for the Tribal Work Experience Program (TWEP), Boham gained a wide array of experience learning about the tribal college from the ground up. She became the college’s registrar and the director of admissions. She also served as the assistant director of Upward Bound and Gear Up and worked in financial aid before pursuing other education career opportunities both outside of and in the state of Montana with a variety of learning communities. She worked at the Northern California Indian Development Council in Eureka, California where she taught Indian Studies at Humboldt State and the College of the Redwoods. She rounded out her education experience back in Montana serving students from K-12 as the Director of Indian Education for the Great Falls School District in Montana, and at the Department of Corrections as the Education Director for women.

After returning home to SKC, in 2013-14 she was named Academic Vice President and later Acting President in 2015, until she assumed the role of president in February 2016.

“When I was 19 or 20 years old, I might have said someday I want to be president, but I really wanted to be the director of student services. I really wanted to serve students. Over the course of my experience I found I was slowly putting together a foundation and was getting ready for this. But I don’t think you are ever ready. There is no training ground for presidents. The truth of the matter is that when they hired our President Robert De Poe, no way would I have imagined that he would have passed away in two years.”

“That was a tough time and after that turmoil, I became president in part to provide some stability at the college. I think my relationship to the college and being able to understand the school helped me. I learned a lot from Joe McDonald and Gerald Slater—they were responsible for creating SKC. In the early days there was no money and no funding, but they thought there should be a college and they made it happen. Gerry was a school counselor and Joe was a principal and had his doctorate in educational leadership. I learned about the goal of the TCUs and the mission of the institutions from Joe. That helped because TCUs are grounded in their role and mission,” Boham said.

Boham is looking forward to many challenges, such as creating a sustainable funding system, which is more important than ever as educated Natives are needed to ensure a strong Indian Country. “We have a foundation at SKC and we have worked to build that over the past few years, because as funding gets more difficult to obtain, I want to make sure there is a safety net to keep the college on solid ground. Sustainability and solvency are important, especially as colleges go through rising and declining enrollment which is somewhat cyclical. You don’t want to be driven by that.”

Boham also wants to launch an initiative to create affordable, safe housing for students. “The worse thing we want to hear is that students want to come to school but can’t find housing,” she said. The Hope Center’s national 2019 Tribal Colleges and Universities #RealCollege shows that 30% of TCU students were homeless 30 days prior to the survey, nearly double the rate for other college students.

Also on Boham’s list is expanding SKC’s curriculum to master’s degree programs. “We have offered to partner with other institutions to hold these programs at the college. Education and natural resources programs are most critical in our community.”

As she grows the college’s capacity, Boham said she continues to grow, thanks to the support of other TCU presidents. “I depend on fellow TCU presidents hugely…I am always asking questions. The TCU presidents are incredibly gracious. I meet quarterly with the Montana TCU President Association, but we correspond via email almost daily.”

It is not just other presidents that give her support. Boham said, “There is no way you can be a TCU president without a dedicated team of faculty and staff. Without that it would be a tough job. I am lucky because of the team of people we work with here. We love our students and I am amazed every day by them and their dreams. I have no doubt that they will be solid leaders going forward. Our faculty and staff are always coming up with ideas and supporting each other with their learning as well as supporting me and my staff and our students. It takes all of us to succeed.”

About the American Indian College Fund—Founded in 1989, the American Indian College Fund has been the nation’s largest charity supporting Native higher education for 30 years. The College Fund believes “Education is the answer” and provided $7.72 million in scholarships to 3,900 American Indian students in 2018-19, with nearly 137,000 scholarships and community support totaling over $221.8 million since its inception. The College Fund also supports a variety of academic and support programs at the nation’s 35 accredited tribal colleges and universities, which are located on or near Indian reservations, ensuring students have the tools to graduate and succeed in their careers. The College Fund consistently receives top ratings from independent charity evaluators and is one of the nation’s top 100 charities named to the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance. For more information about the American Indian College Fund, please visit www.collegefund.org.

Photo: Sandra Boham, President of Salish Kootenai College, Pablo, Montana.