Expanding Horizons

For the adventurous, traveling before graduating high school or college may seem unattainable. The Native Youth Community Project (NYCP) as well as Upward Bound, are programs in Montana that provide students with a variety of real world experiences. The programs are available to enrolled first or second descendants of any tribe, and for both Polson and Ronan high school students. 

Matt Bishop is the NYCP instructor at Polson high school, who receives a list of eligible students that have an average or higher GPA. He then contacts those students to see if they are interested, and the final step is filling out the proper paperwork. Everything, including flight tickets, lodging, and food are free for students because the program is grant funded.

Morgan Maccione is an NYCP and Upward Bound instructor out of Salish Kootenai College, who meets with students to help them create resumes if they are searching for a job. She also tutors them with the goal of college and career readiness. By attending  college fairs to see what schools are offering,“I know what my students are interested in pursuing. So if I see a school that I know has a cosmetology program, or one with a mechanical engineering program, then I would get that information for them,” said Maccione.

Upward Bound is a federal program that Salish Kootenai College works with in the summer. In this program students meet with their advisors on weekends for seven weeks. They visit colleges, do community service, and participate in team building activities. The final week of the program is the trip where students get to partake in cultural activities such as visiting museums, watching plays, and viewing historical monuments. In the past they have traveled to Washington and California. This summer, they went to Oregon and Washington.

NYCP students this past summer traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, Washington D.C, Billings, and Yellowstone National Park in Montana. Senior Drake Kennmille, who attended all of the trips, said, “I got home from Oregon, stayed the night, woke up, and then got on a plane to DC.” His favorite part was a tour of the Ivy league school Dartmouth College, which was given by Polson alumni, Wica Brown and Lexi Gauthier. Kenmille recommends the program because he had fun with people that he doesn’t normally talk to. 

Kenmille said after the tour of Dartmouth College, he felt inspired to attend his two free years at Salish Kootenai College and then will apply to Dartmouth. Programs like NYCP and Upward Bound provide the resources to help students explore future opportunities and physically interact with their options, giving a sense of confidence in their choice and even changing viewpoints on previous plans.