News_Jan10

A reminder to Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma high school students: February 3, 2010 is the sign-up deadline for Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) students to apply for FREE college test preparation under a unique agreement the CNO’s Scholarship Advisement Program (SAP) has made with Kaplan, the national leader for test preparation services. A new simplified application is available, but interested CNO students should act now.

For selected CNO students SAP will the pay the fee to take Kaplan’s online college test preparation course for either the ACT or the SAT college admission test. The Kaplan online SAT and ACT online test preparation products SAP is offering are normally priced at $99.00.

Students who are high school freshman through seniors and enrolled in the CNO’s Scholarship Advisement Program (SAP) are eligible to apply for SAP’s free offer to take either of Kaplan’s online programs. Students must submit SAP’s application for Kaplan online test preparation before February 3, 2010.

Enrollment in SAP is free to Choctaw students and can be completed online at SAP’s Web site www.choctawnation-sap.com. SAP’s simplified Kaplan application can be downloaded here or from the ACT Preparation page on SAP's Web site or at the end of this news brief.

“The evidence is clear that practice and preparation nearly always improve college entrance test scores,” says Gregory E. Pyle, Chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. “Our agreement with Kaplan will help CNO college-bound students increase these scores.”

Raising a test score by 10 percent or more can be a life-changing event resulting in significantly better opportunity for both financial aid and college acceptance. College entrance tests like the ACT and SAT can be taken as often as a student wishes with only the highest score being counted. Students who take tests multiple times almost always show improvement. But students who also take test preparation courses score even higher according to Kaplan.

The Kaplan ACT/SAT online course allows students to:

Study wherever and whenever they want—24/7
Get online email help
Stay awake and engaged with dynamic, interactive online lessons
Stay focused with a custom lesson plan based on diagnostic performance

Kaplan’s online course structure includes:

Diagnostic Exam to gauge current strengths and weaknesses
Targeted preparation with a customized plan of attack
More than 30 interactive lessons
Ability to practice on four full-length Practice Tests
Lesson Book and flashcards

“The Scholarship Advisement Program is offering the Kaplan program in order to boost scores for our students,” says Program Director, Jo McDaniel. “We want to give our college-bound scholars the best chance for opportunities and scholarships from the best possible schools. For most students, few things are important than boosting an ACT or SAT test score,” she says. Students are urged to apply early and to email SAP for more information at scholarshipadvisement@choctawnation.com.

CLICK HERE to download SAP's simplified Kaplan Online Application.

University of North Carolina's Project Uplift

Lets High School Juniors Experience a College Life

Email SAP NOW for Nomination

Project Uplift is a special program from the University of North Carolina’s (UNC) Diversity and Multicultural Affairs office that lets high-achieving high school students experience college life at UNC’s Chapel Hill campus if they are a current junior or rising senior. The program, now in its fourth decade, is designed for under-served communities such as African Americans, American Indians and other diversity segments as well as first-generation college students or students from disadvantaged backgrounds. After a $10 application fee and transportation costs to campus, Project Uplift covers all expenses including meals, room and program materials.

The program is seeking students who rank in the top 25% of their class and are enrolled in advanced placement courses, foreign language and advanced mathematics and show active involvement in extracurricular and leadership activities.

Project Uplift students spend two days visiting classes, meeting with faculty and staff, interacting with Carolina students and participating in cultural and social activities. This year’s program will be held on May 20-22, May 27-29, June 3-5, and June 10-12.

To participate in the program Project Uplift students must be nominated either by their high school counselor or another entity. For Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) students the best nomination is likely from the CNO’s Scholarship Advisement Program (SAP).“Interested CNO students should email SAP now at collegeprep@choctawnation.com,” says CNO Chief Gregory E. Pyle. Nominations must be received online by February19, 2010 and all students wishing to be nominated must first complete a MyUNC portal at the schools Web site: http://my.unc.edu/dt.

To learn more about Project Uplift, watch a slide show of 2009 sessions at http://www.unc.edu/diversity/prospective/uplift.html or watch the YouTube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOwB23URpnE.

Venture Scholars - Networking Tool for

Math and Science Diversity Scholars

Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) high school and college undergraduate scholars with an interest in Math or Science should check out the Ventures Scholars Program. Ventures Scholars is a national membership program designed to help underrepresented and first-generation college-bound students interested in pursuing math and science-based careers build an online linking network of information, resources, and opportunities that will help them successfully pursue their career goals.

The program collaborates with colleges, universities, professional associations, and organizations nationwide and offers a variety of tools to link students to the partners' information, resources, and opportunities. The program also invites parents/guardians and guidance counselors to receive these resources, too.

More than 100 leading universities are members of the Ventures Scholars undergraduate program. Ventures Scholars students may communicate directly with member institution admissions officers and provide up-to-date information about academic and personal accomplishments. Students simply click on the inquiry form located on each member institution's profile page and enter a username and password to complete a form that is submitted to the Ventures Scholars program.

CNO students who meet Venture Scholars requirements should email the Choctaw Scholarship Advisement Program (SAP) at collegeprep@choctawnation.com to be nominated for the program.

College/Graduate Horizons - February

Enrollment Deadline

Crash Courses Prepare Native Students for College or Graduate School

February 1 and February 26, 2010 are respective enrollment deadlines for first and second rounds of College Horizons and Graduate Horizons - four to five day crash courses held each summer to help prepare Native Americans for college or graduate school.

College Horizons and Graduate Horizons are among the most important summer programs for Native American students, according to Gregory E. Pyle, Chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO). “The achievement statistics are impressive. Ninety-nine percent of College Horizon alumni go directly to college and 85% graduate within five years,” says Chief Pyle. “I strongly encourage all CNO students and parents to take advantage of this special opportunity for Native American students.”

College Horizons 2010 will be a five-day course held at three locations: University of Hawaii (Hilo, Hawaii), Lawrence University (Appleton, Wisconsin) and University of Puget Sound (Tacoma, Washington). Graduate Horizons 2010 is a four-day course held at Arizona State University (Tempe, Arizona). Cost for each program is $200 plus airfare. Financial aid is available to participants for program fee and airfare by filling out the aid section on the application. Complete details for each program, including eligibility and application information, can be found on the Web at www.collegehorizons.org.

College Horizons is a non-profit group organized in 1998 by Dr. Whitney Laughlin, at the Native American Preparatory School. Its mission is to encourage and facilitate the education of Native American young people. College Horizons, is a five-day “crash course” in preparing for college. Students learn about a broad variety of colleges and universities, and establish personal relationships with admission representatives and college counselors that continue long after the program is over. At each site, 90 students from across the nation work with over 70 expert college counselors and college admission officers to help students:

Select 10 suitable colleges to apply to
Write memorable essays and create a resume
Complete winning applications, including The Common Application
Become a test-prep “whiz kid” learning test-preparation strategies for the ACT and SAT.
Navigate the financial aid/scholarship jungle, complete a preliminary Free Application For Student Aid (FAFSA)
Attend Informational Sessions & a College Fair consisting of over 35 colleges and universities.

Graduate Horizons is a four-day "crash course" for Native American college students, master's students, and college graduates in preparing for graduate school (master's, Ph.D. or professional school). Faculty, admissions officers and deans from 40 graduate and professional schools and representing hundreds of graduate disciplines will help students:

Select suitable graduate programs to apply to and consider potential career paths
Complete quality applications and resumes
Write effective statements of purpose and memorable personal statements
Receive test-taking strategies on the GRE, GMAT, LSAT & MCAT
Learn how to finance your graduate education
Explore special issues and strategies for Native students’ success in graduate school
Develop relationships and network with faculty and student professionals

Over 1,550 students have attended College Horizons. Per site, approximately 50 Tribal Nations are represented from over 20 states; 40% are first generation college students; 42% receive need-based financial aid; 70% are female and 30% are male participants. Approximately 40% of College Horizon’s faculty counselors are Native American. Between 2007 and 2009, 37 College Horizon alumni have been named Gates Millennium Scholars.

In 2009, seven Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma students participated in College Horizons.

Choctaws Offer Free Online College Test Preparation

Unique Agreement with Kaplan – College Test Prep Leader

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) is offering selected college-bound students free online test preparation instruction from Kaplan, a national leader for test preparation services. High school freshman through senior students enrolled in the CNO’s Scholarship Advisement Program (SAP) may begin using one of two Kaplan online test preparation products (either ACT or SAT) beginning March 2010. Enrollment in SAP is free to Choctaw students and parents.

“The evidence is clear that practice and preparation can improve college entrance exam test scores,” says Gregory E. Pyle, Chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. “Our agreement with Kaplan will help all CNO college-bound students improve their ACT or SAT test scores.”

Improving a test score by 10 percent or more has positive impact on both financial aid as well as college acceptance chances. Higher test scores are generally needed to attend the nation’s best colleges. College entrance tests like the ACT and SAT can be taken as often as a student likes with only the highest score being counted. Students who take tests multiple times almost always show improvement. But students who also take test preparation courses score even higher according to Kaplan.

One example of how test preparation improves scores is CNO student Trent Tolbert, now a junior at Dartmouth University in Hanover, NH. Tolbert boosted his ACT score from 26 to 30 by taking the test multiple times as well as by taking the Kaplan program. Tolbert says his higher ACT score helped him earn acceptance at the Ivy League school.

The CNO’s agreement begins March 2010 for Kaplan’s SAT and ACT Online products. Kaplan’s online courses are self-paced programs with lessons and practice materials. Courses allow students to study whenever they want – 24/7. Online email help is also included. Interactive online lessons are provided as is a custom lesson plan based on a student’s diagnostic performance. The Kaplan course structure includes:

Diagnostic Exam to gauge current strengths and weaknesses
Targeted preparation with a customized plan of attack
More than 30 interactive lessons
Ability to practice on four full-length Practice Tests
Lesson Book and flashcards

CNO students must be enrolled in the Scholarship Advisement Program in order to take advantage of the Kaplan online offer. Students not enrolled in SAP should contact the program offices at 1-800-522-6170 or visit SAP’s Web site – www.choctawnation-sap.com. Some restrictions and requirements apply. Students are urged to apply early and to email SAP for more information at collegeprep@choctawnation.com.

Free Kaplan Online Test Prep Deadline is Near

February 3, 2010 is the deadline for Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) students to submit applications to take advantage of a unique agreement the CNO's Scholarship Advisement Program (SAP) has made with Kaplan, the national leader for test preparation services. For selected CNO students SAP will the pay the fee to take Kaplan's online college test preparation course for either the ACT or the SAT college admission test. The Kaplan SAT and ACT online test preparation products SAP is offering are normally priced at $99.00.

Students who are high school freshman through seniors and enrolled in the CNO's Scholarship Advisement Program (SAP) are eligible for SAP's free offer to take either of Kaplan's online e-programs. Students must submit SAP's application for Kaplan online test preparation before February 3, 2010. Enrollment in SAP is free to Choctaw students and can be completed online at SAP's Web site www.choctawnation-sap.com. SAP's Kaplan application can be downloaded here or from the ACT Preparation page on SAPs Web site.

"The evidence is clear that practice and preparation nearly always improve college entrance test scores," says Gregory E. Pyle, Chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. "Our agreement with Kaplan will help CNO college-bound students increase their ACT or SAT test scores." Raising a test score by 10 percent or more can be a life-changing event resulting in significantly better opportunity for both financial aid and college acceptance. College entrance tests like the ACT and SAT can be taken as often as a student wishes with only the highest score being counted. Students who take tests multiple times almost always show improvement. But students who also take test preparation courses score even higher according to Kaplan.

The Kaplan ACT/SAT online course allows students to:

Study wherever and whenever they want-24/7
Get online email help
Stay awake and engaged with dynamic, interactive online lessons
Stay focused with a custom lesson plan based on diagnostic performance

Kaplan's online course structure includes:

Diagnostic Exam to gauge current strengths and weaknesses
Targeted preparation with a customized plan of attack
More than 30 interactive lessons
Ability to practice on four full-length Practice Tests
Lesson Book and flashcards

The Scholarship Advisement Program is offering the Kaplan program in order to boost scores for our students," says Program Director, Jo McDaniel. "We want to give our college-bound scholars the best chance for opportunities and scholarships from the best possible schools. For most students, few things are important than boosting an ACT or SAT test score," she says. Students are urged to apply early and to email SAP for more information at scholarshipadvisement@choctawnation.com.

CLICK HERE to download SAP's Kaplan Application.

SAP’s Top Summer Program Recommendations

Now is the Time to Apply

“So, what did you do this summer?” It’s a question of critical importance for any high school student with college ambitions. One of the best responses, according to Gregory E. Pyle, Chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO), is to have participated in a leading summer program aimed at preparing Native American high school students for college and ongoing success. “It’s not too soon to begin planning for college preparation summer programs,” Chief Pyle says. “Early winter is the time to fill out applications to meet many of the best program deadlines.”

The CNO’s Scholarship Advisement Program (SAP) has identified five summer programs with Native American emphasis that are highly recommended for CNO students.

College and Graduate Horizons

College Horizons is a non-profit group organized in 1998 to help and encourage the education of Native American young people. College Horizons and Graduate Horizons are four to five-day “crash courses” to prepare for college or graduate/professional schools. Students learn about a broad variety of colleges and universities, and establish personal relationships with admission representatives and college counselors that continue long after the program is over. Cost for each program is $200 plus airfare. Financial aid is available to participants for program fee and airfare by filling out the aid section on the application. Complete details for each program, including eligibility and application information, can be found on the Web at www.collegehorizons.org. Deadlines for applications for 2010 programs are February 1 and February 26 depending on the session requested. In 2009, seven CNO students attended College Horizons.

LEAD (Leadership Education and Development) Program – in Business

A national partnership of America's top corporations and business schools, the Leadership Education and Development Program encourages outstanding high school juniors from diversity backgrounds to pursue careers in business. Since 1980, LEAD's Summer Business Institutes have graduated more than 7,000 aspiring leaders, 65 percent of whom currently work in the business world.

Every summer, for three to four weeks, students live on campus and participate in interactive classes, site visits, and one-on-one sessions conducted by the nation's leading business school professors and corporate executives. The curriculum covers a wide range of fields including: marketing, accounting, finance, economics, computer science, and ethics. Over 40 major U.S. corporations and foundations support LEAD including Goldman Sachs, Google, Pfizer, Credit Suisse, and Apple.” Details on program eligibility and an application can be found at http://business.leadprogram.org/. Deadline for LEAD 2010 applications is February 5.

WINS – Washington Internships for Native Students

The Washington Internships for Native Students (WINS) offers Native American students the opportunity to build leadership skills while living, studying, and interning in Washington, DC. WINS offers qualified students full scholarships funded by American University and sponsoring organizations. Students gain professional work experience through interning at a federal agency or private firm, take courses focusing on Native American public policy concerns, and enjoy engaging in social and cultural extra-curricular activities.

Participants gain knowledge, skills, academic credit, and practical work experience. While working full-time for a government agency or private firm in an academically supervised internship, students earn six credits in the summer term. American University provides full academic support for the internship and additional course work in the evenings. In addition to making connections in DC, students meet other Native American students from across the country through the full support of a multi-cultural campus environment.

This program is offered free of charge to eligible students through a scholarship grant funded by American University and sponsoring organizations. More detailed information on WINS can be found on their Web site at http://www1.american.edu/wins/. Deadline for summer program internship application is February 1.

Native American Congressional Internships

The Morris K. Udall Foundation provides a 10-week summer internship in Washington, D.C., for Native American students who wish to learn more about the federal government and issues affecting Indian Country. The internship is fully funded and the Foundation provides round-trip airfare, housing, per diem for food and incidentals, and a stipend at the close of the program.

Interns work in congressional and agency offices where they have opportunities to research legislative issues important to tribal communities, network with key public officials and tribal advocacy groups, experience an insider's view of the federal government, and enhance their understanding of nation-building and tribal self-governance.

The Foundation awards Internships on the basis of merit to Native Americans who:

Are college juniors or seniors, recent graduates from tribal or four-year colleges, or graduate or law students
Have demonstrated an interest in fields related to tribal public policy, such as tribal governance, tribal law, Native American education, Native American health, Native American justice, natural resource protection, cultural preservation and revitalization, and Native American economic development.

Complete information is available on the Web site at http://www.udall.gov/OurPrograms/NACInternship/NACInternship.aspx. The deadline for 2010 applications is January 29th.

December

Choctaws Launch Online Scholarship Database

Customized Database gives CNO Students and Parents
Online Access to Thousands of Transportable Scholarships.

Every Opportunity Open to CNO Students Who Meet Program Criteria.

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) has always believed strongly in education and was the first American Indian tribe to establish schools in Oklahoma. This month, the CNO will announce another Oklahoma Indian education “first,” according to Gregory Pyle, Chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

The CNO is offering its students – and their parents – free online access to a unique Web based database of scholarship, loan, grant, award, and internship funding opportunities that has been custom-designed for CNO members. “Through a unique partnership arrangement with Reference Service Press, the nation’s leader in researching financial aid opportunities for diversity candidates, we firmly believe we are offering Choctaw students free Internet access to the best possible scholarship database,” says Chief Pyle. “The database is customized for CNO students and parents. It will access thousands of transportable scholarships a student can take to any school. And every opportunity in the database is open to CNO students who meet a program’s criteria. I strongly urge all CNO college-bound students, graduate students, and their parents to take advantage of this program,” Chief Pyle adds.

Join CNO's Scholarship Advisement Program, Then E-mail SAP for Free Database Access

Beginning in December 2009, CNO members can get free access to the Choctaw Scholarship Database on the CNO’s Scholarship Advisement Program (SAP) Internet Web site located at www.choctawnation-sap.com. To access the database, students or parents must first be enrolled in the CNO’s Scholarship Advisement Program. To enroll in SAP, just click the “Apply Online” link at SAP's Web site. Enrollment in SAP is free to CNO members. To access the Scholarship Database, students or parents enrolled in SAP should email the Scholarship Advisement Program at scholarshipdatabase@choctawnation.com for further instructions. CNO students and parents will use their own self-generated SAP program username and password to also access the scholarship database.

Why Scholarships Are Needed

The Choctaw Scholarship Advisement Program was created in late 2006 to help overcome consistently high Native American college dropout rates. SAP has two primary goals: Prepare students for college and, once enrolled, keep students on track for a college degree.

A recent (2008) report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) underscores the drop-out rate problem and the role that financial pressures play on the drop-out rate for Native American students. At the same time, NCES’ report, Status and Trends in Education of American Indians, lists both good news and bad news for Native Americans seeking college degrees.

The good news is that 44 percent of American Indians age 25 or older had attended some college in 2007. Further, an encouraging trend has emerged: Indian enrollment in college has been increasing over time. In fact, Native American higher education enrollment has more than doubled in the past 30 years, according to the study.

But the bad news lies in the report’s second finding. Even though 44 percent had attempted college, only nine percent of American Indians age 25 or older had earned a bachelor’s degree as their highest level of educational attainment. While there are many reasons for the high dropout rate, lack of money continues to be one of the big contributors. In Oklahoma one of every three Native Americans lives below the poverty level, compared to one in six people in the state’s general population, says Oklahoma Indian Legal Services. And no matter what a student or family’s financial position, rising college costs (increasing at 5 to 8 percent a year, according to the non-profit CollegeBoard.com) means finding money for college is more important than ever.

“Helping students and parents find money for college is the most common – and pressing – request made of our program,” says SAP program Director Jo McDaniel. “It’s a question we deal with on a daily basis. The scholarship database will go a long way toward helping our members meet their higher education financial needs,” says McDaniel.

“The desire to attend college – and earn a degree – is strong among CNO’s top student scholars,” says Chief Pyle. “The proof lies in the growth in enrollment in our Scholarship Advisement Program.” In less than three years, the CNO’s Scholarship Advisement Program has enrolled nearly 2,000 students and parents and gets well over 1,000 visits a month to its web site.

Best Possible Scholarship Database Ingredients

A number of features make the Choctaw’s Scholarship Database much different and better than anything else, according to SAP Director Jo McDaniel.

Unique Partnership with Reference Professionals – The engine powering the CNO’s scholarship database is provided by Reference Service Press (RSP), a California-based business born in 1975 from an idea of reference librarian Dr. Gail Schlachter (Ph.D./Library Science). Schlachter, who admits to being driven by a passion to identify and fill information needs, found just such an opportunity over 30 years ago for a largely ignored diversity segment: college-bound women. Working nights and weekends for two years – and using the resources of the University of California library system – Schlachter collected and published the first reference book of its kind: The Directory of Financial Aids for Women. It was a collection of highly detailed descriptions of hundreds of funding programs representing millions of dollars – all set aside specifically for women. “The letters and comments I got told me the book changed women’s lives,” says Schlachter. It also created a business – Reference Service Press. Over the next 30 plus years, Schlachter expanded upon her original idea. By hiring other reference librarians, RSP kept adding diversity and other specialized titles to its unique list of offerings. The company now publishes more than 25 financial aid directories for a wide variety of diversity and specialized segments of the population, including Financial Aid for Native Americans. RSP’s massive database of scholarships, loans, grants, awards, and internships has now grown to over 40,000 records and identifies billions of dollars in financial aid. This is the database that, through a unique arrangement, the CNO has tapped and RSP has customized for CNO college-bound students and parents.

Expertly Researched Results Not Found Anywhere Else – The great majority of the listings in this database are not found anywhere else. These scholarships have been identified and verified by reference librarians using trained research skills. These scholarships aren’t usually found browsing the Web or on so-called free Internet scholarship sites. They’re found by people who know what they’re
seeking – and how to find it.

No Spam Business Model – One hundred percent of RSP’s revenue comes from providing access to the best researched financial aid database for its specialized categories. RSP never sells personal information it collects from users. That information is used solely to make user searches more relevant. Compare RSP to the business model of so-called “Free” scholarship Web sites, where invasive pages-long questionnaires of personal preference information must be filled out before free access is granted. In that business model, “free access” to a database of (often marginal) opportunities means users must “opt-in” to allow their name and information to be sold to marketers anxious to fill inboxes and mailboxes with soup-to-nuts offers.

Transportable Scholarships – The vast majority (more than 90 percent) of the scholarships listed in the Choctaw Scholarship Database are completely transportable. The funds can be used at any college or university.

Uniform Logical Arrangement of Information Fields – Each record in the Choctaw Scholarship Database provides the right actionable information. The field list for each record is as follows:
- Program Title - Popular and official titles of scholarship, loan, grant, award, or internship.
- Sponsoring Organization – Name, address and phone number, toll-free number, fax number, e-mail address and Web site.
- Summary – Identifies the major program requirements.
- Eligibility – Qualifications required of applicants plus information on application procedures and the selection process.
- Financial Data – Financial details of the program, including funds offered, expenses for which funds may and may not be applied, and cash-related benefits supplied (e.g. room and board).
- Duration – Period for which support is provided, renewal prospects.
- Additional Information – Any unusual (generally nonmonetary) benefits, features, restrictions, or limitations associated with the program.
- Number awarded – Total number of recipients each year or other specified period.
- Deadline – The month by which applications must be submitted.
- Subject focus - Fields of study supported by the program.
- Where you can go - Where the money can be spent.
- Online links - Links to information about and applications for the funding program.

Profile-based Query Structure – A database finds opportunities that suit you best when the database knows what you’re seeking. That’s why the Choctaw Scholarship Database first asks each user to fill out an online questionnaire. Completing the questionnaire helps target funding opportunities that match student and parent plans. By answering the questions, students and parents customize and narrow search criteria to create their own best-match list of scholarships, loans, grants, awards, and internships. The more questions students answer (some questions are required, but others are optional), the more precise and focused results will be. As students go through the questionnaire, they may not be exactly sure how to best respond. That’s why each question has a link to a page of tips to help students and parents best answer each question. Once the questionnaire is completed, students and parents can view their completed profile and edit or change any responses any time they wish.

Summary Search Results – A well filled-out questionnaire produces between 50 and 100 records that best mach the student’s profile. Search results are first displayed in a summary table that lets students quickly view key information to determine if they want to know more about the opportunity. The summary table lets students and parents read a brief overview of each opportunity, the award amount and the deadline for application. The title of the opportunity is a clickable link to the program’s complete report. A “save” button lets students or parents put any opportunity in a “favorites” list which students and parents may review any time.

Custom Designed for CNO Members
Identifies Free Money, Loans, and Internships Too

The CNO’s funding database doesn't just list scholarships. The database is also rich in information on available awards, grants, loans, and internships. The database is updated constantly by RSP’s staff of reference librarians. With search rules custom designed specifically for the Choctaw Nation, the database of tens of thousands of funding opportunities will only produce opportunities for which CNO members are eligible and will automatically delete opportunities not available for CNO students.

Greatest Amount of Listings – Always Most Current Information

RSP’s reference books have long set the standard for financial aid reference books in U.S. libraries. But directly accessing the RSP online database is actually better than using a book. That's because RSP edits/updates most of its more than 25 reference books on a two-year cycle. New opportunities posted after a book’s publication must necessarily wait for the next edition. But, not so with the CNO's Scholarship Database, which is updated continually by Reference Service Press. As a result, CNO users searching the online database are assured of finding up-to-the-minute information on all types of funding opportunities available to them.

October 2009

Ivy League & Friends Updates

Meet Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Columbia, Penn, Johns Hopkins, Cal/Berkeley and Andover Preparatory Academy at Ivy League and Friends Nov. 7.

Things are moving fast for Ivy League & Friends – Choctaw Student Recruitment. In order to keep everyone current with the latest information, we’ve added an Ivy League & Friends Updates link on the Scholarship Advisement Program (SAP) home-page of our Internet Web site www.choctawnation-sap.com.

Just click on the Ivy League & Friends Updates button to go where we’re posting latest news, helpful advice or just information you need to know – all to make sure you get the most out of a meeting with recruiters from some of the nation’s top colleges.

Ivy League & Friends Choctaw Student Recruitment – SAP’s second annual recruitment gala – will start at 6 p.m. on Saturday, November 7 at the Choctaw Event Center in Durant, OK.

Check Out the New Information Now Posted On Updates Page

Updates – The latest news of the week. We now have eight top school commitments.
Itinerary – The schedule of events for Saturday, Nov. 7
Dress Code – What to wear to meet the nation’s top recruiters
Directions – Google map to the Choctaw Event Center
Resume/Portfolio – Items to include in your list of documents
Hotels and Restaurants – Where to stay and eat (with web links) while in the Durant, Oklahoma area
School Websites – Links to each school’s Web site
School Admission Criteria and Vital Statistics – See how you measure up against each of our recruiting schools’ 2008 Freshmen class

More Than 150 Already Registered. Pre-Register Now!

About 50 students and 100 guests have already registered. Pre-registration is strongly advised. Pre-register online at SAP’s Web site at www.choctawnation-sap.com/Ivy or by calling 800-522-6170 Ext. 2523.

September 2009

Choctaws to Host Ivy League & Friends
Student Recruitment Night

Meet Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Columbia and More

at Ivy League & Friends Nov 7th

Last year the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma's (CNO) Scholarship Advisement Program (SAP) hosted recruiters from Harvard University for a special night at CNO facilities in Durant, Oklahoma. Nearly 200 top CNO students and parents from 11 different states took advantage of the 2008 recruiting occasion to learn more about one of the best colleges in the nation - if not the world.

"To say our prior year's event was a huge success is an understatement," says Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Chief, Gregory E. Pyle. "But this year our Scholarship Advisement Program has worked hard to make Ivy League and Friends Choctaw Student Recruitment even more memorable and valuable for our high-achieving scholars than last year's experience. For 2009, SAP has confirmed commitments not only from Harvard, but also from Yale, Dartmouth and Columbia with even more great schools expected. I highly recommend CNO college-bound students and parents take advantage of the opportunity to meet recruiters from some of America's best colleges at Ivy League and Friends Choctaw Student Recruitment," says Chief Pyle.

Ivy League & Friends Choctaw Student Recruitment - the Scholarship Advisement Program's second annual recruitment gala - will start at 6 p.m. on Saturday, November 7 at the Choctaw Event Center in Durant, OK. Pre-registration for students and parents is recommended. Online registration is available at SAP's Web site at www.choctawnation-sap.com/Ivy or by calling toll free 1-800-522-6170 Ext. 2523.

The nation's premier colleges are actively seeking and recruiting motivated Native American scholars according to SAP Program Director, Jo McDaniel. "Most of the leading schools in our country now have programs or special departments dedicated to attracting, mentoring and helping Native Americans succeed," says McDaniel.

"We greatly look forward to returning to the Choctaw Nation this November 7. Last year the Nation's hospitality was overwhelming and the turnout phenomenal," says Steven Abbott, Associate Director for Recruitment and Student Affairs at the Harvard University Native American Program. "It's been wonderful to see the Choctaw Nation's commitment to the education of its members - from Chief Pyle, the Scholarship Advisement Program and across the entire community," Abbott adds.

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma has always valued education. Today, the CNO's Scholarship Advisement Program (less than three years-old) has quickly evolved into an important education offering from the Oklahoma based tribe with over 250,000 members nation-wide. SAP's mission is to focus on college preparation and retention for CNO students. The program supports students in high school through college and graduate school. SAP helps students in many ways - from preparing for college and choosing the right college to locating funding opportunities with tools like SAP's newly created online scholarship database with access available from SAP's Internet Web site. In less than three years, enrollment in SAP's program is close to 2,000 members and visits to the program's Web site (www.choctawnation-sap) exceed 1,000 per month.

July 2009

Scholarship Program Offers Free

ACT Test Preparation

Take the ACT test early and often, but first take SAP’s Free workshop.

Of all the tests a person faces or takes, few have more impact on life than the standardized tests given to measure high school achievement. The ACT is the most common of these exams, but the SAT is also used. These are the tests used by college boards – and many scholarship funds – to determine admission and funding awards. While hugely important, these high school achievement exams are also different in one respect from nearly any other exam a person takes. These exams can be taken as often as an applicant wants in order to maximize a score. Since only the highest score is used for college admission and scholarship awards, it’s smart to begin taking the tests early – in the seventh or eighth grade – and to keep taking the test through high school. “Taking the ACT several times as a student nears college is something the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma encourages all CNO students to do,” says Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Chief, Gregory E. Pyle. “And attending our Scholarship Advisement Program’s free ACT preparation course is a great way to boost ACT scores,” Chief adds.

The ACT test is divided into four multiple choice subjects: English, mathematics, reading, and science. Subject test scores range from 1 to 36 and a composite score is calculated for the average of all four tests. In addition, students make take an optional writing test, whose score does not affect the composite score. In 2007 roughly 42% (about 1.3 million) of the U.S. high school graduating class took the ACT test. The average composite score was 21. What’s a 21 mean? Well, for comparison purposes, the University of Oklahoma reports an average range of ACT scores among its students of 23-28. OU states the average ACT score of all OU students is 25.8. Ivy League schools like Dartmouth, Yale and Harvard report student ACT average ranges of 29-34, 30-34, and 31-35 respectively.

Higher ACT scores do more than open doors to better colleges. Higher scores also mean more scholarship dollars and options. “A two or three-point increase in score can make a big change. The difference in scholarship opportunities between a 26 and a 28 ACT score can be dramatic,” says Choctaw Scholarship Advisement Program Director, Jo McDaniel. “That’s why our SAP program provides free ACT preparation workshops for college-bound CNO students.”

Free ACT Preparation Workshops from Scholarship Advisement Program

The Scholarship Advisement Program (SAP) conducts ACT preparation workshops at various locations throughout the CNO’s 10 ½ county service area. Five workshops are scheduled in the next 10 months. Students and parents can go to the ACT Preparation section of SAP’s Web site for details. Actual ACT tests are offered four to six times a year (depending on the state). Dates for ACT tests are also included on the SAP Web site says McDaniel.

CNO scholars who have taken SAP’s free workshop give rave reviews to the program leader, Chad Cargill of Harrah, Oklahoma. In his freshman year of high school, Cargill knew he needed to win scholarships in order to attend college. That’s when he also discovered that many scholarships were based on ACT scores. For Cargill, the journey was on.

Cargill took the ACT a total of 18 times in high school and, in the process raised his score from a 19 to a 32. Cargill says his phenomenal increase was simply due to learning what was on the test and how to take it. Chad’s high ACT score helped him earn an Industrial Engineering degree from Oklahoma State University. It also has launched a sideline business. Cargill, now CEO of Cargill Consulting, is acknowledged as one of the best in the growing category of ACT consultants.

Chad Cargill’s one-day ACT preparation workshops are free to CNO college-bound students in the tribal service area. To enroll, students should contact the Scholarship Advisement Program at 1-800-522-6170 Ext. 2609 or email sshodge@choctawnation.com. Students outside the CNO service area should seek guidance at Kaplan Test Preparation – or any other test preparation outlet.

Seven Reasons to Join CNO’s Scholarship Advisement Program

Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma college-bound students and parents should take advantage of an opportunity by joining the tribe’s Scholarship Advisement Program,” says Gregory E. Pyle, Chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO). “The SAP program is free to CNO members, and its list of benefits is growing. The best time to join is sooner rather than later – ideally by their sophomore year of high school,” Chief Pyle adds.

CNO launched SAP two years ago with the mission to focus on college preparation and retention for Choctaw students. In the last two years more than 1,500 CNO students and parents have taken advantage of a rapidly growing list of program benefits. “We continue to add features to SAP, and so the reasons to join the program are increasing as well,” says Program Director Jo McDaniel.

Here’s what SAP’s staff say are the top seven reasons why all college bound CNO students and parents should join the Choctaw Scholarship Advisement Program no later than the sophomore year of high school.

1. Preparation and Planning Advice

College is one of life’s major steps and preparing for it is vitally important. SAP advocates starting preparations early. Having a game-plan in place by the sophomore year of high school should be a college-bound student’s goal. Starting earlier is even better. The key step in preparation is simple planning. Students and parents should start by checking out the College Planning Timeline on SAP’s Web site (www.choctawnation-sap.com). Step two: Contact and build a relationship with an SAP counselor who can provide valuable guidance aid. SAP counselors help build and adjust student plans throughout high-school and into the college selection process. Above all, both students and parents should enroll in SAP’s free program to access all SAP benefits.

2. Access to Scholarship Database

Soon (perhaps by the time you read this) SAP will launch what will be the best possible national database of Scholarship, Internship, Grant and Fellowship opportunities. It will be customized for Choctaw students enrolled in SAP’s program. The database will contain thousands of funding opportunities worth billions of dollars. But – you can’t access the database if you’re not enrolled in SAP. Facts about this remarkable database:

Choctaw students are eligible to apply for every opportunity.
Only enrolled members (students or parents) of SAP may access this database by using their SAP Username and Password.
Access will be from the Scholarship tab on the SAP Web site.
To enroll in SAP browse to the Apply Online tab on SAP’s Web site. SAP’s enrollment form has been re-structured to make sign-up easier. Sign-up can be done in less than 10 minutes. Best of all – it’s FREE.

3. ACT/SAT Test Preparation

If you could take a test over and over in order to get a better score, you’d do it, right? That’s how high school exams like ACT and SAT work. The two exams most colleges look at for admission – and foundations look at when granting scholarship money – can all be taken repeatedly and only the highest score counts. Many CNO scholars started taking the exams in junior high school and raised their scores by five to ten points by the time they took their last test in high school. To build a better ACT or SAT score students must learn how to prepare for the exam. That’s where the SAP’s college test preparation program can help. In the next 10 months SAP will schedule five ACT workshops throughout Oklahoma. Workshops are led by noted testing consultant, Chad Cargill. Cargill took the ACT 18 times and raised his score from a 19 to a 32. Attend the workshop to learn Cargill’s secrets. Check out ACT Preparation on SAP’s Web site.

4. Pick the Right College

OK, suppose you have the grades, test scores and resume to earn admission to Cal/Berkeley. Does that mean you’re well suited for a school of 35,000 students in the San Francisco Bay Area? Maybe. Success at the college level involves more than resumes and test scores. It’s also about what kind of person you are – your interests, ambitions, and how you relate to others. The goal is to pick the kind of colleges that are best for you and then chart a course and a plan to land where your chances of success are greatest. SAP’s counselors are in touch with all kinds of colleges. They can provide expert help in the vital college selection process.

5. Make the Most of High School

Let’s face it. What you do during high school years determines where you’ll be able to go to college – and how much scholarship money you’ll earn. What should you be doing in your freshman, sophomore and junior years to maximize your chances for college? SAP’s experts know the answers. First, download SAP’s College Planning Timeline from the Web. It tells you what you should be doing in each year of high school. Next, contact SAP at the beginning of the sophomore year for the best planning advice. Get to know an SAP counselor who can help you and guide you through your high school years.

6. Meet Cool People – Like You!

The SAP network is a fun group who all have the CNO in common. Members include students and parents from all over the nation. Meet SAP’s peer advisors – college students at Oklahoma universities. Attend SAP events and build your networking skills with cool people like you. SAP parents have the chance to meet other parents and trade useful information at gatherings like “Harvard comes to CNO” or other events posted on the Calendar tab of SAP’s Web site.

7. Build Your Native American Asset

Being Native American is a big asset for college bound students. Nation-wide, colleges and universities are seeking Native American candidates and are rapidly adding Native American programs and opportunities. (See the Dalton Valerio story in the June issue of SAP News.) Joining SAP will teach you how to build and leverage your CNO assets. SAP will help guide you to Native American activities that will add to your resume. See the Summer Programs tab on SAP’s Web site for a long list of 2009 Native American summer activities.

Nate Williams Makes Bar Mitzvah Gift
to CNO Scholarship Advisement Program

According to Jewish law, when children reach the age of adulthood (generally thirteen years for boys and twelve for girls) they become responsible for their actions, and "become a Bar or Bat Mitzvah." The child is now counted as an adult with all of an adult’s religious duties. It is a solemn occasion. At the Bar/Bat Mitzvah they even lead the prayer service with readings from the Torah.

Bar/Bat Mitzvahs are also a time of celebrating and gift-giving. But in the last decade an interesting new trend has emerged for teens celebrating their Bar/Bat Mitzvahs. Many are also finding a way to give back by donating to charities of their choice. “That’s what Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) member Nate Williams of Atlanta, Georgia did at his Bar Mitzvah when the CNO’s Scholarship Advisement Program (SAP) received an unexpected donation check,” says Gregory E. Pyle, Chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

At Nate’s school, the Greenfield Hebrew Academy of Atlanta, instead of giving kids presents, parents have chosen to raise money for charities. In lieu of exchanging gifts with their classmates, the families donate a certain amount of money to a fund in honor of all the Bar/Bat Mitzvah kids. Each child receives an equal portion to donate to a charity of their choice. Nate Williams made a presentation to his classmates and teachers in order to secure funding for the Choctaw Scholarship Advisement Program.

“Enclosed is a check to go towards the Choctaw Scholarship Advisement Program,” Nate’s letter began. “In my presentation, I talked about how proud I am to be Choctaw (my Dad’s family is from Broken Bow), and how blessed my family has been to be able to afford educational opportunities. My two older brothers are now in college so I know it is expensive. I hope this money helps a student attend college.”

“The charity I chose is the Choctaw Scholarship Advisement Program,” Nate’s presentation to classmates and faculty begins. “As many of you know, I am part Choctaw Indian on my Dad's father's side of the family.”

“Every year, my family and I drive thirteen hours to visit my Dad's family in their small town of Broken Bow, in Southeastern Oklahoma. The trip is mainly on Highway I-20, rich with scenery, from the forests of Georgia and Alabama, to the Mississippi River and the flatland of Louisiana. At Shreveport, we take a right and head off the main highway, through the smallest towns I've every seen. If you blink, you might miss one. When we cross the Red River, we enter the Great State of Oklahoma and Mom plays our CD with the song ‘Oklahoma’ from the musical, whether it's early in the morning or late at night.”

“Each week, we get the six-page Broken Bow newspaper delivered to our home. Most of its articles talk about the high school kids and their achievements in sports, theatre, agriculture club, academics. The City of Broken Bow is really proud of its high school kids. I recognize some of the last names as Choctaw names. So many of these kids should be going on to college.”

“I know that many colleges recruit minorities, but they don't give every student the
scholarship money or the resource support they need to attend. The Choctaw Scholarship Advisement Program helps kids afford college. It also provides them with direction, tutors and career placement advisers through their high school and college years so they can succeed. I wanted to give back to my Tribe in a way that will help people my age by attending college and receiving an education.”

Nate Williams learned about the Scholarship Advisement Program through an Aunt (Linda Williams) who works for a Choctaw Health Clinic in Broken Bow. When he asked her for a worthwhile charity within the CNO, Linda told Nate to consider the Scholarship Advisement Program.

Scholarships of OJ and Mary Christine Harvey Trust to Choctaw Nation and Southeastern State University

Student scholarships of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and Southeastern Oklahoma State University depend to an important extent upon donations from donors outside these institutions. Among these donors are the OJ and Mary Christine Harvey Educational Foundation, established to provide scholarships to academically capable and financially needy students, especially Native American students. “Each year the OJ and Mary Christine Harvey Educational Foundation provide scholarships that help a number of Choctaw students with a financial need obtain a higher education at Southeastern State University,” says Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) Chief, Gregory E. Pyle. “Our Scholarship Advisement Program is extremely grateful for the generous support provided by the OJ and Mary Christine Harvey Educational Foundation,” Chief Pyle adds.

Created originally as the Foundation for Educational Advancement, the name of the foundation was changed to the OJ and Mary Christine Harvey Educational Foundation upon the death of Mrs. Harvey in 2003 in honor of her commitment to education, particularly to capable students of serious financial need.

The first scholarships were awarded by the Foundation for Educational Advancement to students at Northeastern State University in honor of a deceased faculty member of that university who had been a close friend of the Harveys for several years. Award of scholarships by the present foundation was first made to the Choctaw Nation and to Southeastern Oklahoma State University in the Fall semester of 2005.

Scholarships are generally granted to a recipient for both the Fall and Spring semesters based upon the student’s financial need and the maintenance of a grade point average of 2.7 (C+) for both semesters on at least 12 semester hours credit for each semester. Once granted, the scholarship to a student is continued until his or her graduation if the required grades have been successfully maintained for both semesters.

Dr. and Mrs. Harvey are both native Oklahomans of poor financial backgrounds . Dr. Harvey, part Choctaw himself, was born in Corinne, some 50 miles from Durant, and until mid-adolescence lived among Choctaws, near Bethel, in northern McCurtain County. Mrs. Harvey was born and grew to adulthood in Pauls Valley. Early in life, and especially after college, the Harveys recognized education clearly as a means through which an individual may gain options and degrees of freedom in adapting to life.
Following a tour in the U.S. Navy as an enlisted naval correspondent, Dr. Harvey returned to college at the University of Oklahoma, where in 1954 he received a Ph.D. in social psychology and Mrs. Harvey graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in history and political science. Subsequently both became successful educators, Dr. Harvey for 37 years as a professor of Psychology and Mrs. Harvey for 31 years as a teacher of the sixth grade.

After a post-doctoral fellowship at Yale University and work on the Yale Attitude Change project, Dr. Harvey was an assistant professor of psychology at Vanderbilt University for three years, and from 1958 until retirement in 1991 he was Professor of Psychology at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Mrs. Harvey, taught the sixth grade in the local school district until her retirement in 1989.
Professor Harvey was the recipient of several national and local awards, including Teacher of the Year Award from the University of Colorado. Additionallly, he presented invited lectures to numerous businesses and religious organizations and to 64 universities in this and other countries and chaired 39 Ph.D dissertations. At age 82, he is continuing research and writing on the openness-closedness of belief systems, need and search for certainty, social consensus and conformity, and group conflict and cooperation.

Dr. Harvey was the author or coauthor of five books and 71 articles, all dealing mainly with the development and effects of attitudes and belief systems on social judgment and perception. One vein of this research focused on the development of students’ belief systems, the effects of teachers’ beliefs, teaching styles and classroom control upon student learning and behavior. The resulting book, Conceptual Systems and Personality Organization, 1961, impacted teaching and educational research widely this and other countries.

The best knownand influential of these works, however, nationally and internationally, is The Robbers Cave Experiment, first published by the University of Oklahoma in 1954 and republished with additional material in 1988 by the Wesleyan University Press. Though philosophers and social scientists have long been concerned with the causes and consequences of group cooperation and competition, the Robbers Cave Experiment is the only study so far that has examined the effects of competition and cooperation experimentally induced under controlled conditions. The experiment was conducted by the late Dr. Muzafer Sherif, a world renowned social psychologist, OJ Harvey and three other social psychologists from the University of Oklahoma, all now deceased exept Dr. Harvey, during the summer of 1954 at the Robbers Cave State Park near Wilburton, for which the study was named.

The experiment was conducted in three stages, each of one week duration. Stage 1, the in-group formation stage, aimed at producing two in-groups of 11-12 year-old boys of similar socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds who had never met before. At the beginning of stage 1 the boys were transported to the experimental site in separate buses, 12 boys to each bus, and housed in two separate cabins of some distance apart without contacts for the first week. During stage 1 the boys explored the surrounding woods, engaged in a variety of cooperative activities such as overnight camping, canoeing, cookouts that required sharing of food and creating and manufacturing their flags for group identity and belonging. By the end of stage 1, the predicted forming of two in-groups had occurred, each with group selected names, one the Rattlers and the other the Eagles. Clear status structures, including a leader and other status positions, had emerged in each group, along with in-group norms and penalties, such as shunning and physical punishment for violating or failure to comply with the rules and other norms.

During stage 2, the phase of interactions designed to create inter-group tension, hostility and aggression between the two groups, the two groups engaged in an athletic tournament arranged by the staff consisting of events of strong interest to members of both groups, such as baseball, tent pitching, staff-judged cabin inspections and tug of war. During this stage the boys for the first time began eating in the same mess hall, where the tournament’s grand prize was boldly displayed for all to see and feelings of competition were heightened. Group members sat together away from the other group, and after a few encounters insults were hurled toward the other group, followed soon by thrown bread and other food. Greater and more frequent insults, along with fights between members of each group, stealing and burning of opponents’ flags, and other acts of hostility erupted after only a few athletic tournaments. Hostilities reached the point of the Rattlers invading the cabin of the Eagles and destroying Eagles’ personal property, including throwing much into the nearby creek. The following day the Eagles retaliated by stealthily pouring large buckets of mud and water into the beds and on the personal property of the Rattlers along with other retaliatory actions. Responses to sociometric questionnaires as well as staff observations demonstrated dramatically that clear in-group and out-group divisions between the two groups had emerged by the end of stage 2.

State 3, inter-group harmony, was aimed at resolving the prejudice and negative stereotypes between the groups by creating situations demanding cooperation between the groups to attain goals shared by both groups. These included repair of the water supply that, unknown to either group, had been disrupted by the staff, repair of a truck that had broken down, pooling of personal money to pay for a desired movie, and shared defense against an unexpected hail storm during an overnight camping trip, and the choice to return home in one bus. Sociometric questionnaires and staff observations at the end of stage 3 showed that the intergroup hostility had mostly disappeared, manifested by sharing the award for winning the tournament, voluntarily taking a trip together where positive nicknames were assigned to members across groups, requesting to return home in a single bus instead of two, and sharing of personal money to buy gifts and treats on the way home.
The experiment demonstrated the kinds of effects produced by conflicts and cooperation in real life situations. Cooperation toward the attainment of a common goal fosters the resolving of conflict peacefully. Simply bringing hostile groups together or stopping the fighting alone does not produce harmony between them. Cooperation and positive interdependence seems to be the only route to peace between groups short of overwhelming defeat of one group by another.

The Harvey foundation is governed by a four member board of directors, all deeply committed to education and the goals of the foundation. Chris Wesberry, Coordinator of the Southeastern Native American Center for Student Succes“ feels that these scholarships are truly making a difference. Many of the recipients would not be able to attend college if not for the generosity of the Harvey Foundation. The legacy of OJ and Mary Christine Harvey’s commitment to edicuation will live on for many years. Jo McDaniel, Director of the Scholarship Advisement Program for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma expressed a similar feeling. We are thrilled for the opportunity for our Choctaw students. The partnership between the Harvey Foundation and Southeastern will benefit Choctaw students for years to come.”

Among the more important reasons of why scholarships have been committed to Choctaw students at Southeastern is the highly cooperative working relationship between the Choctaw Nation and Southeastern, the high number of Native American students attending the University, and that Southeastern is a leader in graduating Native American students. Information provided recently in “Diverse Issues in Higher Education” ranks Southeastern first nationally in percentage of Native American graduates among the top 20- degree-granting institutions.

June 2009

Summer is Busy for CNO Scholars

What Scholars Should be Doing During Summer By Grade Level

Here’s a list of summer activities the Scholarship Advisement Program recommends for CNO students by grade level. A more detailed list – SAP’s College Prep Timeline – shows what students should be doing year-round by grade level and is available from SAP and is also posted on SAP’s Web site

Freshman Summer

The summer after the ninth grade is a good time to strengthen skills with summer school or special classes. This can be a time to skip ahead in a math track by taking a class that prepares students for an honors or advanced-level course or perhaps taking an intensive math course that hones skills that need sharpening. Other students use this summer to take composition or creative-writing courses to strengthen their writing skills. It’s also a good time to take an ACT/SAT workshop. (Workshops are free from the SAP Program and a schedule is posted on SAP’s Web site). The ACT can be taken as often as a student wants. Nearly all CNO’s best scholars have taken the test multiple times – and have increased their scores by doing so.

Sophomore Summer

Sophomores who aren’t already members should join the Scholarship Advisement Program immediately – and begin seeking counsel from SAP’s staff. Apply online, membership is free. It’s also a good time to apply for any financial aid programs for which you may be available such as “Oklahoma’s Promise” (SAP can help you apply). After taking a free SAP ACT Workshop, take the ACT and the SAT tests in the sophomore summer, then prepare for the PSAT exam (PSAT determines National Merit Scholars during the Junior year).

CNO students should also attend College Horizons and similar SAP approved programs specifically designed to help Native Americans. Above all, this is a summer to read, work or pursue a passion – and be involved in community or Native American activities (see the list on SAP’s Web site).

Junior Summer

The Junior summer is a busy and important one with a long “to do” list according to SAP. This is the summer for college visits and College Horizons. Students should also set up and complete a Common Application – a service that provides applications online and in print – which students may submit to any of nearly 350 member colleges and universities. Start organizing and reviewing applications. Draft college essay and supplemental essay questions. Create a resume of activities, work experience, interests and community service. Begin researching scholarships. Above all, contact SAP for free access to our custom-built Native American Scholarship Database (now in development, but scheduled for release this summer). Juniors should have a productive summer: work, study, community service and summer reading. Study SAT and ACT prep materials such as Kaplan study guides and courses. Plan any remaining college visits and interviews for the fall.

Senior Summer

This, of course, should be a summer where your hard work has paid off. Best advice: Get a good job, save money for college – or seek an internship in line with your interests or your passions. Begin taking college courses early. Investigate summer programs and attend college orientation, if applicable. This is also a good time to do volunteer work.

Summer is Native American Activity

Time for CNO Scholars

Visit SAP's Web site for Links to 2009 Native American Summer Activities

For Choctaw scholars, summer is a time to build an important part of the college admission resume. Summer is a chance to get involved with your Native American heritage. “College admission officers are looking at more than grades,” says Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) Chief, Gregory E. Pyle. “They also expect to see community service and civic involvement. For CNO scholars, taking part in summer Native American activities makes a great addition to any resume,” Chief Pyle adds.

CNO’s Scholarship Advisement Program has posted a long web-link list of 2009 Summer Native American Activities on its Internet Web site. “We’ve placed more than 75 web links to Native American summer activities in more than 20 states,” says Jo McDaniel, Sap Director. “The list includes 11 web links just in Oklahoma and, of course, a link to CNO’s Labor Day Festival at Tushka Homma.

Listed activity links run a large gamut including tribal-specific gatherings, multi-cultural historical events, regional Native American artistic events – and much more. CNO scholars should visit SAP’s tribal activity link in the web site’s Calendar of
Events tab to find a Native American activity to take part in this summer.

To visit SAP’s online list of links to 2009 Native American Summer Activities, go to this Internet Web site: http://www.choctawnation-sap.com/calendar.html

CNO Scholar Dalton Valerio Describes

College Tour Experience

"You can't get the gist of a college until you visit the campus."

In the college preparation timeline compiled by the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) Scholarship Advisement Program (SAP), no time period is busier than the summer after the junior year. “The first item on the Scholarship Advisement Program’s long ‘to do’ list for the junior summer is to investigate colleges, preferably by touring top choice campuses,” says CNO Chief, Gregory E. Pyle.

But for high achieving CNO students like Dalton Valerio of Cibola High School (Albuquerque, NM) the summer between junior and senior year is packed with so much activity – Dalton is working two jobs – that a helping hand is often required. That’s especially true when it comes to the important task of seeing first-hand the places he might attend college. In Dalton Valerio’s case the help he needed came from two sources.

As is usually the case, first to the rescue was a motivated parent – in this instance Dalton’s Mom, Pam Kileen. Next was aid and counsel Pam found from Stephanie Hodge
in CNO’s Scholarship Advisement Program. Helping students – and parents – through
this busiest of seasons is one of the main goals of SAP according to Chief Pyle.

When he returns for his senior year at Cibola High School, Dalton Valerio will be student body president, captain of the swim team, marching band percussionist/choreographer, active in Operation Smile (a non-profit organization that gives aid to children with facial deformities), and lead male role in EXPO!, a student directed show that portrays a story through dance.

Dalton’s ambition is medical school, perhaps specializing in anesthesiology. He is an exceptional student with a chance to win admission and scholarship to one of the nation’s top schools. So how do you pick the one that’s best – Stanford vs. Cal Berkeley? Or Dartmouth vs. Harvard? The answer, of course, is you go there – to look, see and feel.

When he put out the distress call to his Mom to help organize college visits, Dalton admits he was drowning in admission literature. With Pam’s help – and networking assistance from SAP – Dalton has now completed a West Coast visit to Stanford and Cal/Berkeley and hopes to later take advantage of Dartmouth’s Native Fly-in and a tour of top East Coast schools. But Dalton’s visits to Stanford and Berkeley weren’t the typical student guided tour and walk-around. “Because of SAP I was able to see a whole different aspect of each school,” says Dalton.

“The help we got from SAP in terms of calling ahead to campuses and setting up appointments was phenomenal,” says Pam. “They made phone calls and sent emails to both campuses. SAP got responses and contact information back to me for both schools. They set us up with Native American groups at Stanford and professors at Berkeley. SAP made Dalton sound so good that they went out of their way to meet with us,” says Dalton’s Mom.

“SAP’s contacts at Stanford and Berkeley let me see a whole different aspect to each school,” says Dalton. While he liked both schools, the result of the West Coast trip allowed Dalton to develop a preference – Stanford – that would not have been possible without taking the trip, or without the help of SAP.

“Stanford was still in session during my visit, so there were students all around. I was impressed with the diversity,” says Dalton. “We heard about five different languages during lunch - and the campus was beautiful. SAP’s contact with Greg Graves, Native American recruiter for Stanford, helped us set up a meeting with Winona Simms, Director of Native American Cultural Center and I as able to learn how much support the school gives its Native American students.”

No matter how they do it, students should seriously investigate their top college choices, says SAP. If travel and in-person tours aren’t an option, students should research their preferred options on the Web and take “virtual tours” of their top choice schools. But the ideal tour is still in-person, especially for the top two or three schools, according to SAP.

“You can’t get the whole gist of a college until you visit the campus,” Dalton adds. “Even if they send you mail with pictures, it’s still not the same. You need to see the student life and the buildings. It’s different than when you’re online. You have to see what the environment you’re going to live in is like because you’re going to be there for four years.”

SAP's College Planning Timeline

What to Do in Each High School Year in Order to Prepare for College

What’s the most important thing a motivated student (and parent) can do to ensure a successful college experience? Ask that question of the Choctaw Scholarship Advisement Program (SAP) and the answer will be a quick, one-word response: Plan.

“Starting early, and then following a well-designed action plan for each year of high school is the best way to prepare for college,” says Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Chief, Gregory E. Pyle. “That’s why our SAP program has developed a College Planning Timeline to guide CNO scholars and parents through the process,” Chief Pyle adds. The plan is available from SAP, and can be downloaded from its Web site.

SAP’s College Planning Timeline lists action steps for fall, spring and summer for sophomore, junior and senior years of high school. The list of action steps is based on best practices and recommendations of SAP’s staff. Many recommended activities repeat through each year – like taking SAT and ACT tests multiple times in order to boost scores. Other activities, such as scheduling college visits, are more important at specific times and grade levels.

While SAP’s planning guide includes activities all motivated students should follow, the plan also lists important opportunities that are only available to Native American students.

What’s the first action step SAP recommends? It starts at the beginning of the fall term of the sophomore year. “It’s the most important action,” says SAP Director Jo McDaniel. “Students and parents need to join SAP. It’s free. And our resources and our staff are making a heartwarming difference in the lives of CNO students. All CNO college-bound students should join SAP.”

To download SAP’s College Planning Timeline from the Internet, go to this Web site: http://www.choctawnation-sap.com/pdfs/College Planning Timeline.pdf.

To join SAP via its online enrollment form, go to this Internet Web site:
https://www.choctawnation-sap.com/students/login.asp

May 2009

Choctaw Scholar Chelsea Wells to Attend Yale University

For most of her life Chelsea Wells of Hugo, Oklahoma felt she would go to college close to home, probably at an in-state school. That was before two Internet Web sites – combined with sound advice and coaching from the Choctaw Scholarship Advisement Program – changed everything for the National Honor Society senior from Hugo High School and two-year chairperson of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) Youth Advisory Board. CNO scholars would do well to follow Chelsea’s model,” says Choctaw Chief, Gregory E. Pyle. “She was persistent and she took advantage of all we could offer, especially our Scholarship Advisement Program,” Chief adds.

For Chelsea, event number one was the discovery of the Native American Fly-In, a Dartmouth College program that seeks and brings high-performing Native American students to the Hanover, New Hampshire Ivy League school for a week-long orientation in October. “I didn’t know much about Dartmouth,” says Chelsea “I didn’t even know that much about the Ivy Leagues” she adds. “But after the Dartmouth experience I knew I wanted to go to school out of state. I could see how it would open up new doors and let me experience things I’d never imagined.”

Event number two was finding Questbridge, a national program that links bright, motivated, low-income students to financial aid opportunities at some of the nation's best colleges. By filling out just one online application Chelsea applied to nearly 10 Questbridge partner colleges – a list that includes Vassar, Oberlin, Dartmouth, Yale and more. “I waited until December 31, the final deadline, to send in my application,” says Chelsea. “I didn’t think I could get accepted to these kinds of schools, so I almost didn’t apply,” she admits. Now she’s glad she did.

After the Native Fly-In visit to Hanover, New Hampshire Chelsea was set on Dartmouth. But that was before an all-expense paid trip to Yale. “We visited Yale three weeks ago and I fell in love with the school and everything about it,” she says. “Plus their financial package was amazing.”

So Chelsea made her decision. The Hugo High Fighting Buffalos Honor Student, Cheerleader and member of Student Council, Varsity Basketball, Show Choir and Spanish Club will be off to New Haven, Connecticut this fall: To the tables down at Mory’s; to the place where Louis dwells. Chelsea Wells is going to Yale.

“If you really want to do something, don’t worry about what others say – and don’t be afraid to try,” says Chelsea. “That’s how I got accepted to Yale.” But she also believes in seeking out the advice of others. “There are people out there who know how to get you where you want to be and can help you,” says Chelsea. “One group that’s helped me is the CNO’s Scholarship Advisement Program (SAP).”

“SAP was with me through the whole process. If I needed anything, they knew who to contact. Anything and everything – they’d find a person I could speak with. If they found a scholarship I could apply for, they told me about it. Any questions I had about financial aid – they answered them.”

“Chelsea is one of our stars,” says SAP Director, Jo McDaniel. “She’s persistent, and that’s typical of all our high achieving students.” One example of Chelsea’s persistence is common among SAP’s top students, according to McDaniel. It’s Chelsea’s ACT score. “Chelsea’s score is 28, but she started with a 23. We tell our students to take the ACT test as many times as possible and to start early,” says McDaniel. “Chelsea took the ACT six times.”

“At Yale, I want to soak up everything!” Chelsea says. “Becoming fluent in Spanish is just one of the goals atop my ‘to do’ list.” Chelsea’s Native American roots have fueled an interest in different cultures and in uncovering the past. Her ambitions include medical, cultural and public service goals. Chelsea is interested in anthropology but also plans to take pre-dental classes. “These courses will allow me to take the science courses I enjoy while also preparing me for dental school and eventually orthodontic school,” she says. After school, she looks forward to helping others in underdeveloped foreign countries. She may join the Peace Corps and work as an orthodontist/dentist in places where the need is great.

A favorite author, Leo Rosten, sums up life’s meaning best for Chelsea Wells: “The purpose of life is not to be happy - but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you have lived at all.”

“I want my life to symbolize this,” she says.


Choctaw Scholarship Program’s Top 10 Web Sites and Resources According to the ongoing Pew Internet and American Life research project, the most common use of the Internet in 2008, after e-mail, was a search for information (email: 91%; information search: 89%). The World Wide Web makes finding the information you need easy and The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) Scholarship Advisement Program encourages all its enrolled students and parents to be active web searchers according to CNO Chief Gregory E. Pyle. Here are web links and resources the CNO’s Scholarship Advisement Program (SAP) believes can most help Choctaw students. The list is always a work in progress according to SAP staff. What follows are SAP’s favorites – plus a brief description of how they can help CNO scholars find the college information they need. Collegehorizons.org College Horizons is a Web site that features two programs that place Native American scholars in intense five day summer workshops surrounded by representatives from some of the nation’s top schools. College Horizons gives students the knowledge they need to apply – and be admitted – at top schools. A companion program, Graduate Horizons, helps students find the best places and paths for post-graduate work. knowhow2go.org Know How To Go To College is a great site for middle school and high school students. It’s packed with lots of great information and is simple to understand. Note: Getting started early, in middle school is a huge advantage. This site is a must according to SAP. Okhighered.org/okpromise Oklahoma’s Promise targets low-income families and their students through a unique program set up by the Oklahoma Legislature. The program reaches out to eighth-, ninth- and 10th-grade students (homeschool students must be age 13, 14 or 15) and will help pay for their college education if their family's income is $50,000 or less at the time the student applies for the program. collegeboard.com College Board is a favorite SAP free site to learn about possible choices for colleges, scholarships and more. It includes lots of great information with separate sections for students, parents and professionals. studentsreview.com Students Review says “Students Know Best” and provides more than 77,000 reviews by students and alumni of their colleges. The site contains reviews, recommendations and much more helpful data. An example: The site contains more than 60 student reviews of the University of Oklahoma and more than 30 reviews of Oklahoma State University. Princeton Review Not an Internet Web site, but a book, The Princeton Review "THE BEST 368 COLLEGES" 2009 EDITION is close to the ultimate source book for information on many great colleges. “The offbeat indexes along with the chattily written descriptions of each school provide a colorful picture of each campus,” says the New York Times. OkCollegeStart.org Oklahoma College Start is Oklahoma’s official website for information about higher education in Oklahoma for students, counselors, and parents. It is designed to be the most comprehensive and current source for college planning for Oklahoma students, beginning as early as middle school. It has been developed by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education in collaboration with the Oklahoma Guaranteed Student Loan Program and Oklahoma colleges and universities. ctcl.org Colleges That Change Lives is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement and support of a student-centered college search process. CTCL supports the goal of each student finding a college that develops a lifelong love of learning and provides the foundation for a successful and fulfilling life beyond college. dartmouth.edu/~nap/flyin Dartmouth University Native Fly-In provides talented high school seniors an unparalleled opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge of this Ivy League College's academic resources, student services and admission & financial aid criteria. Program participants enjoy extensive interaction with members of the Dartmouth Native community along with a cross section of college students, faculty and staff through a mix of information sessions, academic presentations and social events. Complimentary meals and on-campus housing are included for Fly-In guests with round trip transportation assistance. Questbridge.org Questbridge is a non-profit program that links bright, motivated low-income students with educational and scholarship opportunities at some of the nation's best colleges. The QuestBridge college match program connects high-achieving low-income students with admission and full four-year scholarships to 26 partner colleges.

College and Graduate Horizons Programs Preps Native Scholars Crash Courses Prepare Native Students for College or Graduate School. 85% Graduation Rate There is good news and bad news in the 2008 report from the National Center for Education Statistics on Status and Trends in the Education of American Indians. The good news: As of 2007 - 44 percent of Native Americans over 25 years-old have attended college. The bad news: Only nine percent of that same group has actually earned a college degree. Of all ethnic diversity segments, only Hispanics have a higher college drop-out rate than Native Americans. The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) through its Scholarship Advisement Program (SAP) has been tremendously successful in improving the retention of students, according to CNO Chief, Gregory E. Pyle. The program is an excellent source of information on available scholarships, as well as mentoring for other issues relating to college, Chief Pyle says. “SAP focuses on college preparation and retention for our Choctaw students,” says Program Director Jo McDaniel. “And one of the best pieces of retention advice we give all students and parents is to check out the programs from College Horizons and Graduate Horizons,’’ she says. College Horizons is a non-profit group organized in 1998 by Dr. Whitney Laughlin, at the Native American Preparatory School. Its mission is to encourage and facilitate the education of Native American young people. College Horizons is a five-day ‘crash course’ in preparing for college. Expert college counselors, teamed up with admission officers, help Native American students: Select suitable colleges to apply to Complete winning applications and write memorable essays Learn what turns an applicant into an admitted student Become a test-pre 'whiz-kid' Navigate the financial aid/shcolarship jungle College Horizons teaches bright, Native American students everything they need to know about getting into the nation's most high-powered schools. Each year two or more college campuses are chosen to hold this week-long event. Past venues have included Whitman, Dartmouth, Harvard, Carleton, Oberlin, Westmont Colleges, University of Puget Sound, Rice, Stanford, Duke, and Lawrence University. This year Yale University (New Haven, CT) and Whitman College (Walla Walla, WA), are the two sites for this one-week course in college prep. Five scholars from the CNO are enrolled for either the June 20-24 event at Yale or the June 27-July 1 session at Whitman. The College Horizons program cost is $200 (includes tuition, room, meals, and transportation to campus from local airports). Students are responsible for their own air fare. At the 2009 programs representatives from more than 40 of a broad variety of the nation’s colleges and universities will be present at either the Yale or Whitman College events. Students establish personal relationships with admission representatives and college counselors that continue long after the program is over. A flyer describing the 2009 College Horizons program can be downloaded from the Web site. Graduate Horizons Preps Native Students Pursuing Graduate Degrees The success of College Horizons has spawned the creation of Graduate Horizons – a program for students who plan to continue their education at the post-graduate level. Graduate Horizons is a four-day ‘crash-course’ that prepares Native college students, master's students, or alumni for graduate school (masters, PhD, or professional school). Faculty, admissions officers and deans from a host of graduate and professional schools representing hundreds of graduate disciplines help students Select suitable programs to apply for a given career path coplete winning application sand write memorable personal statements Learn what turns an applicant into an admitted student Become a test-pre 'whiz-kid' on the GRE, GMAT, LSAT & MCAT Navigate the financial aid/scholarship jungle Explore special issues for Native students Learn graduate school survival tips The 2009 Graduate Horizons program will be held at the University of California/Berkeley July 18 – 21. A flyer describing the 2009 Graduate Horizons program can be downloaded from the College Horizons Web site.
Choctaw Scholar Kaben Smallwood Shoots For the Pros Scholarship Advisement Program Provides an Assist Choctaw Scholar Kaben Smallwood admits he is taking a long-shot in his chosen career-path. In basketball terms Kaben knows he is shooting well outside the three-point line. “But if anyone can succeed, it has to be Kaben,” says the Gregory E. Pyle, Chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO). “He knows what he wants, he’s determined, and he knows how to find resources like the CNO’s Scholarship Advisement Program,” adds Chief Pyle. Not quite a decade ago Smallwood was a star Point Guard for the Muskogee, Oklahoma Hilldale High School Hornets. With an athlete’s pride Smallwood says he still ranks in the Hornets all-time top three in scoring, assists and steals. The only thing keeping Smallwood from playing college basketball – or his ultimate dream, the NBA – was a handicap he couldn’t overcome, says Smallwood. In a game of giants, Smallwood stood five feet, nine inches tall and weighed 125 pounds. Clearly, there wasn’t much of an athletic future past Hilldale High for the all-time Hornets basketball star. Now 24 years-old and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma (B.S. Business Administration) Smallwood has qualified for a unique post-graduate program at Oklahoma City University (OCU), a school to which CNO’s Scholarship Advisement Program (SAP) has strong ties. Smallwood’s Law School Admission Test (LSAT) scores qualified him for a scholarship to an OCU program that provides talented and motivated students the chance to earn two post graduate degrees in only three years. "The Meinders School of Business is proud to award Kaben Smallwood a Love's Entrepreneurship Scholarship. Kaben has shown extraordinary promise and we believe his years of study at Oklahoma City University will provide him a foundation for an outstanding career in business," said Dr. Vince Orza, Dean of the Meinders School of Business at OCU. OCU is an important donor to the SAP program and awards one Choctaw underegraduate scholarship per year as well as one Choctaw graduate scholarship per year at the Meinders School of Business. The OCU joint degree program requires nearly a full-time commitment from the former Hilldale Point Guard. That’s why the Choctaw Nation, through its Scholarship Advisement Program is giving the former Hornets all-star an assist in addition to his Meinders School of Business scholarship. SAP is matching Smallwood’s OCU scholarship in order to help Kaben compete in his career’s biggest game: Earning both a law degree and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in only three years. Why the dedication to graduate degrees in both law and business? Smallwood believes he needs both degrees in order to make his love of sports his life’s career. Kaben Smallwood intends to be a professional sports agent representing athletes in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Football League (NFL). Smallwood has always enjoyed challenges. “I believe they are nothing more than springboards to opportunity,” he says. “Plus I always wanted to be a sports agent with NBA and NFL clients. But Oklahoma isn’t a hotbed for sports agents, Smallwood notes. “So I want to give myself a big advantage – and that’s education,” he says. Sports Agents operate on information asymmetry – much like realtors, Smallwood believes. “As an agent you base everything on the fact that you know more about the subject material than the next guy. So it gets back to education again. I’m through my first year of law school and after this summer I’ll have 12 hours of my MBA program completed.” Like many CNO scholars, Smallwood has a strong support system. “I’ve been fortunate to have family that has put me in a position to succeed,” he says. Smallwood’s father and grandfather are both retired basketball coaches who later became school principals. But Smallwood has also relied on the CNO’s Scholarship Advisement Program (SAP). “Jo McDaniel and the SAP Program have been gracious to me,” says Smallwood. “They’ve helped me in a number of ways. Jo McDaniel even drove to Oklahoma City to meet with me,” he says. “SAP is a great program. It’s a way for new students to make their mark. The more who know about SAP – and use it – the better our tribe will be.” April 2009 Alysia Brooks Wins OU Humanities Scholarship CNO Scholar Among 5 Selected of 250 Applicants. Earns Guaranteed Admission to OU Medical School In the fourth grade CNO scholar Alysia Brooks had a chance to work with children suffering from autism. She learned first-hand how personal human interaction can positively impact the lives of autistic kids. From that experience Alysia gained a clear idea of what she wanted to do with her life. She wanted to be a pediatrician working in the field of autism. Later she decided she also wanted to be a doctor highly aware of social traditions and customs of diverse peoples and cultures. In April, 2009, as a senior honors student at Durant High School, Alysia took a big step toward achieving both her life goals. Alysia won a fully paid scholarship to a unique academic program from the University of Oklahoma that will launch her onto her chosen career path according to CNO Chief Gregory E. Pyle. In a highly rigorous competition among 250 applicants, Alysia Brooks was among five students selected for the University of Oklahoma’s Medical Humanities Scholars Program which includes admission to OU’s Honors College. “To say we are proud of Alyisa’s achievement is an understatement,” Chief Pyle says. “Alysia is an exceptionally gifted young person who is an example of what can be accomplished by setting high goals, being persistent, perusing opportunities, and taking advantage of support systems such as CNO’s Scholarship Advisement Program” Chief Pyle adds. For Alysia admission to the Medical Humanities Scholars Program includes both a fully paid scholarship and admission to the OU Honors College plus guaranteed acceptance at the OU College of Medicine. In the past year Alysia also visited – and was accepted at – Dartmouth University in Hanover, New Hampshire and at George Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Alysia chose OU because the Medical Humanities Scholars Program provides an ideal opportunity for her life’s goals. Alysia has been enrolled in the CNO’s Scholarship Advisement Program since her Junior Year at Durant High School, though she says it was really Jo McDaniel, SAP’s Program Director, who found her. “With Alysia’s ACT scores and related experience and activities, I knew we had a very special student,” says McDaniel. “She’s the kind we want to roll-up our sleeves and help as much as possible,” she adds. SAP helped Alysia make networking connections to Dartmouth University as well as George Washington University. SAP also helped Alysia prepare for oral interviews for the hugely competitive OU Medical Humanities Program. SAP arranged contacts with the American Indian Physician Association in Oklahoma City as well as networking with medical school students prior to her oral interviews. Of the program’s 250 applicants, only 13 were selected for oral interviews. And from that group only five were selected for the program. Persistence has been a big contributor to Alysia’s success, a quality she evidently learned from her Mom, Leah Brooks. “I took my first ACT test as a high school freshman,” she says. “My Mom told me to keep taking it over and over until I got the score I needed. I took the test a total of six times. I started at 24 and ended up with a 34. As much as anything that’s what got me into the OU Medical Humanities Program.” While Alyisa’s work with autistic children in the fourth grade kindled her desire to become a doctor, it was more recent trips to Europe and China that inspired her to help people in other cultures. That combination makes the OU Medical Humanities Honors Program is a near-perfect fit. “The program’s purpose is to create well rounded doctors that are also knowledgeable in the humanities and use their knowledge of culture and background to better treat patients,” she says. Where does Alysia see herself after the long grind of college and medical school? “I wanted to be a pediatrician since fourth grade and do research on autism. I see myself going overseas and doing a lot of community outreach programs in different countries. I want to do something in my life that gives me joy every day. And helping children definitely gives me joy.” John Sullivan Insurance Supports Scholarship Advisement Program Programs like the CNO’s Scholarship Advisement Program (SAP) are enriched by the support of the nation’s friends according to CNO Chief Gregory E. Pyle. Few programs have had a more consistent supporter than the CNO’s Scholarship Advisement Program (SAP) has had in John Sullivan, owner of the Sullivan Insurance Agency - www.johnsullivaninsurance.com. John Sullivan has been doing business with the CNO for more than 25 years. “Over that period of time I have become very good friends with many people who I work with in the nation. That includes a man I met some years ago who also had an insurance background,” says Sullivan. “He was Greg Pyle. We worked well together and became good friends,” he adds. Several years ago Sullivan, an Economics graduate from Westminster College in Fulton Missouri (MBA at Oklahoma City University), created a scholarship to help CNO students obtain an education at Sullivan’s alma mater. Sullivan named his scholarship after Eliphalet Nott Wright, a CNO member who attended Westminster College from 1872-74 and later became a prominent CNO physician and political leader a little more than a century ago. Sullivan’s E.N. Wright Scholarship covers expenses including room, board, books and tuition. Applicants must be members of the CNO and have a minimum ACT score of 25 and participate in Native American activities. More recently Sullivan has once again donated to the SAP Program. Sullivan has helped fund The Scholarship Advisement Program News, SAP’s online newsletter that is sent monthly via email to CNO students, parents and stakeholders enrolled in the SAP Program. SAP News keeps stakeholders abreast of new opportunities and quickly changing programs according to Jo McDaniel, SAP Program Director. The 1,500-name SAP News email list is constantly growing, says McDaniel. Subscription is free by simply contacting the SAP program or via the web site www.choctawnation-sap.com. “I want to extend a special thanks to John Sullivan,” says McDaniel. “This is exactly the kind of help that grows our program, and helps our kids get valuable scholarships. SAP can also assist others who wish to provide financial aid to CNO students.” John Sullivan Insurance has offices in Durant, Edmond and Ardmore, Oklahoma and is licensed in 14 states. The agency was started in 1946 by Sullivan’s father and John Sullivan took over the business in 1974. The company has 15 employees, most with professional education and designation. Two CNO Students Take LEAD Chief Pyle Says More Should Check Out This Summer Program. In 1979 executives from pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, fresh from a recruiting trip, approached the University of Pennsylvania’s prestigious Wharton School of Business with a proposition. In their recruiting they found a distressingly low number of minority students were pursuing an MBA (Masters of Business Administration) degree. The pharmaceutical execs told Wharton they’d help fund a summer program to expose diversity students to careers in business if Wharton would provide the academic experience for talented pre-college scholars. The program was launched at Wharton the following year, in 1980 – and has grown every year since. Today the program is called LEAD (Leadership, Education and Development) and has expanded greatly to other top universities. It has also grown beyond a business school program seeking diversity MBA’s. Now, every summer, a growing number of participating schools select 30 students (from three times that number of applicants) for a summer institute lasting three or four weeks where diversity students learn the basics of a range of related subjects with instruction from senior faculty and corporate executives. From its humble beginnings LEAD has grown to include 12 universities, 40 multinational corporations, an agency of the federal government, and a non-profit organization all working together. To date, two CNO students, both enrolled in the Choctaw Scholarship Advisement Program (SAP), have taken part in LEAD according to CNO Chief Gregory E. Pyle. “More of our pre-college students should check out this opportunity,” Chief Pyle says. Trent Tolbert, now a sophomore at Dartmouth University in Hanover, New Hampshire, attended a LEAD summer program at Dartmouth’s Tuck Business School between his junior and senior year. “It was a tremendous experience and a great program,” says Tolbert. “We were taught by actual Tuck Business Professors. We traveled to Boston and New York to meet with many different businesses. It was a great hands - on learning experience and I’d encourage any interested Choctaw student to apply,” he adds. Christian McGowan is a 17 year-old home-schooled scholar who will be attending the Dartmouth Tuck Business School this summer. Christian has a wide-ranging art interest that includes design, painting and illustration “I’m excited about the LEAD program,” she says. “I hope to learn things that might help me start and run my own studio or gallery some day. ” LEAD Expands To Include Engineering Program - Google and DuPont are Sponsors In 2008 LEAD announced the launch of its Summer Engineering Institute (SEI) for academically strong high schooldiversity students. The program began at Georgia Institute of Technology. LEAD's entry into engineering follows its three decades of success at its Summer Business Institutes. The first SEI at Georgia Tech hosted 30 students for a three-week residency. Curriculum focuses on electric, mechanical, computer and civil engineering. Google, the Internet Search Engine, signed on as a LEAD Engineer sponsor with a $1.27M pledge of support. DuPont Engineering has also signed on as a LEAD Engineering sponsor and has committed to support the first three years of the SEI rollout. The overall SEI rollout will include four additional program location sin 2009 with an increase of two programs each summer from 2010 through 2012. LEAD executives are currently meeting with administrators at additional top 50 engineering programs to determine further partnerships. For more information about the LEAD program CNO students should contact Jo McDaniel, Director fo the Choctaw Scholarship Advisement Program (800-522-6170 Ext. 2547) or call LEAD at 215-753-2494 or visit the LEAD Web site at www.leadprogram.org. 1,500 Students Meet Over 40 U.S. Colleges at Choctaw's McAlester Expo About 1,500 area students met representatives from more than 40 US. colleges and universities at the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma’s College Fair and Career Expo in McAlester on March 31st according to Gregory E. Pyle, Chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO). That’s nearly double the turnout of a similar event held last year. Officials from the Choctaw Scholarship Advisement Program were pleased that so many CNO students were exposed to such a wide range of higher education options: Ivy League, Big 10, Service Academies, in-state schools and small private liberal arts colleges. “Booths were full of students eager to learn about higher education options,” says Chief Pyle . “This event gave us a chance to expose our students to a broad spectrum of colleges and universities, many outside of our local state boundaries. It also let us meet face-to-face with many students and parents at our own booth,” the Chief added. The Choctaw Scholarship Advisement Program (www.choctawnation-sap.com) began in late 2007 and focuses on college preparation and retention for Choctaw students. The program helps CNO students set and achieve high goals and standards and helps enrolled students with a variety of college issues including college selection, ACT testing, summer programs and peer advisement and mentoring. In addition SAP actively seeks scholarship donations and provides its members with access to databases for scholarships, grants, fellowships and internships. Jo McDaniel, director of The Scholarship Advisement Program, says SAP has grown rapidly since its founding less than two years ago. More than 2,000 students and parents are enrolled in the program which is free to CNO members. “Visits to SAP’s web site now average more than 1,500 sessions per month,” McDaniel reports. Students and their parents enroll in SAP via the “apply online” tool on SAP’s web site. A number of factors accounted for this year’s increase in College Fair and Career Expo turnout – including the chance to meet OU Heisman Trophy Winner Jason White. But this was also the first time the CNO combined college recruitment with the traditional Career Expo format that provides networking opportunity for area businesses and potential new graduates. Judging from the steady activity at college, university and SAP booths, it was clear students attending College Fair and Career Expo were also very interested in talking to college recruiters. All major in-state universities and colleges attended this year’s event. Also included were big-name schools like Yale, Vanderbilt, Purdue, and the Air Force Academy – as well as Westminster and William Woods, smaller private liberal arts colleges located in Missouri. Breakout sessions during the day gave students a chance for focused learning. Kaplan (noted for college test preparation) walked students through the all-important ACT testing process and provided example test brochures. Yale talked to students about financial aid alternatives. Linking SAP and college recruiters with the CNO’s College Fair and Career Expo event allowed McDaniel to gauge the level of interest within CNO about the SAP program and the need for informed advice that prepares students for college. McDaniel says the interest from College Fair and Career Expo, when combined with the turnout for a November event featuring Harvard University recruiters means SAP should consider sponsoring more college recruiter sessions in the near future. A Friday-Saturday two-day session utilizing CNO’s Durant event center would make a college information event more convenient for parents, she says. March 2009 Free College Tuition - Does Your Family Qualify For Oklahoma's Promise? The CNO – and all Oklahomans – want to see deserving students succeed, especiallystudents who study and work hard, but whose families find it difficult to afford college. Ifyour child dreams of going to collegeandworks to achieve it, there’s a way to make it a reality. To make that happen, the Oklahoma Legislature has set up a unique program for eighth-, ninth- and 10th-grade students (home school students must be age 13, 14 or 15) that will help pay for college education if the family's income is $50,000 or less at the time the student applies for the program. This program is Oklahoma's Promise. To make sure students get ready for college while they're still in high school, the program requires students to take certain high school courses. They will have to pass those courses and keep up their grades. Besides staying on top of the books, students will also have to show that they're in control outside the classroom. That means staying away from trouble like gangs, drugs and alcohol. In short, the student promises to prepare academically for college and stay out of trouble, and in return, the state of Oklahoma promises to help pay the student’s college tuition. If you don't qualify for this program, there are still other ways to pay for college, including scholarships, grants and student loans. For more information on other financial aid, talk to one of the staff members of the CNO's Scholarship Advisement Program or visit the financial aid section on the Student Center of the Oklahoma Higher Education Web site or call the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education's student information hotline at 800.858.1840. February 2009 More than $200,000 in Scholarships Available for 2009 Over $200,000 in scholarship and internship opportunities are available to CNO students for 2009 according to CNO Scholarship Advisement Program (SAP) Director Jo McDaniel. Conditions and eligibility requirements vary for each scholarship and internship. A sampling of scholarships and internships available include: Scholarship Examples: The E.N. Wright Scholarship at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. Current value is $45,000. All CNO Honor Scholar students are eligible to apply. Leading with Diligence Scholarship. The Flintco Scholarship. Value is $25,000. Available to college bound CNO high school seniors interested in construction management or science program. Oklahoma City University Meinders School of Business Scholarship. Current value is $25,000. Available to CNO Honors Scholar. Internship Examples: Flintco Internship - Flintco will be offering paid internships to qualifying Choctaw students. If intrested, apply online with the Scholarship Advisement Program. Washington Internships – a great program for all students, especially those interested in government. Inroads - a great resource for summer internships that can lead into permanent jobs. Many internships across the country specifically for minority students. Browse to the Scholarship or Internship links on the Scholarship Advisement Program Web site for a complete list of available scholarships and Internships – or contact SAP directly at 800-522-6170 Ext. 2547. Join SAP - Refer A Friend Since its creation in 2007, the CNO’s Scholarship Advisement Program has enrolled more than 1,200 students. This rapid growth proves CNO students and parents are hungry not just for scholarships, but also for the advice and counsel the program offers. The Scholarship Advisement Program is free to all CNO members. To join, browse to the “apply online” link at Choctawnation-sap.com. While all CNO college bound students should join SAP, the earlier a student joins the program the more value students – and students’ parents – receive. “Students who join in their sophomore year of High School get the full range of value from our program,” says SAP Director, Jo McDaniel. “That includes college preparation advice, practice examinations for ACT and SAT, and a growing range of extremely valuable student program opportunities. Students who join early in high school or late middle school get the advantage of all our offerings.” Seeking SAP Newsletter Sponsors The Scholarship Advisement Program online newsletter is seeking sponsors. Our newsletter is sent twice a month to a growing list of more than 1,000 CNO stakeholders. Newsletter recipients include students, parents, counselors, advisors and numerous influencers interested in the Choctaw Nation. Sponsorship benefits include: Banner advertisement on each issue of the SAP Newsletter “Thank You” on the SAP Website (now averaging over 1,000 unique visits a month) Recognition on the home page of our scholarship database page (now under development) Press release in the CNO’s monthly newspaper, The Bishinik For more information or questions about sponsorship opportunities please contact SAP Program Director, Jo McDaniel at jomcdaniel@choctawnation.com or phone toll free at 800-522-6170 Ext. 2547.

Choctaw Scholarship Advisement Program News Archive

Crash Courses Prepare Native Students for College or Graduate School. 85% Graduation Rate

Graduate Horizons Preps Native Students Pursuing Graduate Degrees

Crash Courses Prepare Native Students for College or
Graduate School. 85% Graduation Rate