Jodi Rave: Graduates eager to make a difference

"Michelle Gattone gave one of her final presentations before a panel of professors last week, a last salute to her undergraduate years at Oregon State University.

The Cherokee woman will graduate June 17, taking her place among hundreds of Native students earning degrees from tribal colleges and universities in the heartland and coast to coast. I watched Gattone make her presentation when I visited the OSU campus this past week.

Being around the OSU Native students reminded me of a recent interview with Philip “Sam” Deloria, the new director of the American Indian Graduate Center based on the University of New Mexico campus in Albuquerque, N.M.

Deloria spoke highly of the students he's meeting in academia these days. This new cadre of young people is graduating from college and ready to serve local communities. They are eager to make a difference and move Native people past historic oppression."

Get the Story:
Jodi Rave: Graduates shine with knowledge and heart (The Missoulian 6/10)

Relevant Links:
Jodi Rave - http://www.missoulian.com/jodirave

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