November 22, 2010
Please read and enjoy our piece on the “Challenge Life College Tour.”
What is Education?
I have always cherished the quote, “an education makes you an interesting person.” At “Challenge Life,” we work to
expose young adults to the many opportunities in life and to help create interesting people. There is no magic wand that
makes all people want to learn or to succeed on a standardized test. There is, however, within most individuals a passion
that if kindled will lead to success in life. The passion to learn might be expressed through music or art, athletic competition
or computer knowledge. The passion for excellence may be expressed in dance, creative writing or the mastery of languages.
There are many types of educational pursuits and there are many ways to express excellence.
There is an exciting world out there for everyone to enjoy and sometimes all we need is a spark. The goal of every learning
institution should be to create life long learners. Instructors should strive to kindle a spark, ignite a passion for students to want to learn and
wake up every morning in anticipation of what is ahead. That responsibility, however, does not fall simply on
the shoulders of the teacher. That responsibility falls to the parents, the community and the education administration,
in addition to the teacher. The responsibility to learn also resides in the hands of the student. No one owes a student an education, rather, we owe
a student the opportunity for an education. It is up to the student to take advantage of the opportunity provided and it is up to all of us to create
an atmosphere where learning is fun, challenging and the student wants to take excel.
Recently, “Challenge Life” brought a group of young men and women to the Pacific Northwest to visit colleges and universities with the
intention of creating a spark for academic and athletic excellence and the pursuit of higher education. It was a trip about exposure.
The following represents random highlights of what it means to young adults when their world is opened:
The Trip
Calming the fear and pursuing an education.
Last week, the “Challenge Life” team, with a large contingent of Arctic Slope student-athletes, visited schools ranging in size from
the University of Washington to the Northwest Indian College in Oregon. The common thread that all the travelers noticed was, regardless of size,
the pride and excitement the residents had for their school. Over and over, the “Challenge Life” travel group received the message that
school wasn’t something to be feared, it was exciting and fun. It was an opportunity to learn and explore. What made the message
more meaningful, were the people involved in sending the message. When the group visited Gray’s Harbor College in Washington,
there was Ruth Nash (Point Hope) and Rhoda Mekiana (Anaktuvuk Pass), talking about how much fun college and the opportunities
college presented could be. At Green River College, it was Violet Kakaniya of Anaktuvuk Pass sending the same message. These were
just three former “Challenge Life” trip participants that were joined by others in singing the praises of what an education can mean.
An immediate impact!
On day four, in the middle of a long drive home, Abbie (Point Hope) burst out with, “Man, I didn’t even want to come on this trip and now I don’t
want it to end.” That sentiment was expressed over and over again by the participants.
Learning to cope in a different setting.
Benny Nageak, former mayor of Barrow, met the “Challenge Life” travelers in a hotel eating area in Seattle. Benny, excited about
the opportunity that was taking place addressed the confidence a trip like this would build and the new skills students would learn.
Mike, “Challenge Life” co-director, addressed the opportunity for new skills by designating one student in each van as the navigator on
every ride. The navigator was responsible for learning how to program and interpret the GPS and get the group to its destination. This
was just one example of exposure to new learning.
Relationships.
Players from Fort Yukon, Kotzebue. Nome, Anchorage and the Slope learned to play and live together, travel in close quarters
and share the adventure. It didn’t take long before a young man from Nome was requesting of Mike if the Nome kids and
Barrow kids could play together against the college athletes. He simply stated, “we love playing with those guys.”
In addition, almost every student in their recap of the experience mentioned the relationships developed and a desire to matriculate
to the collegiate level with some of their new found friends.
Well Received.
Not only did the players hear from basketball coaches, students and chaperones about the value of an education, they were
entertained by notables from other sports including the volleyball coaches at the University of Washington. The community
colleges rolled out the red carpet for our group as they have already witnessed the success of former trip participants.
The Results
I don’t know how many scholarships and opportunities will come from this trip although every year we have seen positive
results. What I do know, is that a group of young men and women have new aspirations because of what they have seen.
It Would Not Be Possible.
“Challenge Life” was able to plan, coordinate and manage the trip but the trip would not be possible without the help of so many.
If not for the efforts of Seei Pili, the Autaaqtuq fund, Healthy Communities, GCI, ASRC, our dedicated chaperones including, Noe,
Sarah, Junior, Rob, Mike, Kathy and Marques (I am sure I left someone out) and the school principals this would not be possible.
Last week, a group of concerned people made a difference in the life of some children, let’s keep it going!
Thanks Everyone,
Mike/Al
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