Nov. 29, 2012 - The Cherokee One Feather

14 THURSDAY, NOV. 29, 2012 cherokee one feather/na tsalagi soquo ugidahliJones-Bowman Fellows travel north to AlaskaEBCI college students participatingin the Jones-Bowman LeadershipAward Programstablished by Cherokee PreservaionFoundation have been developngtheir leadership skills over theast month by going north to Alaskand east to Greensboro and Chapelill. The trips were taken so the stuentscould participate in cusomizedleadership developmentrograms they have developed withentors who are also enrolled memersof the EBCI.Six Jones-Bowman fellows --elsey Standingdeer, Joey Owle, SaannahHicks, Kayla Smith, Jessicaunson and Dre Jackson -- attendedhe 2012 American Indians in Scinceand Engineering SocietyAISES) National Conference in Anhorage,Alaska, in early November.Among the many events and acivitiesat AISES were more than 50earning sessions organized intoracks targeting the professional deelopmentinterests of the particiants,the largest career fair inndian Country, and unique sharingf traditional Native culture.Kelsey Standingdeer said she enjoyedattending the career fair andspeaking with representatives fromorganizations such as the PeaceCorps and Alaska Tribal Health.“This was a great trip where ourgroup members bonded and learnedmore about what it takes to be aleader for our community,” she said.For Savannah Hicks, the AISESconference helped her decide to furtherher education by going to gradschool. “The conference was informativeabout how many opportunitiesthere are out there for Native students,”she said.“AISES is an excellent avenue forNative students and professionals tonetwork,” said Joey Owle. It providesopportunities for young leaders todevelop their professional skills.”Standingdeer and Owle traveledcloser to home for other professionaldevelopment opportunities as well.Kelsey Standingdeer (left) and Ruth Ponce-Batts display the “Promoting Diversity inthe School Environment” poster they created and presented at the North CarolinaSchool Counselor Association Conference.Standingdeer and Ruth Ponce-Batts,graduate students at NC State incounselor education, participated inthe North Carolina School CounselorAssociation Conference in Greensboroon Nov. 8. They presented aposter they created to other counselorsat the event they titled “PromotingDiversity in the SchoolEnvironment.” It generated a lot ofpositive feedback from other conferenceattendees, who wanted to learnmore about promoting diversity intheir schools. Standingdeer andCPF photosJoey Owle, Kelsey Standingdeer, SavannahHicks, Kayla Smith, Jessica Munsonand Dre Jackson went to Anchorage,Alaska, for the American Indians in Scienceand Engineering Society NationalConference.Ponce-Batts created lesson plans as aresource for their poster.Joey Owle, a graduate student insoil science at NC State, attended theNorth Carolina VermicompostingConference in Chapel Hill immediatelyafter returning from Alaska.Vermicomposting is a process thatrelies on earthworms and microorganismsto help stabilize active organicmaterials and convert to a soilamendment and plant nutrientsource, and the North Carolina eventis the only conference about earthwormfarming and mid-to-largescale vermicomposting in NorthAmerica.“This conference excited meabout the ability of the vermicompostingprocess to mitigate the environmentalimpacts of our manymunicipal, industrial, and agriculturalwastes,” said Owle. “The informationI gained for this conferencewill help me to complete my graduateproject focused on vermicomposting.”The Jones-Bowman LeadershipAward Program makes financialawards to undergraduate collegestudents committed to developingtheir leadership skills. The programhonors the memory and leadershipof Principal Chief Leon Jones andMr. James Bowman, who werefounding members of the Board ofDirectors of Cherokee PreservationFoundation. Each year they participatein the program, Jones-BowmanFellows receive funding of approximately$4,000 for individual leadershiplearning plans they developwith their mentor. The Jones-BowmanProgram will be recruiting EBCIundergraduate students for the2013/2014 program in early 2013.Info: Alicia Jacobs 497-5550.- Cherokee Preservation Foundation