Creighton University mentors visit Red Cloud

Gates Millennium applicants receive help from Creighton mentors

posted on October 27, 2011

On Sunday, October 16, Creighton University mentors arrived late in the evening at Red Cloud Indian School where representatives of the school greeted them. The Creighton faculty were here to provide their support as part of being each applicant’s mentor for the remainder of the application process.

Red Cloud Seniors Jessica Clifford, Renae Cournoyer, Cherella Hughes, Lyle Jacobs, James Knutson, Talia Lawrence, Tiarra Little, Marisa Snider, Caroline Stadnick, Maria Weston, and Sierra Yellow Boy were paired with a mentor to consult through the remainder of the Gates Millennium application process.

The Creighton University Mentors are part of a relationship between Red Cloud Indian School and Creighton University.

“[The program] was started by Fr. Ray Bucko in hopes to give Red Cloud students more assistance in the lengthy application process,” says Liz Welch, of student advancement and alumni support.

The protégés and mentors began their work early Monday morning and continued throughout the day with breaks for lunch and snacks.

“Each time I checked in on the students they were very focused on working with their mentors on the application,” said Mike Sunderland, senior english instructor. “I ate lunch with the mentors and they spoke positively about the students and their interactions with them.”

In the evening parents/guardians and scholarships applicants were invited to dinner with the mentors and the school counselors. The mentors took the following day to tour the Red Cloud campus and several communities on the Pine Ridge reservation. They visited Our Lady of Lourdes for lunch and took part in dinner with the Jesuit congregation at Red Cloud to conclude their visit.