Alumni from Red Cloud Indian School return home to thank friends of organization

posted on January 4, 2010

Six alumni from Red Cloud Indian School returned to their alma mater at the end of December to say “thank you” to friends and families who have supported the organization and it’s various efforts throughout the 2010 year. The alumni called and wrote notes to more than 2500 benefactors as part of the annual phone-a-thon event.

“It’s great to get the chance to say ‘thank you,’ and it’s really cool to hear stories from those we call while also sharing with them our personal successes,” said Matthew Shoulders ’07, a fourth-year psychology student at the University of New Mexico.

Shoulders said that the phone-a-thon is important because it reminds people from across the country of the impact their partnership has on the students, artists, parishioners and staff who make up the Red Cloud community.

Angel White Eyes ’08, a mass communication student at Black Hills State University, agreed.

“I wanted to do this because I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to give back to the school by personally thanking the people who helped me to get an education here at Red Cloud,” she said.

Willie White ’08, a third-year student at Creighton University in Omaha majoring in photojournalism and musical theatre, said that he was trying to call as many people as possible while he had the chance. And he said it was quite fun—even if he often got an answering machine.

“It feels wonderful to be able to give our time back to the school that helped each one of us get to where we are,” he said.

“I’m incredibly proud of these students,” said Colleen McCarthy, major gifts officer in the Advancement Office. “Just to be witness to the professionalism that these students are bringing to this event is astounding to me, having known many of them since middle school and watching them graduate, leave for college and return home. It’s been wonderful to have them back on-campus.”

The other students participating in the phone-a-thon were Sammi Herman ’07, a dietician major at the University of Arizona-Phoenix, Blaine Leftwich ’10, an engineering major at the University of Colorado-Boulder, and Autumn White Eyes ’10, a pre-med major at Dartmouth College.