Growing up in the isolated Alaskan coastal community of Ketchikan, Randy never considered education his top priority. “I never pushed school aside,” he says. “I always applied myself and tried my best to get good grades, and I was successful at it, but it wasn’t something that I actually enjoyed deep down until recently.” Moving over two thousand miles to Lawrence, Kansas, where he currently studies business administration at Haskell Indian Nations University, helped him change his viewpoint, both literally and figuratively. “I’ve had a good amount of time to step back and see my community from the outside. Gaining that perspective has influenced me and made me realize that they do need people that are educated, and they do need help. I didn’t realize all the positive changes that I could make. Now, my education means the world to me.”
Randy also had to overcome the grief of losing family members and role models. As an eighth grader, he lost his father; when he was a senior in high school, his older brother died. “I had never gone through anything as impactful as that before. My older brother was the person I was always trying to be.” The stress of bereavement left Randy struggling in school, but his determination to become the first person in his family to earn a college degree helped see him through to the finish.
He achieved that goal in 2020 by completing his associate degree in liberal arts; he is now pursuing his business degree in preparation for one day opening his own business back in Ketchikan. “I am very interested in how business works and how our economy works. The idea of starting my own business has always intrigued me very much.” Randy does not yet know what kind of business he would like to open, but he is confident that he can make a positive impact on the people in his community. He also hopes to become a positive role model for his Native peers by showing them the value of a college education—something he will be able to do far beyond his own community as a student ambassador for the American Indian College Fund (College Fund).
Randy offers his gratitude to the College Fund’s donors for the support they have provided: “I would like to thank you tremendously for helping me in my journey to become the first college graduate in my family. There are no words that can portray how grateful I am. Coming to Kansas all the way from Alaska has been quite the journey for me, and I want you to know how your donations impact even the most unlikely of young adults. It’s a big leap to move away from home and go attend college, but it’s worth it.”