Category: Dine/Navajo

Dear Pipeline Community,

I am honored to introduce to you the 4 mentors who we have chosen for the 2013 Pipeline Program session! Our mentors were chosen from a pool of very-well qualified applicants so they bring many good skills and qualities to the Program. These mentors will be responsible for taking care of your child/children during the Pipeline Program; please feel free to contact them with any concerns/questions you may have before and during the Program.

Anna Mae Tiger was born in Santa Ana to parents Gloria Jensen and Michael Tiger, both of Native American full-blooded descent. Named after both her parents’ grandmothers, Anna Mae, she grew up enriched with the knowledge of the Dine (Navajo) culture. After losing her father at the young age of four, her mother raised her single handedly, in a small town called Apple Valley, a desert area of Southern California. Certainly watching her mother work hard, and play fair made her the young woman she is today. Proud of her culture, values and traditions she tries to exemplify everything that her grandmother and mother taught her. Taking classes at CSU, Fullerton and meeting fellow students of color helped Anna create a community of support and comfort. As the President of the Inter-Tribal Student Council, Anna created Native American events addressing stereotypes, tribal contemporary views of urban life, forum for discussing Native American identity and roles, and the impact of boarding schools. As well as outreaching to young Native American students in Reservation, Rural and Urban areas, networking with fellow Native Americans organizations at other universities, and displaying the cultural singing and dancing traditions new and old for the CSU Fullerton campus. One of her largest accomplishments is planning two successful Native American cultural events, the Powwow during the spring semesters, as well as the Indigenous Film Festival, in which her organization collaborated with a strong, encouraging and now great group of friends, MeCha de CSUF.

Amanda León has just finished her freshman year at Pitzer College in Claremont, Ca where she is a premed student majoring in Human Biology, with a minor in Spanish. Upon entering Pitzer College, Amanda found enjoyment in being an active participant in her school community. She spends her Saturdays at Pitzer tutoring the children of Pitzer’s dining hall staff, works in the Seaver Theater costume shop at Pomona College, and has acted as a host for Pitzer’s Diversity weekends. Amanda was recently selected to serve on the Pitzer Student Senate Diversity Committee and as a Mentor for the Chicano/Latino Student Association for the 2013-2014 school year. Currently, Amanda works as summer intern at UCLA Harbor Medical Center’s Neurology Department researching neurocysticercosis. She also volunteers at Whittier Presbyterian Hospital and works at the La Habra Community Center. Amanda, who is originally from La Habra, California, enjoys swimming, hiking and napping when outdoors. Her favorite hobbies include reading, sewing, and drawing; she loves good coffee and making new friends. Amanda is very excited to participate as a mentor in this year’s Summer Pipeline Program.

Chuck grew up in Bethel, Alaska. He attended Ayaprun Elitnaurik, a Yup’ik Immersion elemaentary school where, until the third grade, the full school day was taught in Yup’ik and then from third grade to sixth grade, half of the day was in Yup’ik. He grew up fishing during the summers and dog mushing during the winters. He spent last semester studying Kiswahili and politics in Kenya and then the summer as a Public Policy and International Affairs Fellow at Berkeley. He is currently a rising senior at Pomona College majoring in Public Policy Analysis with a focus on Sociology.

I am half Navajo and half Filipino.  My dad is from the Kinlichi’nii (Red House) Clan.  I graduated from the University of California, San Diego with two Bachelor of Arts degrees in Ethnic Studies and Sociology: Science and Medicine this past June 2012.  In 2011, I had the pleasure to conduct archival research on Navajo uranium mining for the Robert McNair Scholar Program and got to present my research at the University of California, Berkeley McNair Research Symposium.  After learning about how uranium mining has affected Navajo health, I gained an interest in healthcare.  Recently, I was accepted into Northern Arizona University’s American Indian Nursing Program where only 10 individuals are chosen for the program each year. As a future nurse (and hopefully Nurse Practitioner), I hope to make an impact on the Navajo people, not only in terms of providing direct healthcare, but educationally as well.

Please help us welcome and congratulate our new 2013 Pipeline Program Mentors!