2016 Recommendation Links Now Available
Good Morning Everyone!
It’s already February and just the other day it was January 1st, 2016!
Recommendation Links for both 2016 Mentor and Student Applications are now available.
Mentor Recommendation Link: http://forms.pitzer.edu/cec-mentor-recommendation-form/#gf_36
Student Recommendation Link: http://forms.pitzer.edu/cec-student-recommendation/
You can also find either of these by clicking on the 2016 Applications and then either the Student or Mentor Application tab in the Dropdown menu.
Please remember, you need 2 recommendations from someone who knows you and your work well – a teacher, a mentor, a boss, etc.
It’s never too early to ask for recommendations if you are applying for the program.
2016 Name Change
Hi Everyone!! It is that time of the year again – Applications are ready!
First, we have some exciting news:
The name has changed. We are now Pitzer/WesternU’s Native Youth to College Program.
Hopefully it’s not so much a mouthful to say anymore. 🙂
Pitzer College Article on the Program (We’re famous!…)
Pitzer Welcomes Native American Students to Pipeline Program
Claremont, CA (July 12, 2015)—Twenty Native American high school students arrived at Pitzer College today for a two-week residential program that is designed to prepare them for success in higher education—both academically and culturally.
The Pitzer College/WesternU’s Native American Summer Pipeline to College Program, co-sponsored by Western University of Health Sciences and run by Pitzer’s Community Engagement Center, will focus on the humanities and health sciences while helping students build academic skills for college. The Pipeline Program is the only program of its kind with a Native science component, which encompasses traditional approaches in areas such as the environment, marine life and food.
The Pipeline Program goes beyond the standard approach to academics. According to Program Director Scott Scoggins ’10, the Pipeline Program draws on Native American scholars and Elders’ wisdom to contribute cultural knowledge and traditional ways of learning within the academic environment. Two Canadian Elders—Rose Henry (Tla’ A’min Nation (Sliammon Territory)) and Joe Thorne (Cowichan/Nuu-chah-nulth)—are the program Elders-in-Residence, who offer students and mentors alike opportunities to learn from Elders in an informal setting. On July 24, the Elders will also co-lead a rally for Idle No More, a grassroots movement dedicated to building Indigenous sovereignty and protecting the environment.
“To succeed in life, you need to be strong in your culture,” Scoggins said. “We can’t prepare the students properly unless they’re backed up by their culture.” Scoggins himself is of Pipil Nahuat, Pocoman Maya and English ancestry.
The program, now in its seventh year, offers a new component this year called Generation Indigenous (Gen I), a White House initiative in collaboration with the Center for Native American Youth and the Aspen Center. To meet Gen I’s challenge to support college access and youth development, the Pipeline Program youth will create a booklet, “A Survival Guide for Native American Youth by Native American Youth.” The booklet will encourage students to express themselves through writing and tell their own stories. Five mentors, some of them former Pipeline students, will assist.
Other programming includes reflective essay writing drawn from the reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie, an earth science class with Elder Kim Marcus (Santa Rosa Cahuilla) and Elder Barbara Marcus (Spokane), building a Tongva kiiy and rabbit loom with Tongva Elder Barbara Drake and an ever-popular media studies course on blogging led by Pitzer Media Studies Professor Gina Lamb. At Western University of Health Sciences, students will learn about the Thrifty Genotype hypothesis, population genetics and different health careers.
Students will also visit Wishtoyo Foundation’s Chumash Village in Malibu for a three-day camping experience in traditional Chumash homes called “aps.” They will study plant identification, marine biology conservation and land stewardship.
Over the years, Scoggins has seen once shy young people who often lack trust in academia transformed through their shared experiences in the program.
“I see strong young people with hope for the future, with confidence in an academic setting and with their culture backing them up to make them even stronger,” Scoggins said.
For more information, please visit:
http://pitweb.pitzer.edu/cec/native-american-engagement/
www.westernu.edu/ladder-american-indian/about.php
ABOUT PITZER COLLEGE
Pitzer College is a nationally top-ranked undergraduate liberal arts and sciences institution. A member of The Claremont Colleges, Pitzer offers a distinctive approach to a liberal arts education by linking intellectual inquiry with interdisciplinary studies, cultural immersion, social responsibility and community involvement. For more information, please visit www.pitzer.edu.
Cherish . . . our moments together @atiger89
You all haven’t arrived yet, but you will be here in two days~! Then we will only have two weeks, time will fly. I hope our time together is memorable and…
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I was unable to finish this post before you all came. These times of course will be memorable.. but what else? Short? Difficult? maybe even exciting. How was I to know it would turn up like this. We are in our second week, tired, becoming close knit, and appreciative of what we learn together.
In some ways this experience is reminding me of my undergrad years, especially freshman year. Everything and everyone is new, its exciting to be in this place, to see new faces and hear about others’ lives. Each and everyone of us carry different stories and yet now in this second week we have created a family. That was fast. With such connection I believe it should be cherished and nourished for as long as possible. My wish is that throughout our lives we will grow closer and rely on one another from time to time. Know that if you need to talk to someone, advice on academia or social life, I will be here. And I’m sure the same is for my counterparts: Amanda, Chuck and Sean. Malibu Group Photo

2013 Pipeline Program 2013
Pechanga Grant Awarded to Pipeline Program
Dear Pipeline Community,
We are happy to announce that we have recently received a generous grant from Pechanga’s Tribal Council to support this year’s Pipeline Program.
We are grateful for their support, as it means that we are able to continue to provide the Pipeline experience to our new and returning students; the 3-day camping trip at the Wishtoyo’s Chumash Cultural Village in Malibu, visiting the Hawaiian Gardens Powwow and Bear Ceremony, meeting Dr Lori Alvord, the first woman Diné surgeon, the SAT Prep intensive taught by a certified instructor, and the visit to FNX Studios.
This year’s Program will be a wonderful experience. Once again, we thank the Pechanga Tribal Council for their vision in supporting Native educational access and programs.
Scott Scoggins, MA
Pipeline Director