Looking Forward
HIRAM UPWARD BOUND
- Grade Checks: Every Wednesday from 9-5 in room 200
- Community Service: Every Thursday from 3:45-4:45 in room 200
- November 8: Election Day Workshop
- November 12: Academic Saturday
- November 19: Thanksgiving Block Party Bash
POLK UPWARD BOUND
- November 2: Wellness Wednesday at Rockmart HS
- November 9: Wellness Wednesday at Cedartown HS
- November 12: STEM Exploration Day
- November 19: Thanksgiving Block Party Bash
- November 28: University of West Georgia Tour
EAST PAULDING UBMS
- November 10 from 6-6:30pm: Group Advisement
- November 19: Thanksgiving Block Party Bash
The Month of thanksgiving
Happy November, KSU TRIO Family!
We are so excited to spend this time with you all, and we cannot wait for you to see all the awesome opportunities awaiting you this month!
In the wake of the past few years, we have come to realize just how much we have to be thankful for. We give thanks for good relationships, opportunities and accomplishments, our health and to the food provided, of course. With all the festivities that surround Thanksgiving, the history of this holiday often gets overlooked. As it happens, Thanksgiving is a story of many parts, and we would like to center the Indigenous Peoples whose resilience inspires us to this day.
Growing up, we all are taught that Thanksgiving dates back to the Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony in 1620 in what is now Massachusetts. As the story goes, the indigenous people of the area helped struggling colonists by teaching them how to survive in what the Europeans called the New World. Then some time later, everyone got together to celebrate with a feast in 1621, just over 400 years ago from today. The reality is that this may or may not have actually happened - historians largely disagree on the details of the first thanksgiving.
It is, however, impossible to tell the story of the first Thanksgiving without acknowledging the injustices that would follow. According to the New York Post, the United American Indians of New England have been publicly mourning on Thanksgiving for decades. On the National Day of Mourning, Native Americans gather in Plymouth, Massachusetts, for a day of remembrance. Prayers and speeches take place accompanied by beating drums before participants march through the Plymouth Historic District. "Participants in National Day of Mourning honor Native ancestors and the struggles of Native peoples to survive today," the commemorating plaque says, in part. "It is a day of remembrance and spiritual connection as well as a protest of the racism and oppression which Native Americans continue to experience."
A great way to honor First Nations people this Thanksgiving is to learn more about who occupied the land you live on now! You can go to https://native-land.ca, and find out which native people group has a history in your area. You can then research more about who they are, their culture, and even go to their visitor center or donate!
During this Thanksgiving season, enjoy time with family and friends (and as a well-deserved break from school)! From us at KSU TRIO to you, Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your family dinners and food comas!
Native American Heritage Month Profile: Oren Lyons
KSU TRIO is proud to celebrate and recognize the impact and contributions of all the First Nations people in our lives and our history. November gives us a chance to remember their successes and hardships, and thank those who have helped to affect change in our world.
Oren Lyons is a great example of how someone's love for their community and culture can change the world. His continued activism serves as a reminder that we all can help shape the world into a better place for all people.
Oren was born in 1930 as a member of the Onondaga and Seneca nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. As an activist for Indigenous and environmental justice, Oren has played a role in many laws that protect our land from man-made climate disasters. As a faithkeeper, he upholds the history and traditions of the Turtle Clan of the Onondaga and Seneca. He is known for his unique approach to conflict resolution, often addressing modern problems by sharing traditional views on the laws of nature.
Oren did not have the personal history people typically associate with world changing leaders - he grew up on his small reservation, later serving in the U.S. Army before receiving a scholarship to Syracuse University. At Syracuse, he was an All-American athlete in lacrosse, but this was not enough for him. After graduating from college with a degree in fine arts, Lyons moved to New York City to launch his career in commercial art.
In the 1960s, Oren joined what has been dubbed the “Red Power movement,” a group of Native American activists who came together across tribal lines to draw attention to Indigenous rights and struggles. Later, he took a leadership role in Native American rights events, including the “Trail of Broken Treaties,” a caravan that traveled to Washington, D.C. to confront the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Increasingly focused on traditional practices and native culture, Oren helped convene “the Traditional Circle of Indian Elders and Youth,” which still meets annually. He then went on to become an accomplished author, venerated teacher, and a spiritual leader. To this day, Oren continues to inspire generations through his leadership in the Traditional Circle of Indian Elders and Youth and public speaking. In 2001, he addressed the U.S. Department of Energy Tribal Summit with the following words:
We now observe that life upon this earth is experiencing a serious imbalance with systemic changes that imperil our lives, the lives of our children, and future generations. The issue of energy is a global problem, and therefore it requires global solutions. We must keep in mind that to meet these issues, we must think beyond our national borders and self interests. We must bear in mind that the United States is responsible for one quarter of the carbon output that impacts the world. We make a big footprint. - Oren Lyons
Oren’s dedication to the cause of Indigenous and environmental rights has garnered him many accolades, including the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 1990. He is still living today at the age of 92, still doing important work to help the world heal after the pandemic.
Oren Lyons serves as a great example that even starting small, you can follow your passion for justice and love for your community to great heights.
Veterans Day Profile: Lieutenant Colonel Marcella A. Hayes Ng
At KSU TRIO, we are incredibly thankful for all the veterans who have played a part in protecting the freedoms we hold most dear. This Veterans Day, we would like you to meet Lieutenant Colonel Marcella A. Hayes Ng, the first African American Woman Pilot in the Armed Forces. Her bravery and trailblazing spirit helped her pave the way for more opportunities for all those who follow in her footsteps.
In November 1979, Marcella, who was 2nd Lt. Marcella A. Hayes at the time, became the first African American woman in the U.S. military to earn her aviator wings when she completed helicopter flight training at the U.S. Army Aviation Center, Fort Rucker, Alabama. She was 23 years old and had been in the Army about a year. Flight school to her was just “another cool wicket to go through.”
By the time Marcella arrived at Fort Rucker in 1979, Women were still new to Army aviation - it was only the fifth year women were allowed to attend the school. And despite some difficulty, Marcella earned her wings. The following summer, Marcella was assigned to Germany with the 394th Transportation Battalion, its first African American and first woman.
Reeling from this success, Marcella ran face first into yet another obstacle. Though she wanted to continue to fly, she repeatedly was told she didn’t meet the standards. She lost her flight status, and it hurt deeply. But Marcella did not let this set back get the best of her.
She took stock of her situation and reprioritized. She focused on her family and other opportunities the Army offered. At a new duty station at Fort Hood, Texas, she was evaluated by combat arms officers and selected for company command for two years. She followed with other command positions in Korea and in the U.S., including the 49th Transportation Battalion commander at Fort Hood.
Marcella retired Sept. 30, 2000 as a Lieutenant Colonel, and Corps Support Command Inspector General. Though she is now retired from flying helicopters, she likes to say that she's still flying here on the ground, chasing after all the opportunities life gives her. In 2019, she was inducted into the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals’ Hall of Fame.
That's the challenge, to keep telling young people, and especially young ladies, don't let the circumstances of where you are, regardless of how rough it was, regardless of how bad it was, define who you are. - Lieutenant Colonel Marcella A. Hayes Ng
KSU TRIO is committed to showing students examples of people who once found themselves in the very shoes students occupy. Marcella's story reminds us that though what you want to be might not exist, you have the ability to be the first.
