First Tribal Prep Camp students enroll at UNR

The first cohort from the University of Nevada’s Tribal Prep Camp has enrolled at the University of Nevada, Reno’s College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources.

An artist and native Wašiw, Isabella Smokey said that she is exhilarated to be following in the footsteps of her mother, an uncle and an aunt by attending the University of Nevada, Reno.

She is the daughter of former Record-Courier and Reno Gazette-Journal staffer Sadie Jo Smokey.

A Phoenix, Ariz., resident she is enrolled in the college and hopes to pursue a degree in environmental science.

She joins Soleil Burke, Kendal Navajo and Serenity Phelps as a first-year students.

Burke has fond memories of her childhood on the Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation in northwestern Nevada, a tight-knit community located 35 miles northeast of Reno.
“It is a safe and nurturing community with barely any light pollution,” she says. “I grew up watching clear, bright stars at night and beautiful sunsets from our backyard. You couldn’t get that anywhere else.”

But amid this idyllic existence, an empty chair at the dining table served as a quiet reminder of her father; a gregarious and warm man she now remembers only faintly. His life was tragically cut short, leaving her mother a young widow with three small children.

A decade or so later, thanks to the unwavering support and encouragement of her mother, and grandmother who helped raise her and her siblings, Burke graduated from high school near the top of her class, while also earning some dual college credits. After carefully evaluating what she refers to as “strong agriculture colleges,” she chose to attend the University of Nevada, Reno's College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources to pursue a bachelor's degree in wildlife ecology and conservation.

Kendal Navajo, whose father is Navajo and mother is Canadian Okanogan, also attended the camp each year from its inception. Now an undergraduate in the College, she is pursuing a degree in rangeland ecology and management. Navajo says the isolation caused by the pandemic, coupled with her natural shyness, made her even more withdrawn after battling COVID-19. Concerned for her daughter’s well-being, Navajo’s mother, who also learned about the camp through social media and emails from the Clark County School District’s Indian Education Opportunities Program, encouraged her to attend the camp and even volunteered as a chaperone.

"The camp made me feel comfortable, as if I were with people who truly understood how I felt," Navajo said. "Being around other Natives in an interactive setting helped me feel at ease and more open to sharing my experiences because we could relate to each other."

Unlike Navajo, who grew up in Las Vegas, many Tribal students have been raised in isolated reservations and often struggle to adjust to the bustling atmosphere of a large university.

“At the camp, we want to help students come out of their shells; build their confidence; and provide them with the social, financial and academic information they need to be more informed about college and to ease their transition,” said Kari Emm, a specialist with the College’s Tribal Students Program who also administers the camp. “We want them to appreciate the value of post-secondary education and be aware of all the university resources available to support their personal and academic success.”

To Burke, Navajo, Serenity Phelps and Smokey, all alumni of the camp and first-year students at the College, Emm is nothing short of a hero. They all agree on one thing: she and her team of coordinators at the Tribal College Prep Camp have been invaluable mentors, guiding them through the complexities of applying to colleges and offering crucial information to which many first-generation students might not otherwise have access. Emm, who is a member of the Yerington Paiute Tribe and grew up on the Walker River Paiute Indian Reservation in Schurz, Nevada, knows firsthand how difficult it is for Native students to access higher education. Through her own experiences, she has developed a passion for underserved student populations.