From the president
It is my distinct pleasure to nominate Sofia Vanderlan for the Newman Civic Fellowship. Sofia has already demonstrated her profound commitment to civic service in her short time at St. Catherine University. As a descendant of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Sofia is actively involved as a leader and advocate in our campus community. She cares deeply about social justice issues, is already a public problem solver, and is motivated to continue to impact our campus and the broader community. Sofia is a phenomenal student leader who will certainly make positive changes as part of and in learning from the Newman Civic Fellowship. I am honored that Sofia will represent our University for this prestigious fellowship.
Personal Statement
Over the past five summers, I lived with my grandmother on the Grand Portage Reservation in Northern Minnesota. I quickly noticed differences between my experience living and working on the reservation and what I was taught in school. Unfortunately, many Americans have been given an incomplete picture of Native Americans that is biased toward stereotypes of Native people as poor, disadvantaged, and isolated. Motivated to improve Indigenous education, I wrote a letter titled “A Proposal by a Native American Student” to the Wayzata school board. This early experience of using my voice to enact change allowed me to rewrite school curriculums, guide educators on how to teach Indigenous studies, present in classrooms, and create and lead Indigenous Student Alliances at my high school and now at St. Catherine University. With funding from the Mellon Foundation, I develop interdisciplinary curricula that resist and combat racism. Recently, I have presented on Indigenous education at other universities, conferences, and K-12 school systems. My goal through this fellowship is to create better learning environments for Indigenous students so they feel more supported, acknowledged, intelligent, and empowered. I am committed to educating non-Indigenous peoples to be more understanding and knowledgeable allies for their Indigenous relatives.