Beth, Fall '97: "The most difficult experiences are those that remove you from your context and alter that reality, either shattering it or expanding it. These experiences are also the most rewarding."

"To say the least, living on the Standing Rock reservation changed my life. Through living with an elder Hunkpapa woman and working at a children's center, I came to understand the grace and travesty of the situation on the rez. I came to question my own values and my own fears while listening to stories of a way of life in tumult."

"What I learned there did not occur in the stale confines of a university classroom, but in the gestures and moments and traditions of the everyday. I learned how little I really know, and how an education is a life-long process."

"This program transcends the typical college experience. In its richness, its depth, and its knowledge, it gives participants what schooling has taken away."

Erin, Summer '98: "You live and serve in an Indian community, encountering directly the issues and concerns confronting a 'culture within a culture.'"

Asiyah, Summer '98: "I can't describe living in Bear Soldier. It is too difficult to sum up my whole experience in just a few words. I could list my travels and my stories, but the only way to truly understand is to do it."

"Living in McLaughlin (Bear Soldier), South Dakota, was a very tough but enriching experience. I learned about Lakota culture but I also learned about myself."

"At first, I had a hard time adjusting to the differences between cultures. Sometimes I felt like I was in an everyday, American situation and other times, I felt like I was in another country. But soon, I began to appreciate the people of Standing Rock reservation."

"I also learned that reading is only one way to get information. The most important part of the program for me was the experience. The experience I had in South Dakota is something that I will never forget."

Tracy, Fall '97: "During my junior year at Penn State University, I participated in the Partnership for Service-Learning's South Dakota program. I was placed on the Rosebud Reservation at the Antelope Daycare Center, near Mission, South Dakota."

"This center was initiated by the tribe for working parents who could not afford daycare for their children. The center could accomodate up to about 15 children due to state requirements, so there was always a waiting list for the center. It seemed like there was a great need for public daycare around Mission."

"Besides the Antelope Center, there was only the Sinte Gleska center (for college students), Head Start (for pre-kindergarten), and private care if parents could find and/or afford it."

"Besides myself, there was a center director, a cook, and two to three other women working at the center. It was definitely a challenging role, and was one that at first I had a lot of trouble adjusting to. I found that childcare is one of the most difficult jobs around, but also one of great reward."

"There is a lot of evident poverty on the reservation, but through spending every day with the children, I came to know the area in a different way. I saw the reservation as an incredible source of culture, family, and love. My experience there was one of the most impactual of my entire life, and the knowledge I gained and the friends I made will remain with me always."

Amy, Fall '97: "In the fall of 1997, I was placed as a volunteer daycare provider in the Sinte Gleska Child Care Center on the Rosebud Reservation. My short stay on the reservation had a tremendous impact on my life, and I anticipate that it will continue to for a very long time."

"Viewing firsthand the problems that plague the area, the ones you read about in textbooks that presume to know what life on a reservation is like, awakened me to the desperation of our world. On the other hand, the positive things about the reservation, the welcoming sense of family and tradition, revitalized and inspired me."

"The Partnership rewarded me by allowing me to receive the gifts of volunteering--I will never forget the smiling faces of my children at the center."

"The Partnership's challenge has also prepared me to become a teacher in the Teach for America program. The Partnership for Service-Learning is the key to getting out of the classroom and giving it your all."

© 1999-2006 South Dakota Service-Learning Program