Was with First Lady as Invited Guest
Little did Christina Jones suspect when she was tutoring
fourth-graders and improving housing in her Navajo Reservation hometown that she would be hobnobbing with Hillary
Rodham Clinton three years later.
But there
she was Thursday night, sitting with the first lady and nine other special guests, listening to the president describe
the condition of the country to a nationwide television audience.
Afterward,
she was to attend a White House reception.
The 23-year-old
college student, who tutored as part of the AmeriCorps program in 1997, described herself as "excited and
happy" and honored to be picked.
Jones, a Navajo
of the Kin Yaa'aanii clan, grew up as one of four children in a family at Round Rock, some 30 miles north of Chinle.
She said her
initial interest in becoming a veterinarian soon shifted to teaching after she began tutoring in the local school
during 10 months of service with the so-called domestic Peace Corps.
The deciding
factor?
"Kids.
They talk," Jones said with a laugh.
Both she and
her sister, Justina, were AmeriCorps participants, and both are now enrolled in the teacher education program at
nearby Dine College. After graduating next year, Jones plans to teach on the reservation, where she not only can
help young Navajos succeed in school but also can maintain her native language and culture.
The 10 citizens
invited to sit with the first lady were chosen for their public activities that have community impact.
President
Clinton is requesting a $73 million funding increase that would expand AmeriCorps by about half, to 62,000 members,
next year. Participants help teachers, work in neighborhoods, build or fix homes and provide disaster relief. |
|
|
| Canku Ota is a free Newsletter celebrating Native America, its traditions and accomplishments .
We do not provide subscriber or visitor names to anyone. Some articles presented in Canku Ota may contain copyright
material. We have received appropriate permissions for republishing any articles. Material appearing here is distributed
without profit or monetary gain to those who have expressed an interest. This is in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C.
section 107. |
| |
|
Canku Ota is a copyright of Vicki Lockard and Paul Barry.
|
| |
- The "Canku Ota - A Newsletter Celebrating Native America" web site
and its design is the Copyright © 1999 of Paul C. Barry. All Rights Reserved.
|
back to the What's New page