Diversity with Ally

Transcript

Next is Ally Gee. She is from Low Mountain, Arizona, located on the Navajo nation. She’s a senior public health major, the Hozhoni Ambassador, and a remarkable woman who’s gonna talk to us about diversity here at Fort Lewis College. Which, as you will see is very special here on campus. Ally, it’s all yours.

Hi, everyone. As Alex stated, my name is Ally. I’m now going to introduce myself in my Navajo language. What I just said in my Diné language are my four clans that I use to identify myself as a Navajo woman. I personally chose to attend Fort Lewis because of their commitment to serving students and the diversity within this community. And it’s proven to be the best decision I’ve ever made.

Fort Lewis is a unique place where diversity is central to who we are. Over 50% of our campus are students of color representing nearly all 50 States, 15 countries and 170 Native American tribes and Alaskan villages. Fort Lewis is a Native American serving, non-tribal institution that offers qualified students a tuition waiver if they come from federally recognized tribes. The tuition waiver was established in 1934 to provide Native American students an opportunity at affordable higher education.

The old Fort Lewis property in Hesperus, Colorado, was home to a military base and Indian boarding school in the 1800s. Fort Lewis College is currently taking steps to address its history. And the school has been working to understand and represent the diversity of the student body. One of the ways that this is done is by the resource centers that we have available to us. On campus, we have resources like the Native American Center, El Centro De Muchos Colores, the Black Student Resource Center, and the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center. These centers play a huge role in everyday student life, from free tutoring to events on campus, there is a place for everyone.

The opportunity to meet new people from a variety of backgrounds, interests and concentrations of study are always available here at FLC. That is something that I truly love about this campus. Together as Skyhawks, we work hard to create an inclusive community. By actively seeking to understand the diverse backgrounds of our community, we become agents of change to create a more equitable world and I love it. Thanks, everyone. That was super fun to share what diversity means here at Fort Lewis. And back to you, Alex.

Ally, thank you. Thank you for being so open and honest about diversity here at Fort Lewis. The world needs more people like you. Great job.