I’m Going to Change the World by Helping At-Risk Native American Youth

Shandiin Church is an MSW candidate at the School of Social Work and a member citizen of the Navajo and of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Nations. She is also an active member of the Michigan Indigenous Action Collective. She is also a recipient of our Raise Hope Scholarship. Shandiin was born in Grand Rapids and raised among her mother’s people in Albuquerque. After excelling in high school, she went to the University of New Mexico. But, wanting a degree in social work, she transferred to Grand Valley State University in Allendale, MI (west of Grand Rapids), near her dad’s family. She had found that, within social work, she had many interests.

“There are so many areas of need in Indian country, it’s hard to pinpoint one specific interest,” Shandiin told us. I’ve had to create a diverse education for myself. For my MSW at U-M, I’ve chosen to do management, because I hope to become Government Manager of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi.

Shandiin’s practice area is Children Youth and Families in Society. “I am interested in Native American youth,” she says. “I’ve been a mentor and a camp counselor. I am the oldest of five kids, so mentoring comes naturally to me. But I’m also earning an ageing specialist certificate, because in Indian country many older people are parenting their grandchildren.” Shandiin’s field placement is with American Indian Health and Family Services in Detroit. “I love my field placement,” she says. “I work on a project called Sacred Bundle, about suicide prevention. Suicide is the number one cause of death among Native Americans.”

“My Raise Hope Scholarship was the deciding factor in coming here,” Shandiin says. “Scholarships helped me attain my dreams, so I can be an example for my siblings and cousins. They feel discouraged because of how much education costs. When I tell them about my scholarships it changes their minds. Even my 12-year-old brother is thinking where to go to school now. I created meaningful relationships and shared my dreams with mentors starting in undergrad, and they pointed me in the right direction for scholarships. I just came from a School of Social Work event, where alumni reminded us about building relationships here in the school. I am here to help bring knowledge and services back to my community. In Indian country it’s ingrained that you come back, and you give back. I still have relationships with mentees from camp counseling. I send them messages on social media and show them what I have done.”

Shandiin also has a message for the U-M School of Social Work. Actually, two messages. The first is in Potawatomi, her father’s language: “Chi Miigwetch.” The second, in her mother’s Navajo: “Ah’e’he.”

Both mean, “Thank you!”