I was nervous coming into my month with Asniya as I had never worked as a teacher before and I had never spent any time on a reservation and wasn’t sure exactly what I was in for. I remember walking into Red Cloud and meeting my students on the first day of my rotation, and having this anxiety melt away as I immediately realized that it was going to be an exciting month. Each morning the students would excitedly pile out of their school buses into the classroom. They couldn’t wait to hear what the lesson plan was for the day and get their hands on the medical equipment I brought, or the animal organs that were dissected for each organ system.

Many students already had their minds made up that they wanted to work in a wide range of healthcare careers. As a future anesthesiologist who hadn’t even really considered anesthesiology before medical school, I was pretty impressed to learn that we had an 8th grader who already firmly had his mind set on being an anesthesiologist.

I was assigned to teach at three schools, Red Cloud Middle School, Our Lady Lourdes School, and Porcupine Day School. I taught a total of 160 students and spent 1-2 days per week at each school. Through my time on the Pine Ridge reservation I taught lessons on careers in healthcare, first aid, the GI system, the cardiovascular system, the nervous system and mental health with as much hands-on material built in as I could manage.

There is so much that I will take away from this experience. This program was an excellent wrap up of my fourth year of medical school, and gave me confidence to jump into unfamiliar situations. I met so many people who very passionately care about the education of their students, and went above and beyond to welcome and accommodate me. I improved my own skills as an educator and as a public speaker, both of which will be very important skills as I continue through my residency and beyond. I learned so much about a culture of resilient people and saw previews of the bright future of their youth. I consider Asniya one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and I look forward to returning to Pine Ridge in the future.

Hello, my name is Jess. I’m a graduating medical student from Tufts University School of Medicine. I’m writing from Rapid City as I finish the final preparations for a month of teaching on Pine Ridge. I will be working with 5th-8th grade students at both the Red Cloud Indian school (RCIS) and Our Lady of Lourdes (OLL) elementary school. I was looking for an opportunity to return to Pine Ridge and found the Asniya program through Tufts’ community service learning course. It’s been over ten years since my first visit to the reservation during college and I’m looking forward to seeing the changes.

RCIS and OLL are excited to participate in our program. We’re working to build a standing health science curriculum to be integrated yearly into science and health classes for 5th-8th graders. Wonderful teachers at both institutions have provided feedback on grade appropriate activities and the interests of their students. Each lesson in our course is designed to be interactive, cover a health science topic and give students an opportunity to explore the methods of learning commonly encountered in healthcare training. We will be identifying how pathogens are transmitted in our environment, learn about our cardiovascular systems and discuss the phenomenal machine that is our brain. Students will have hands on laboratories with animal hearts and brains. They will also learn the importance of vial signs and how to use stethoscopes, thermometers and blood pressure cuffs in a physical exam.

Additionally, during this month we’ll be working to create videos and profiles of native healthcare providers to discuss with students. Many of these providers have graduated from RCIS or OLL. We hope to start connecting students to local mentors that can continue to foster their passions through the most formative years.

Hello from Chile! My name is Jean Junior, and I am in my fourth and final year at Harvard Medical School (HMS). I plan to start residency in pediatrics in June of 2016, and have a strong interest in poverty alleviation work and service to benefit the underserved. During one’s final year at HMS, there is more freedom to do rotations in different settings. Given this greater flexibility, I’m currently doing a family medicine rotation in Chile, and will do a rotation with Asniya in March of 2016 at the Porcupine Day School in South Dakota.

I first heard about Asniya during a lunch talk for HMS students given by Asniya’s founder, Dr. Miles Cunningham. Hearing him talk about the Native American Indian communities served by Asniya was incredibly compelling. I was most struck by hearing about the challenges faced by young people in these communities, and the rates of suicide among these children/adolescents. The potential to inspire greater hope among these young people, and possibly even have a more lasting impact on their lives, was the most important factor in my decision to intern with Asniya. Plus, I quite simply find teaching to be incredibly fun. I have taught subjects ranging from English to algebra, from physics to dance, and have taught students ranging in age from toddlers to adults. Each of these experiences has been wonderful, and I greatly enjoy witnessing the wisdom, humor, and creativity of young people. I know I will find these qualities among the students I teach through Asniya at the Porcupine Day School. And I am excited to use all that I have learned during my years in medical school to provide students with information that will be useful and empowering to them and their communities. I just hope that I can provide educational sessions that will be organized, engaging, and fun, and that will keep the attention of a class of students!

Click the link to read about former intern and current board member Michael Kemmer’s experience, and an article he published in Tufts Medicine magazine - https://now.tufts.edu/articles/my-rotation-substitute-teacher/