COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo — Native Americans could go to Pikes Peak State College (PPSC) tuition free, thanks to the new First Nations Promise Program.
This is big for federally recognized tribe members in El Paso, Teller and Elbert Counties.
Fewer than half of Native American people who live in El Paso County have graduated from high school, according to the U.S. Census Bureau data from 2022.
"Education on the reservation even to graduate high school in itself is a challenge," Wynona Tsosie said.
Tsosie is a tribe member of Navajo/Dine and a current PPSC student. She plans to be the first in her family to receive a bachelor's degree.
She hopes this program eliminates the financial barriers other Native people have faced trying to get a higher education.
"Not only will it bring, feel like we've come out of the shadows, but it would encourage us more to come to school," Tsosie said.
PPSC leaders said about 100 Native American students are enrolled right now. They hope to double that number by the end of the program's first year.
"The Dakota Foundation committed $250,000 over the next five years to help the successful addition to continue and ideally expand," Kelsey Nolan said.
"As means of providing support, we understand that it's really important for there to be meaningful community, Native community here on campus," PPSC Associate Aean Maria de la Cruz said.
Tsosie said without this program, finishing her degree could be delayed, "probably adding on I would say another two, three years because the cost of tuition has gone up."
Thanks to this program, she can bring her cybersecurity degree back to better her tribe sooner.
"It's like where can I make the greatest impact, where can I make my mark in this world, I want to make that with my people, that's what that education means with me," Tsosie said.
Native American students who receive the grant will also get academic coaching throughout their college careers.