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http://www.omaha.com/Omaha/OWH/StoryViewer/1,3153,302809,00.html
Published Thursday February 17, 2000

Creighton Student Says Mother Kept Him on Path to College

BY LISA PRUE
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

One of Jesse Renteria's fondest childhood memories is of sitting
on his mother's lap playing with a toy bear while she read his
favorite story, "Dino the Dinosaur."

Mother and son would snuggle together for half an hour every
evening, reading books, going over flashcards or listening to a
tape of nursery rhymes.

Jesse Renteria, studying at the Creighton University library, plans
to return to the Pine Ridge Reservation, where he grew up, as a
teacher.

Today Jesse, an Oglala from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation,
is a student at Creighton University, where he is studying to be a
teacher. He credits his mother for his success.

"She went out of her way to prepare me for the future. I see now
where it has paid off," he said.

His mother, Cindy Mills, hasn't been the only plus in Jesse's life.
He also has benefited from the support of Jesuit priests at the Red
Cloud Indian School on the Pine Ridge Reservation and from a
Creighton program that looked at potential rather than just
accomplishment.

But his mother was key. Mills wanted better for her son than she
had for herself. A junior in high school when Jesse was born, she
dropped out. She later earned her GED.

She also wanted to keep her son off the path of alcoholism and
hopelessness so often followed on the poverty-stricken reservation
in South Dakota where Jesse grew up.

"As a young single parent, I was trying to break the mold," Mills said.

The Rev. Peter Klink, president of Red Cloud Indian School, said
Mills made a difference in her son's life.

"There is no question that parents and home are critical to the
success of a child," Klink said.

Mills' persistence helped Jesse find a path to Creighton. He plans
to return to Pine Ridge to teach.

"My mother always told me I was going to make something of
myself through education," said Jesse, 20.

Although Jesse was an independent, outgoing child who did well
in school, his mother worried about the effect of reservation life. His
father wasn't around much. His mother and father never married and
broke up five years after his younger brother, Calvin, was born.

Jesse said he witnessed the alcoholism so prevalent on the
reservation. His mother warned him to stay away from alcohol.

Still, there was peer pressure. He avoided alcohol by spending his
time weightlifting and playing basketball with younger children. Soon,
he was thinking about becoming a teacher.

He shared his goal with Klink.

"Jesse said he'd like to come back and make a difference for the
kids who are younger than him," Klink said.

Red Cloud School encourages pride in students by incorporating
the Oglala Lakota culture into its curriculum.

"The goal is to reinforce the culture and to make the students feel
proud to be Lakota," said the Rev. Tom Merkel, superintendent of the
school district, which has two elementary schools and a high school.

The Lakota language is taught at all three schools, Merkel said. The
high school also offers courses in Indian and Lakota history and a
class that incorporates Lakota creation stories.

"Many of our students have vast needs due to the circumstances in
which they grow up," Merkel said. "Single parents, divorce, premature
death of relatives or friends, the negative impact of alcohol or drugs
are factors that place our students in some way at risk."

To combat these negative influences, the school district capitalizes
on local talent. Thirty-three percent of the teachers are Lakota, as
are 90 percent of administrators and support staff.

"The Indian teachers know the abilities of the kids and know how
to present concepts in a way that they will understand," Merkel said.

Jesse excelled at Red Cloud High School, making the honor roll all
four years and earning a cumulative grade point average of 3.5. Yet
he did poorly on the ACT. "I didn't take the test seriously," said Jesse,
who scored a 15 - too low to qualify for most four-year universities.

Creighton was an exception. After honing his study skills by attending
Eastern Wyoming College in Torrington, Wyo., and, briefly, Haskell
Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan., Jesse was ready for
the Omaha university.

"We look at the intangibles because we know their ACT is not a good
predictor of potential," said Tami Buffalohead-McGill, a Southern
Ponca and an adviser in the university's office of multicultural affairs.
"Class rank, grade-point average, motivation, study habits and
leadership skills are all considered."

Creighton recruits Indian students, sending Jesuit priests to
reservations around the country. The school also sponsors a yearly
retreat for high school students and offers full scholarships to
qualified students from Red Cloud. On campus, a buddy system
pairs Indian students.

"The atmosphere is really friendly here," Jesse said. "The Jesuits
know where we come from and we understand each other."

Creighton's commitment to recruiting and retaining American
Indians comes in part from the relationship the university has with
the Jesuits of Red Cloud and the efforts of the Rev. Michael
Morrison, Creighton president, who has personally provided
financial help for several students.

"The Jesuits have been working on that reservation for 120
years," Morrison said. "So it is good for us, as a Jesuit school, to
help them in that effort. Because of the terrible poverty, (Indian
students) just don't have the assets to pay for their education."

Morrison, who will retire this summer, said he is confident the
incoming president, the Rev. John P. Schlegel, will continue the
efforts.

Today Jesse knows he could be a strong influence on the children
of Pine Ridge. He said he would encourage other Indian students
to try harder but not forget their humble beginnings.

By continuing his education and experiencing life away from the
reservation, he is following another piece of his mother's advice.

"She told me when I left the reservation to get involved in everything
I can because what I learn and bring back is what those kids need."
 

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