“So I choked down my pride and I did these things that totally go against what I believe, and applied.”
—Audrey Dreaver, IAIA Student of the Year

The 2007 IAIA Student of the Year, Audrey Dreaver, is honored by the award but hopes to see the process of selection changed.  She is also troubled by the handling of the monetary award.

OnFeb. 16, Audrey Dreaver applied for the IAIA Student of the Year even though the process went against the Cree traditions she was brought up with. 

 “I am really grateful and honored that the American Indian College Fund has created this award, but for students the process is backwards,”  Dreaver said.   She noted that the American Indian College Fund puts out two awards to tribal colleges, one for Student of the Year and one for Faculty of the Year.  The Faculty of the Year is by nomination, and the Student of the Year is by submitting an application in which students are asked to list all of the things they have done for their community.

“Bragging—that is bragging,” Dreaver said of the listing.  “Where I come from, and every other tribal person I have ever met has said, we are taught not to brag.”  Students must also seek out people as references to support what they have listed.

Dreaver said that she would like to see the student process the same as the faculty, a nomination from the staff, faculty, students, or community. She feels that the community should do the nominations because they are the ones who are impacted by what others have done. 

Another Form

She was notified by Dean Ann Filemyr that she needed to fill out another form at the financial aid office.   It was then that Financial Aid told her that she had been selected Student of the Year.  Again she had to refill out the Student of the Year application.  She then was asked to make her list again. 

“I had forgotten half of the things I had done that were listed on the first application, and some of it was important—things that I am really proud of, but you can’t remember everything when you do a lot of stuff,” said Dreaver. 

“One thing that is attached to the Student of the Year is money.  To be honest, that’s why I applied.  I needed the money to buy painting supplies.  I was broke and I do not like to borrow money from my family.  So I choked down my pride and I did these things that totally go against what I believe, and applied,” Dreaver said. 

However, she did not personally get the money.  The $1,000 award was applied toward her tuition balance.

Dreaver felt the Student of the Year was a special award, and she should have been given the choice to either use the money for much needed art supplies or apply some or all of it to her account.  She said that she feels she is being treated like someone who doesn’t know how to handle money.  

According to Dean Ann Filemyr, the only way to get the process changed is to make the American Indian College Fund aware of how this process makes some of the Native American students feel and to send a copy of this story to them.