LBHC - Woksape Oyate Human Interest

Edison Jefferson
Student
Little Big Horn College

Edison grew up in Lodge Grass, Montana. He graduated as the valedictorian of his high school in 2007 and went directly to Montana State University-Bozeman where he majored in University Studies. After one year, he came back home and completed an internship with the Indian Health Service at Crow Agency in the pharmacy department. After the summer ended, he knew this was not the career for him, but he was not sure what was. After staying home a year, he decided to return to college. He heard about the Student Leadership Program at Little Big Horn College and applied.

Edison entered the leadership program and became an inspirational student. He grew from a quiet, shy young man, and became a recognized leader at the college. He is the President of the college’s AISES and is a member of the college’s AIHEC team. He works on a research project at the college with one of his mentors, and studies the presence of mosquitoes inhabiting the Crow Reservation in the summer months. After trapping samples of the mosquitoes, he analyzes the RNA to determine if they are members of the species that carry West Nile Virus. The overall purpose of the project is to assess the risk of West Nile Virus on the Crow Reservation. Edison has given poster presentations at four different poster symposiums. Although he did not win a top honor for his poster, he gained valuable speaking skills and self-confidence, which he attributes to his involvement in the Student Leadership Program.

According to Edison, the leadership program helped him become the person he is today. He sees growth in his maturity and recognizes the value of getting his work in on time, taking time to do a high quality job, taking the initiative to be a role model for other students, and not being afraid to talk in class. Prior to being in the program, Edison felt that he only needed to do the minimum, but after learning the importance of going beyond what is expected, he has become much more motivated to keep his grades high. He currently has a 3.5 cumulative grade point average. Edison knows other students have noticed because they have made comments to him such as, “It’s cool what you leadership students do.”

Edison has decided to return to Montana State University this fall, as he is graduating from LBHC in May. He has earned two associate of arts degrees, one in Community Health and one in Pre-Med. He plans to major in Community Health and possibly go on for a Masters in Public Health. He wants to focus on making a difference by improving health on the Crow Reservation, using a community or public health career to increase the community’s awareness of health issues and health disparities.