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American Indian mentors give a glimpse of life in their career field

Photo courtesy of Lyonel Tso.
Photo courtesy of Lyonel Tso.

Photo courtesy of Lyonel Tso.

American Indian professionals are stepping from the position of mentee to mentor as they inspire talented students at ASU.

American Indian students are paired with a professional in their field of study through ASU’s Mentor U program.

Secondary education junior Lyonel Tso said his mentor last spring provided insight into his future career.

Tso originally came to ASU from the Navajo reservation in Page, to study engineering.

The 9/11 tragedy occurred when Tso was a freshman in college and he said he felt called to serve his country.

He left ASU and joined the Marine Corps in 2004.

Before his return in 2010, Tso deployed twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan.

When he came back to the U.S., he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and had multiple physical injuries.

“I came back with a totally new perspective,” Tso said.

He said he learned about leadership during his time in the Marines and felt called to teaching.

When Tso came back to ASU, he decided to major in secondary education.

During the spring 2012 semester, Tso participated in Mentor U and was paired with a professional mentor. Together, they went to schools to promote secondary education.

Tso would like to teach on a reservation.

He said he would love to go back and teach in his hometown of Page.

Tso said teachers on the reservation have to be very passionate because there is more of a need to provide students with encouragement instead of solely focusing on academics.

“It’s so important for the teachers to inspire the children,” Tso said.

American Indian Student Support Services spokesman Kevin Russell said the program, which mostly uses American Indian mentors, was a great fit for Tso.

“Hopefully when he graduates some day he will come back and be a mentor as well,” Russell said.

Mentor U has been going on for one year and many students have taken advantage of it, Russell said.

Demone Bell, an architect who mentored with the program last year, said Mentor U works to ensure mentors and mentees are paired well.

Bell said she really enjoyed seeing all the potential her mentee had last year and being able to show her mentee what her job looked like.

“It’s an excellent opportunity to take snapshots of what’s really going to happen in the real world,” she said.

 

Reach the reporter at hblawren@asu.edu


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