On the evening of October 18, WSU Vancouver staff and volunteers of the Clark County school district were awarded for being “real heroes” in the community. The “Learn Here” event was hosted by Identify Clark County, a non-profit organization comprised of business leaders who advocate for initiatives within the community to make it a place where people can “land, live and learn for a lifetime.”
The celebration event awarded two members of the WSU Vancouver community, Kafiat Beckley, the Cougar Center supervisor, and Roben White, volunteer for advocacy groups focused on improving the quality of life for Native Americans. The event was coordinated by WSU Vancouver alumnus and program manager for Identify Clark County, Sean Philbrook and Jaime Hudspeth, a WSU Vancouver integrated strategic communication student.
Hudspeth honors heroes with internship
Hudspeth was hired as student liaison for Identify Clark County last spring. Her position consisted of assisting Philbrook with three projects, one of which was the Learn Here event. With regards to her experience, Hudspeth said her favorite part of the internship was “Getting the opportunity to sit down and meet with all of the recipients of the Learn Here awards and hearing about all of the great things they’re doing for the kids in our community in order to set them up for happiness and success.”
According to Hudspeth, ICC’s criteria for a “real hero” is “exemplary volunteers and staff who make our region’s educational system great.” In the spring, ICC sends nominee forms to the superintendent of each school district in Clark County, including colleges and universities.
Cultural values inspire food insecurity prevention
As Cougar Center Supervisor, Beckley oversees the Cougar Food Pantry, which earned her the Real Hero award.
Beckley earned her degree from Oregon State University in the field of human services, so she said she foresaw herself working to help people.
“When I was asked to be a part of [the Cougar Food Pantry], of course I said yes because that’s what I always thought I would do. It gives me the opportunity to see the direct impact,” Beckley said.
Providing people of the community with social security extends from her Palauan culture, according to Beckley. Palau is located in the western Pacific Ocean on the Caroline Islands. “There’s always that expectation when someone needs something, your family circles around you and helps you so I just grew up with that and thought that’s what people do,” she said.
“I don’t want a student to have to choose between feeding their family and buying books,” Beckley said. She elaborated that in the future she hopes there is no need for a food pantry, but to get to that point, there is much work to be done.
“Artivism” for Indigenous rights.
Roben White, another Real Hero award-winner from WSU Vancouver, described himself in an interview as an organizer, activist, artist and “artivist.” He was awarded for volunteer work he has completed throughout the community, including the WSU Vancouver campus. His volunteer work centers arounds the rights and quality of life of Indigenous peoples and the environment.
White sits on the Native American Community Advisory Board at WSU. He often speaks on a variety of subjects such as Indigenous rights, economics, politics and environmental issues.
He is a member of the Cheyenne, Lakota and an enrolled Oglala Sioux Tribe from Pine Ridge, South Dakota.
White is currently working on a project with WSU Vancouver professor Desiree Hellegers, exploring fossil fuel activism in the Northwest. The project is called “The Thin Green Line is People,” and it is a documentary with a historical archive online. The online archive includes oral history interviews, activist interviews, information about permit processes and other documentation.
“I think it’s going to be a really important piece of historical documentation,” White said. “It can serve as a valuable tool… to really understanding where we stand in that situation with fossil fuels.” He continued to discuss how the availability of this information will be valuable and convenient for organizers, activists and others to access online.
White’s volunteerism expands to the Early College Academy through the Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) which focuses on “nourishing a hands-on and culturally relevant, student-centered learning environment,” according to the organization’s website.
It includes ages 14 – 20 and, according to White, “is about 70 percent Natives and 99 percent people of color.”
The Early College Academy NAYA work includes making sure Native students can excel in higher education by helping them get into programs, particularly STEM/STEAM, and making sure these students have a culturally relevant and accepting community while they are attending. White also works on other projects such as Title VI funding, mental health initiatives for Native communities regionally who are facing rising suicide rates, according to White, and kids fishing programs.
White spoke about how it is honorable to win an award for being a community hero and how there are many other people in the background who have helped. He elaborated that there is still a lot of public service work that needs to be done.
“You just have to do the right thing. It’s our responsibility as humans,” White said about his inspiration for volunteer work.
Beckley and White help the WSU Vancouver campus and impact the surrounding communities with their desire help make the world a better place.
Anna Nelson is the Editor in Chief for the VanCougar. She is a senior and is studying strategic communications.
Thank you, Kafiat!