Student Development
Explore Development Opportunities
Study Skills
No matter what your grades are, everyone needs some guidance to find success in the classroom. Here are some resources to help you develop the best study habits and skills you’ll need to get your degree:
What are Office Hours? – by Andrew Ishak
Time Management: TCU Video Project Series
Focus 2 Self-Assessment
Many people struggle with choosing an academic major during school, or job industry after graduation, but choosing a path is important when choosing your classes, internships and other career opportunities.
Focus 2 combines self-assessment, career and major exploration, decision-making and planning in one place. By matching your assessment results to career options and majors/programs for your consideration, FOCUS 2 guides you through a career and education decision-making model to help you make informed career decisions and take action in planning your future.
To use this free service, register to create an account with the access code collegefund. From there, you can take each test- personality, interests, values, and skills- to build your academic and career planning profile. Print your profile to share with an academic or career counselor or mentor to discuss your career plan or transition to a new profession.
Money Management
It is also important to understand budgeting, credit, and debt management – to help you to make responsible decisions in school, and prepare for your financial life after school. Learn about the following topics in related posts — your financial future depends on it.
- Money Management — Developing Common Cents (College Fund)
- Per Cap (First Nations Development Institute)
- Financial Skills for Families (First Nations Development Institute)
- Developing Your Vision: Managing Your Money
- Your First Bank Account
- Childcare Costs (and Ways to Reduce Them)
- When Your Child Has Special Needs
- Caring For Aging Parents
- Children and Family Considerations
Student Ambassador Program
The American Indian College Fund Ambassador Program was established in 2015 to strengthen students’ and alumni personal and professional skills and to represent the College Fund.
Our Blogs
Challenges of First-Generation American Indian Students
According to the Pell Institute, only 11% of first-generation students earn a degree within six years. There are many reasons for this. First-generation students are less prepared than their counterparts, they did not get help choosing a college that is a good fit for them, their families often discourage them from getting a higher education, and being unfamiliar with college culture, rather than immersing themselves in it, they withdraw.
Leadership
This week the team at the American Indian College Fund embarks on a one-day retreat to recharge and regenerate, learning about leadership principles and applying them in our mission to provide scholarships and access to higher education for all of our students. We will be out of the office all day Wednesday.
Education is independence
After Independence Day, one thing strikes me: if American Indians are ever going to be free of poverty and being treated as second-class citizens, education is vital. Education does not just mean the basics: the math, the science, the language and reading skills: education also means being educated in the Indian way. Learning our native languages. Learning our traditions and ways as Indian people, and preserving them.
The Politics of Ignorance
Check out my article on the political motives behing ignorance about Native Peoples at Indian Country Today.
Have You Helped A Student Today?
The New York Times ran a story Sunday about an organization that matches alumni and cash-strapped students at Harvard University. The alumni provide loans for students to be able to take tests, finish a semester, and buy books.
American Indian College Fund Meets Colorado Community
The American Indian College Fund welcomed more than 200 business people and community members to the Colorado History Museum Thursday, June 4 to learn more about American Indian college students’ needs and the tribal college movement. They saw Native dances, heard Native musicians perform, and enjoyed crafts, a silent auction, and refreshments.

