Copyright © 2005 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved
News from the Cherokee Nation, OK
Copyright © 2005 CNO
TAHLEQUAH, OKLAHOMA - Jenna Applegate, a Cherokee Nation citizen, decided in the sixth grade that if she was going to get into college and get a good job, she would have to do it herself, no one was going to do it for her. Setting her sights high, at 12-years old she began preparing herself to excel in high school. After high school, Applegate’s next goal was college. Applegate credits part of her resolve to a difficult home life; and during her high school years discovered real benefits in determination and hard work.
Jenna Applegate 
"I was determined not to live the rest of my life worrying about how to feed and clothe my family," Applegate said. "I’m glad I grew up the way I did, if I would have grown up having everything handed to me on a silver platter, I wouldn’t have the determination that I have."
That drive has lead her to graduate salutatorian of her senior class at Webster High School and earned her a Gates Millennium Scholarship, a full-ride tuition waiver to any college that she would like to attend. Her goal of self-sufficiency is about to come true.
"I want that whole college experience," she said with excitement in her eyes. "I think if I live there, it’s going to be more on my mind and I’ll do better."
College and the Gates Millennium Scholarship will not only provide Applegate with an education, but also with an address and home that she can call her own, in the form of a dorm room. She’s lived with friends for the last two years and worked at Sonic Drive-In 20 hours a week to help with bills, buy a car and pay for her shiny new braces.
"I just made my last payment on my braces," she said, still embarrassed to smile with them on her teeth. "Twelve hundred dollars and their all paid for."
Without her part-time job, straight teeth would have just been a dream for a girl like Jenna.
"I never had good clothes and we didn’t do laundry that much," Applegate said. "I remember being on food stamps and running out before the end of the month and living on Ramen Noodles for two weeks. I went to 11 different schools. My mom moved a lot, I think we couldn’t pay the rent and we had to leave."
Being raised by a single-mother, who lacked a high school education, often meant new schools, new friends and another chance to try to fit in. Applegate hasn’t had any trouble fitting in at Webster High School, in Tulsa, where she was elected senior class president. As class president, she organized many class fundraisers, not for field trips or prom, but for others in need. She held a fundraiser for victims of the recent Tsunami and also held a clothes drive for Western Neighbors, a community closet and shelter in West Tulsa, a place that Jenna knew well.
"Western Neighbors had helped my family before," Applegate said. "We had gotten clothes and stuff there and I just wanted to give back something to the community."
"People fall all over themselves to help Jenna," said Iwanna Bonnaha, with the Tulsa Public Schools Indian Education Department and one of Applegate’s biggest fans. "She is so different from the average high school student. She’s mature and focused."
Luckily, her maturity and ability to stay focused has not only landed her a spot at the University of Tulsa, but a scholarship to pay for it and a place to call home. The dreams she had at the young age of 12 are becoming reality and her hard work and dedication are paying off. She plans to major in communications and will begin classes in the fall.
"I have no excuse not to get a master’s (degree) or PhD," Applegate said
| Related Cherokee Nation contact information: |
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Mike Miller, Cherokee Nation Director of Communications Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2210) Fax: 918-458-5580 E-mail: Communications@cherokee.org
Larry Daugherty, Advertising Manager |
Steven Swogger, Agriculture Liaison Natural Resources Department Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2546) FAX: 918-458-7673 E-mail: sswogger@cherokee.org
Bradley D. Peak, Cherokee Nation |