My name Kyon Tom, I am 18 years old. I live in Jamestown, NM which is about 20 miles out of Gallup, NM.

I currently go to Rehoboth Christian School which I have been attending since Kindergarten. I am Native American, as both my parents are Navajo. My Navajo clans are To Baazhniazhi, Haltsooi Dinee, Dziltahnii and Kinyaaaanii which means Two who came to the water clan, Meadow people clan, Mountain cove clan and The towering house clan. These clans represent who I am and apart of me and my background. I have grown up in an area surrounded with diverse culture. Living in a town with many different people from different tribes has defined my life. I grew up in a religious setting with both my parents being Christian. As I kid I went to church every Sunday, participated in Sunday school, plus attended a Christian school. Christianity was no stranger to me, I knew about Jesus and God. Being a kid, you do not know the whole concept of being Christian. I just went along with what church and school taught me. Growing up and maturing, I became more aware about what it was. I learned that God sent his son to die on the cross for me, to erase my sins and cleanse them. God/Jesus loves me and everyone else around me, no matter what happens. I was use to people who also followed God; I never really experienced other perspectives until I was in mid-school. People had their own opinions and I learned about what they followed. I never struggled with my identity with Christ. I always knew he was there. Now that I am an adult, I know that I want Christ in my life. Coming from an ethnicity with their religion, I did not grow up being in it. My dad knew it was not our religion, but he did talk about it. He told us the basic information, so we could know what it was about. My dad did not want my family to forget about my ancestors background was and what they did. As I kid I had questions about my diverse background from the things my non-Christian kids did. They told me about their meetings, the things they were allowed to do and also the things they were not allowed to do. My grandparents on my fathers side are apart of the Native American church, so I wasnt oblivious to it. They always talked in Navajo, when I would visit. I did not understand one word; I was completely lost with their conversations. I thought it was so cool to hear something different compared to English. My parents would talk in Navajo, but not as much as my grandparents. My mom grew up in the reservation, she lived in Iyanbito. She knew everything; she had the insight about what happen in her childhood. She always believed in God, through it all. She had to balance her cultural side, but also her religious side. My mother lost her mom at 18, so I never met my grandmother on her side. I was told though if she was still alive that my grandmother would gladly inform and show me about my culture. Currently I am taking Navajo, so I can increase my vocabulary. I want to hopefully learn fluently, so I can communicate with my family and also other people. I know who I am and I am proud for being Navajo. Going to a Christian school helps me interact with many people with diverse background. Going to a Christian college, I could represent part of my ethnicity to people, who have never interacted with Native Americans. I could give them info and a perspective on being a Native American and what it is like. I would speak for myself, but not on all of the Navajos. We all have experienced different things; I am very blessed to have the experiences and opportunities. Being at a place, where there is not a lot of Native American is a big change; I

would be showing my background, but also learning about other and their diverse background. Living in a place where you see more Native Americans than any other culture is what I was surround around, so going to a knew place opens up my knowledge too. The good thing about going to a Christian school, we had all types of cultures. So knowing that Trinity will be almost like my school is comforting, I would not struggle with being with other kids that are not like me. I can live in that area and not worry. I can learn something from being there, but also people can learn something from me too, by being a Navajo. I would strengthen both my mind, but also spiritually with God. I want to major in Pre-Med/Nursing, I would like to do that and maybe come back to the reservation to help my people or even work in a place where I could help support my community. God has a plan for me and I trust him and I thank him everyday for my life and what I am.

Kyon Tom