The American Indian Learning Resource Center (AILRC) hired Brooke Lunski as a Student Support Specialist this summer. This new role is dedicated to providing outreach to Indigenous students at local tribal colleges as well as area middle and high schools. Lunski will also serve as a resource for the ISD 709 American Indian Parent Advisory Committee.
Lunski grew up on the White Earth reservation. She is an alumna of UMD who graduated in 2014 with a degree in Environmental and Outdoor Education. Over the past five years, she served as a middle school teacher in North Dakota.
This hire brings the AILRC up to three full-time employees, including Director Jody O’Connor and Assistant Director Iris Carufel. The AILRC provides services to reduce barriers and empower Native students toward success.
In Lunski’s first year of working to support students through the AILRC, she will be primarily reaching out to the northern tribes of the Grand Portage, Bois Forte and Fond du Lac reservations.
The Native student population at UMD decreased by about 9.8 percent from 2020 to 2022. Only about 2.89 percent of undergraduate students enrolled at UMD in fall 2022 identified as American Indian or Alaska Native. O’Connor notes that she’s thrilled to have Brooke join the center’s team to assist in their efforts to engage and support Native students.
“Brooke will be that trusted resource who will empower Native students to have the tools they need to succeed in that path of going to college,” says O’Connor. “She will be that connection point when working with middle and high school students as she does her community building.”
The American Indian Learning Resource Center (AILRC) is housed in the College of Education and Human Service Professions (CEHSP). The center provides supportive services to empower American Indian and Alaskan Native students, aid in their success and enhance their educational experience.