Trainee Carime Koch Presents Tribal Educational Modules
Dec. 8, 2013
Carime Koch, an American Indian Studies student and University of Arizona Superfund Research Program (UA SRP) trainee, recently presented her work on educational mining modules for Tribal community colleges. Koch is part of a team of graduate students who have been working with UA SRP investigators Dr. Karletta Chief and Dr. Raina Maier to develop educational modules related to mining, in collaboration with Tohono O’odham Community College (Sells, AZ). The module format is based on the successful Promotora transferable training module series that has been developed by the UA SRP, but modified for a unique Tribal audience.
Koch attended the First Americans Land-grant Consortium (FALCON) 2013 conference, November 2-4, in Washington, DC. The 9th annual conference, sanctioned by the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), had a theme of "Telling Our Story: The Successes of the 1994 Land-grant Institutions." The conference included discussions on communications, public relations, and education directed to audiences within the land-grant system (which includes Tribal Colleges and Universities), potential partners, the general public, and internal stakeholders. Koch’s presentation, “Mining and Environmental Educational Modules for Tribal Community Colleges and Universities,” was well-received, and she was commended for her strong presentation skills. Due to a high level of interest in the curriculum by many tribal colleges and universities, she was encouraged to continue developing the curriculum and to adapt it for other Tribal communities in the US. Koch says, “Hearing the stories of challenges and resilience from the Tribal Colleges and communities represented at the conference were empowering. Creating relationships and partnerships to gain support for our module project was invaluable.”
Koch has also presented this work in poster format at two recent events. On November 10, she participated in the American Indian Studies Poster Competition, Tucson, AZ. She presented her work to American Indian Studies and affiliated faculty and students, and received 3rd place in the poster competition. On November 13, she participated in the Environmental Research Graduate Blitz, hosted by the UA Institute of the Environment, Tucson, AZ. She enjoyed gaining support and suggestions for the direction of the project at both of these events.