Kyle Garasche, 13-14, De La Salle Blackfeet, Browning, MT
The reality is, I live two hours away from anything I have grown up knowing as “society”. The reality is, my cell phone doesn’t work 80% of the time. The reality is, (like all my fellow LVs) I come home at 6pm, at the earliest, exhausted everyday. The reality is, the weather here has tried killing me (84 mph wind gusts???). The reality is, I miss my family, friends and all my comfort zones more than you could possibly imagine. The reality is, I took a risk coming out to Browning, Montana. The reality is, I couldn’t be happier.
With everything in the world working against me out here, I have come to learn more in six months than any other experience I have had in my life. I have always been given the best opportunities in life when it came to my education. I was aware that the state of our education in the United States was poor, but I didn’t know to what extent. The need for people who care, the need for safe learning environments and the need for disciplined learners will never go away. After working with a sixth grader who doesn’t understand phonics, another sixth grader who reads at a third grade level and so much more; it has become even clearer to me that the need in our nation grows, especially here on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.
I have had the opportunity and blessing to attempt (key word being “attempt”) at helping the youth at our school with their education. I will clarify that their education is not limited to academic work, which makes my work that much more challenging, yet even more rewarding.
Through all of the challenges I’ve mentioned above, there is nowhere else I want to be this year. Coming right out of college, this has offered me the opportunity and challenges I expected. I signed up for all of this, and I know my commitment and dedication will pay off for my students and myself. I find strength in the support of my co-workers, fellow LVs, my family, my friends and most importantly my faith. Each day at least one of my students reinforces my faith and that means the world to me.
The founder, Saint John Baptist De La Salle, opened schools that didn’t ask for tuition, taught the most needy, taught in the vernacular, and had the presence of the Brothers in the classroom. When looking at De La Salle Blackfeet, we work and live at the heart of the Lasallian mission everyday, and I think it’s fantastic.
Kyle is a 1st year LV serving at De La Salle Blackfeet in Browning, Montana and is a 2013 graduate of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.