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Pine Ridge Grad Named GEAR UP Regional Coordinator




Anissa Martin, an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux tribe has been named as one of GEAR UP’s regional coordinators. Anissa will be servicing students at American Horse, Crazy Horse and Pine Ridge.

Anissa Martin, an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux tribe has been named as one of GEAR UP’s regional coordinators. Anissa will be servicing students at American Horse, Crazy Horse and Pine Ridge.

PINE RIDGE – A Pine Ridge High School graduate has been hired as one of GEAR-UP’s Regional Coordinators.

Anissa Martin, an enrolled citizen of the Oglala Sioux tribe has been named as one of GEARUP’s regional coordinators. Anissa will be servicing students at American Horse, Crazy Horse and Pine Ridge.

“When I was away at college I always made it a priority of mine to make a visit at my old HS (Pine Ridge High School) to talk about college and to provide myself as a resource. I guess my main goal was to just let kids know that there’s hope, that they are capable. I never got paid for any of my visits but the satisfaction of knowing I had a small impact on someone’s life was far more than enough for me. Those moments helped me see what I truly enjoyed doing, and that was helping and uplifting my own people,” said Martin in a Facebook post announcing her hiring.

While the organization has been the gem of news outlets across South Dakota for the last two years as trial relating to the embezzlement scandal perpetrated by the late Scott Westerhuis, and the subsequent acquittal of tribal citizen Stacy Phelps, work has continued in schools across the state.

GEAR-UP is federal grant designed to help underserved students access the tools and acquire the skills necessary to succeed in college. Many of the student that work with the GEAR-UP program are first-generation college students who rely on the program to show them the ins and outs of college. The program is in dozens of schools across the state of South Dakota and reservations.

Martin was a product of the summer program that Phelps’ company, the American Indian Institute for Innovation, ran prior to the scandal broke. In her statement Martin acknowledged Phelps as a mentor.

Anissa holds a BS in Psychology with minors in Public Health and Addiction Studies from the University of South Dakota. Anissa is a Gates Millennium Scholar who is preparing to pursue her Master’s degree in Public Health.

“She is born and raised on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and holds a strong passion for Indigenous youth, education, and community development,” said GEAR-UP in a release.

(Contact Brandon Ecoffey at ecoffeyb@gmail.com)

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