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Hey, fellow students here at NICC, my names Anthony Sharpfish and this is my freshman year here at NICC. So last month was the AIHEC 2017 conference and I was one of three students who attended. Although we had a small team this year, it was still a lot of fun. It was really exciting seeing all these different Natives from different colleges and universities from all over come together. There were so many different competitions. I wish we couldve participated in, but having only three students from our college, we had to forfeit most of our competitions. But we did compete in chess, archery, poetry slam, and the knowledge bowl.
Another fellow student competed in poetry slam and I thought he did very good, and our other student did very good in archery too. Myself made it to the final fourin chess, but was beat out in the final rounds. But it was still a fun experience. One competition I enjoyed watching was the hand game. I was unaware of it being the championship round, but it was so in-tense and cool to watch. It looked like a lot fun and thats one competition I wish we couldve participated in. But yeah overall Im really glad I took the opportunity to attend this conference. It was a really fun experience and I cant wait until next year.
So this year wed like to get on top of things early. This past year we were very unprepared. And it didnt help only having three students on our team all freshmen on top of that. So yeah we would like to start preparing our team and get ready for next year early this year. It seems like a long timeuntil then but it comes up quick. Dont be like us and put things off or not attend practice, and us three students that did attend this year will be here to help any other students who want to participate this upcoming year or have any questions dont be afraid to ask. But this upcoming year we need to better prepare our-selves, stay committed, and at the same time have fun doing so. And remember that were going to be team and we need to work as a team. So yeah hopefully this were able to build a bigger, stronger, better team. And for any new students who are thinking of signing up or want to sign up I en-courage you to do so, itll be a very fun experience and youll make a lot of good memories and I promise you wont regret it! And dont be afraid to ask any questions at all.

The American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) is the collective spirit and unifying voice of our nation's 37 Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs)a unique community of tribally and federally chartered institutions working to strengthen tribal nations and make a lasting difference in the lives of American Indians andAlaska Natives.

Since 1973, AIHEC serves its network of member institutions through public policy, advocacy, research, and program initiatives to ensure strong tribal sovereignty through excel-lence in American Indian higher education.
At the 2017 AIHEC Student Conference, each of the 37 AIHEC institutions were represented by a broad array of students, faculty, and staff from tribal nations throughout the United States.
Students engaged in competitions designed to foster strong academic achievements in STEM, history, literature, and the arts. This event brings together future leaders of Indian Country and serves as a national gathering and training ground for native youth.