Tribal member, Rosetta Keshick, graduated with her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration Management with honors from Lake Superior State University.
Rosetta lives outside of Escanaba on the Hannahville reservation with her husband and 17 year old daughter. Rosetta has been a stay at home mom raising her four children for quite a while, but her goal is to find a job she likes so much that she doesn’t consider it work. She knew that getting a college education would open new doors for her and help her to land her dream job.
Rosetta graduated high school in Escanaba, Michigan, from a special teen parenting program in 1990. Rosetta mentioned how difficult it was going to college at her age, but said her children and husband encouraged her to keep attending.
Rosetta started her college career in 2007 at Bay College in Escanaba. She received two Associate Degrees in the business field and then continued taking classes at a regional center for Lake Superior State University, located at Bay College. She tried taking as many night and weekend classes she could while raising her children.
Rosetta wants to thank her children for encouraging her to finish school. “Going back at this age is really, really hard,” Rosetta said. She also wants to thank her husband for keeping her spirits up and noted that she would never have finished her degree without his encouragement. Rosetta’s family had to deal with her missing family functions and activities because she had classes and schoolwork to do.
The higher education scholarship program made available from the Tribe helped to push her to finish her degree. “Tom (Boelter) helped a whole lot along the way and Joy was a true joy to work with and made the process easier,” Rosetta mentioned.
Rosetta gave a few tips for Tribal members that are thinking about going to school. “Set a goal and work towards that. Make yourself a schooling spot in your house.”
If you are interested in learning more about the Forest County Potawatomi’s Higher Education Grant Program, feel free to contact Jason Bertrand, the Higher Education Coordinator at 715-478-4171.