CHADRON – Chadron State College hosted 22 high school students from across Nebraska at the 61st Annual Nebraska Youth Range Camp June 9-12. According to Tevyn Pieper, project coordinator with the Sandhills Task Force and a camp co-director, the camp provided students with an intensive, hands-on learning experience, focusing on a diverse array of topics essential for sustainable rangeland stewardship.

During the camp, participants engaged in educational sessions and practical applications designed to deepen their understanding of ecological principles and management techniques.

Pieper said the camp featured presentations about critical aspects of plant physiology, soil health, and ecological sites, providing a biological basis for understanding rangeland ecosystems. Participants also learned how to identify at least 40 local plants through hands-on work. Speakers addressed contemporary challenges, including cedar encroachment and prescribed burning. Discussions focused on practical management strategies about grazing systems, stocking rates, and ranch economics. To highlight biodiversity and ecological balance, students also learned about rangeland insects, wildlife, and birds.

Recreational events throughout the week included games and a Range Camp rodeo. Range Camp culminated with a comprehensive exam covering speaker presentation topics, and a final Range Judging contest allowed students to demonstrate their acquired knowledge of plant ID and ecological sites.

CSC’s Project Strive helps students find success

CHADRON – It was a class scavenger hunt on the Chadron State College campus that led Kevin Coy Jr. to Project Strive, CSC’s name for a group of federal Department of Education programs that assist low-income, first generation, and individuals with disabilities earn post-secondary educational degrees.

Immediately after learning of Project Strive’s benefits and that he was eligible from Director Jennifer Schaer, Coy applied to join as a way to help navigate the unfamiliar academic and cultural environment.

A native of Davenport, Florida, who came to CSC in 2014 on a football scholarship, Coy said he had almost no academic background, and knew no one on campus, so support from Project Strive was welcome.

Four years as a Project Strive student paid off for Coy in Dec. 2018 when he graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in sports management from Chadron State College, becoming the first member of his family to attain a college degree.

“The biggest help was the mentoring, counseling, and academic advising with classes,” Coy said. “The support that was given, and the knowledge that was gained, definitely helped me. It propelled me to graduate and become successful in life.”

Coy’s college career also included athletic honors earned as a running back for the football team, including being selected to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference All-Academic first team and the Academic All-America Division II Second Team.

Coy’s experience with helping students deepened in 2017, when he became a team leader for Upward Bound, a program that brings younger students to campus to build familiarity with college work and an academic setting.

“I actually worked with a Boys and Girls Club back in Florida, so I already had experience working with kids from those backgrounds,” he said. “I was one of those kids and want the impact I can possibly have on the future generations.”

As team leader, Coy was a residential advisor in the dormitory with about 20 younger students, ate all meals with them, and planned their after-class activities.

“You get to wear a lot of hats being a team leader,” he said. “It’s pretty hands-on.”

After graduation from CSC, Coy’s dedication, enthusiasm, and ability to relate to students landed him the job of CSC’s Upward Bound academic advisor for Alliance and Chadron High Schools.

With a roster of nearly 50 students in the two high schools during the school year, and 21 on CSC’s campus this summer, the work keeps Coy busy. Throughout the school year, he monitors students’ grades, hosts monthly academic planning meetings, and visits with parents when needed. 

“I help the students throughout school and give them that extra support,” he said.

Coy also helps create assignments that students can complete to earn a small stipend and takes groups on visits to area colleges and technical colleges as a way of exposing them to their options following high school graduation.

“It’s rewarding to give those students that access to post-secondary education,” he said.

Recruiting new students for Upward Bound is also part of his work. Coy speaks to middle school graduates and consults with school counselors to find students who could benefit from the program.

Coy said his own life experience helps him relate to Upward Bound participants, who often lack self-confidence.

“They really can’t see that far ahead that they have the abilities to go on to post-secondary education,” he said. “I’ve been there and am able to connect on a deeper level.”

Not every Upward Bound student goes on to college or a trade school, Coy said, but after several years with the program and working with more than 100 students, he has seen many participants go on to achieve success. One Upward Bound student just graduated from Chadron State in May, he said, and a previous participant who graduated from South Dakota State University has just become an Upward Bound Academic Advisor there.

The program also opens opportunities for technical careers. Coy knows an Upward Bound student who earned HVAC certification at Southeast Community College and has returned to a good job in his hometown, and another one who completed diesel mechanic courses and has returned to Alliance.

Talk of possible federal cuts to funding for the Project Strive suite of programs, which include Upward Bound and Student Support Services at Chadron State, has Coy worried, not only for his job, but also about the impact on people with a background like his.

“Low-income, first-generation background students will take a huge blow,” he said. “Students won’t have access, or more accessibility to post-secondary education.”

Cutting the programs will affect teachers and administrators too, said Coy.

“Upward Bound is a tangible hope that kids, teachers, and administrators could grab. If it’s not there, I don’t know where that hope will go,” he said.

And Coy knows personally how Upward Bound can help a person achieve their dreams.

“It wasn’t until I got to college when I realized how far education can take you,” he said. “It’s a really important program to help students get more educated so they can make a better life for themselves.”