(Andrea A. Albert, left, and Dakota Thomas, both 15, look through books in the Reader to Reader Inc. office in the Cadigan Center for Religious Life at Amherst College earlier this week. The girls are part of a group of eight students from the Navajo Pine School in Navajo, N. M., who are visiting Western Massachusetts.)
Springfield Republican
Sunday, October 12, 2008
By DIANE LEDERMAN
AMHERST - They live in a community of less than 2,000 people and virtually everyone who lives there is Navajo like them.
Their town of Navajo, N.M., has a supermarket and gas station, two schools, a church, day-care center, fire department and that's about it, according to 16-year-old Bettina Kinlichinie.
While Kinlichinie and the seven other students were a little apprehensive about boarding a plane and traveling 2,300 miles to a place they had never seen, what awaited them in places like Springfield, Hadley and Amherst has been "life changing," she said.
Kinlichinie and her friends were brought here this week by Reader To Reader Inc., which began a mentoring program with these students and Amherst College about a year ago, said David S. Mazor, Reader to Reader Inc., founding executive director. The students and their college counterparts read the same books and discussed them online. Amherst College mentors visited the Navajo students in May, he said.
On their five day trip, the high school students visited such places as the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Amherst College's Mead Art Museum, sat in at a session at the Springfield Housing Court and met with Judge Dina E. Fein and attorney Myles Jacobson. They also went behind the scenes of the Amherst College Theater Department.
"They don't have a lot of opportunity," Mazor said. "The graduation rates are very low." The idea was to bring them here to introduce them to people in all types of careers, so it "would give them a reason to stay in school. "We wanted to connect them with (people who have) the passion they have for their careers."
Kyle S. Clark, 17, is a junior who recently moved from Navajo to Albuquerque, to attend a city school. The others on the trip still attend Navajo Pine High School.
Clark enjoyed observing Springfield Housing Court and learned that to be a judge, "you don't have to be a lawyer. That was really interesting," he said.
At court he talked to Jacobson about law. He never had the chance to talk one on one with a lawyer before. Clark said the talk is "going to make me work harder. It's going to make me pursue my dream."
Meeting Amherst College Assistant Athletic Director Billy T. McBride and the other stable of Amherst College coaches, helped Clark realize he can be a better basketball player "if I set my mind to it. That gave me some confidence."
Kinlichinie, a junior, particularly enjoyed a session on Web design with Amherst College Web developer Howard J. Hanna.
"Before, I wasn't really sure what I wanted to go into," she said.
While Mazor founded Reader to Reader Inc. about six years ago to provide books free of charge to needy school libraries and public libraries across the United States, it was through that program he found the need in this community transcended that.
He did a lot of fund-raising to bring the students here and was aided by Amherst College and places such as Whole Foods in Hadley and the Pub here, which provided free meals.
Reader to Reader is holding a fund-raiser Nov. 16 at 4 p.m. at the 19th annual Children's Illustration Exhibition at Michelson Gallery in Northampton, an event that is honoring author Norton Juster.
In addition, Reader to Reader is trying to raise money to bring the eight Navajo students back for a month next summer. Those wishing to donate to that venture may send a check to Reader To Reader, Inc. c/o Cadigan Center, 38 Woodside Ave., Amherst, MA 01002. Donors should mark it for the Navajo Pine High School project.
The Navajo Pine High School students visiting Amherst reflected on their trip. The verdict?
Is there any better way to see the fall foliage than the beautiful view of the Connecticut River Valley from the Summit House at the top of Mount Holyoke?
The Amherst College Athletics Department gave the Navajo Mentoring Program students a fantastic, inspirational morning focused on the role of sports in a college career. 
The Navajo Mentoring Program students got to see the latest in cutting-edge robots when they visited the Laboratory for Perceptual Robotics at the University of Massachusetts. 
The Navajo Mentoring Program student visit to Amherst drew a lot of press attention, including the Daily Hampshire Gazette, the Springfield Republican, and WGGB-TV 40. By the end of the visit the students had become old hands at being interviewed.
It was a dream team-up that made a dream come true! The defending NBA champion Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers were on the same side when it came to the Navajo Mentoring Program. The two teams teamed up to donate tickets so the visiting students could attend their first NBA game.
No college student in the Amherst area can live for long without a slice of Antonio’s Pizza. It seems to rank right up there with air.
One of the presentations that most captivated the students in the Navajo Mentoring Program was Howard Hanna’s inside look at the world of Internet Web design. 
There’s nothing more perfect than a beautiful fall day to tour a college campus. 
The Navajo Mentoring Program students finished up the day having some fun playing Laser Tag. 
The staff of Northfire Recording Studio took the Navajo Mentoring Program students into the world of 192-track recording. The state of the art studio has produced albums for groups such as The Alchemystics, Leah Randazzo, and Loose Caboose, to name a few. 
The Navajo Mentoring Program team explored life in the Connecticut River Valley hundreds of millions of years ago with a visit to Amherst College’s Museum of Natural History. 
WGGB-TV Channel 40 morning anchor Faye Hoffman took time on her day off to give the Navajo Mentoring Program students an in-depth tour of the TV station. 
Knives were flashing, flames were leaping, shrimp were flying through the air (tossed by the chef) and people were laughing. 
The Navajo Mentoring Program students explored Amherst College’s Theatre Department, learning about the many jobs that go on behind the scenes in order to put on a play. 
(Andrea A. Albert, left, and Dakota Thomas, both 15, look through books in the Reader to Reader Inc. office in the Cadigan Center for Religious Life at Amherst College earlier this week. The girls are part of a group of eight students from the Navajo Pine School in Navajo, N. M., who are visiting Western Massachusetts.)
Our visiting Navajo Mentoring program students explored the world of art at the Mead Art Museum at Amherst College.
The second day of our Navajo Pine High School student visit to Amherst was amazing.
8:00am at Emily’s Bed and Breakfast in Amherst, MA. Time to start our day.
Navajo Pine High School students have arrived in Amherst after a long day flying from New Mexico. The students will be spending a very exciting week learning about college life and a host of careers that come from going to college. The trip is a part of Reader To Reader’s Navajo Mentoring Program, which works with students on the Navajo Reservation.
