Beyond Boundaries

The specific problem GO for IT! aims to address is the lack of opportunities for underserved Native American students to gain exposure to international travel and cultural experiences. This narrowing of perspectives and lack of development of a growth mindset significantly impacts Native American communities.

Poverty rates in Native American communities are disproportionately high, exacerbating the scale of the problem. For example, the poverty rate among Native American households with children under 18 years old is 23.6% compared to the total US poverty rate of 12.3% (Census.gov, 2022). Overall, the national Native American poverty rate of 25.4% far exceeds the total US rate.

Factors such as entrenched poverty, insular views from limited exposure to diverse cultures and places, contribute to what some studies have termed a "fixed mindset" tendency among Native youth. Without opportunities to see beyond their immediate environments and backgrounds, Native youth may perceive only constraints rather than possibilities for their futures. This self-fulfilling prophecy risks limiting their career and life aspirations from a young age.

GO for IT! aims to address these challenges by providing underserved Native American students with opportunities for international travel and cultural immersion. This will help broaden perspectives and nurture a growth mindset oriented towards opportunity.

GO for IT! directly exposes underserved Native American youth to international travel and cultural experiences through funded, experiential trips to broaden their horizons and shift to a growth mindset regarding their abilities and opportunities.

The GO for IT! will organize and fund international trips for groups of Native American students to experience other countries and cultures firsthand. Each trip will include:

·       Travel to a country such as India, Japan, Bali or another location that provides opportunities for cultural immersion and experiences different from typical student backgrounds.

·       An itinerary focused on hands-on experiential activities like visiting historical and cultural sites, participating in art, or cooking classes, interacting with local students, and excursions into rural/indigenous communities.

·       Pre-trip sessions to introduce students to the culture and language of the destination country to prepare them and build confidence.

·       Support from chaperones throughout the trip to scaffold challenging experiences and help students process their learnings.

·       Post-trip activities to reflect on the experience and how it impacts their perspectives on themselves and future opportunities.

GO for IT! directly serves underserved Native American high school students, specifically 10th grade students who will travel between their 11th and 12th grade years. These students come from various Native American majority communities across New Mexico as well as urban areas such as Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

The Native American communities that these students come from experience disproportionately high poverty rates. They often lack opportunities for meaningful international travel and exposure to diverse cultures outside their local environments due to financial constraints. Students may come from families or communities with limited experiences, other than military service, to draw from regarding the potential benefits and possibilities of global travel.

These students are currently underserved in that geographic and economic barriers prevent them from accessing culturally immersive international opportunities during their formative high school years. GO for IT! aims to directly address this issue of limited access by providing fully funded trips abroad.

The program is specifically designed to serve Native American 10th grade students so they can gain this valuable experience during their high school career when mindsets are still developing. The trips will take place between 11th and 12th grade to allow time to process lessons learned and apply new perspectives gained as they finish their secondary education.

By intentionally serving Native youth from New Mexico communities experiencing the greatest disadvantages, GO for IT! works to meaningfully improve outcomes for some of the most underserved students through broadening worldviews and empowering growth mindsets.

As the founder and Team Lead of GO for IT!, my close ties to the Native American communities we aim to serve position me well to deliver this solution. I grew up and continue to live on the Santo Domingo Pueblo Reservation, providing valuable firsthand understanding of the challenges faced by students from these communities.

A team of experts and advisors is being convened, including those with extensive experience organizing successful travel programs for students. This team incorporates previous GO for IT! participants who now serve as chaperones and teachers. As local community members, the team provides crucial engagement and trust building with participants, their families, and communities.

Finally, as a Native person, I am committed to empowering Indigenous youth and uplifting Native voices. The lived experiences and deep community ties of the team members uniquely position us to understand the perspectives of those served. Our shared backgrounds strengthen our ability to effectively serve these communities.

I believe that I am in the prototype stage of the solution as I have already organized and implemented trip programs. However, I am working on defining the problem and solution framework in order to design a sustainable and scalable social impact. I also have not raised any capital beyond fundraising for direct trip expenses -- the fundraising efforts center around student and family organized fundraisers such as food sales. I am hoping to develop the program to attract funders and supporters. I have had about 40 students participate in various trips (India, Japan, Bali).

I am applying to Solve because I believe the GO for IT! has significant potential to positively impact underserved Native American youth, but I could use some help in developing a scalable and sustainable impact. There are some barriers such as cultural (knowing the landscape of impact design field), financial, and technological barriers that I feel Solve can support.

Rather than simply seeking funds, I believe Solve's network and resources could uniquely help us overcome specific cultural, financial and technological barriers holding the solution back from stronger implementation and scaling to benefit many more underserved Native American youth. I am committed to further developing GO for IT! with community input, and Solve's support could accelerate that progress.

International travel provides a unique opportunity to challenge and develop a growth mindset. When students find themselves in a completely new and unfamiliar location, their preconceptions and previous knowledge are tested. With scaffolded learning experiences and support, their self-efficacy and belief in their own abilities increases. Developing positive relationships and support among the group enhances this impact.

Reflection plays a key role. Students reflect through group discussions, personal journals, and travel blogs, further reinforcing their growth. After traveling, students model their expanded mindsets by sharing experiences with peers at school and taking on new challenges, such as applying to out-of-state colleges.

Unlike tourist excursions with predetermined itineraries, GO for IT! actively involves students in trip development. Participants also take on leadership roles after traveling by assisting with recruitment, preparation, and vetting of future students.

Students become experts in travel, sharing experiences with families and peers. Many go on to take additional trips and stay connected with one another through regular meetups. This fosters lifelong connections and allows students to continue sharing their journeys.

The holistic approach of combining international experiential learning opportunities with ongoing domestic support scaffolds sustained mindset growth over time. 

START STATE: Students who feel constrained (whether conscious or not conscious of it) by their environment (low-income, low aspiration, limited awareness of opportunities)

IF Indigenous students participate in an international travel experience that exposes them to cultures, languages, environments, and challenges that are different from their home or school environment

THEN the experience of unfamiliar situations and places abroad will uniquely support their self-efficacy that is supported by scaffolded tasks that draw on resilience, problem-solving, self-confidence, language confidence, social and cultural confidence

SO THAT the uniqueness and richness of international travel will powerfully shift from a fixed to a growth mindset – that they believe in themselves that they can develop themselves beyond what they previously thought possible – making them more willing to take on challenges and learn from diverse experiences because they have experience first-hand the growth that comes from going beyond their comfort zones.

END STATE: Students will “broaden their horizons” and increase their self-efficacy – believing in themselves to pursue more opportunities in their academic or career journeys.

There are no staff currently, just me as the organizer and founder. I do have volunteers such as parents who help with fundraising. I also have paid-staff members who serve as chaperones from Santa Fe Indian School. 

I have been working on elements of the trips -- firstly my first experience as a high school student in the 1990s, as a chaperone in the 2000s, trip-organizer in the past 15 years, and finally developer of impact design currently. 

The developing team will be supportive of diversity, equity, and inclusion as supported by our partner schools, participants, advisors, and community.