ARTICLE AD BOX
On her first day of class at Minneapolis College, Lolita Spotted Thunder Granados, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe from Pine Ridge, South Dakota, sat in front of Shaneesa Scheckel, a younger Lakota student. Like Spotted Thunder Granados, Scheckel was enrolled in the college’s nursing program.
Spotted Thunder Granados complimented Scheckel’s beaded earrings. The two women struck up a conversation and, in a matter of minutes, realized Scheckel’s grandmother was Spotted Thunder Granados' godmother.
Scheckel’s grandmother and Spotted Thunder Granados’ mother were close friends. They had attended school together at Holy Rosary Indian Mission, a boarding school on the Pine Ridge Reservation, more than a half-century earlier.
Overhearing their conversation, fellow student Montana Moore, whose father is also Lakota from Pine Ridge, spoke up and introduced herself. Within a short time, the small, informal cohort welcomed Nicole Poitra, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa.
Like Spotted Thunder Granados, Poitra was a non-traditional student who had entered nursing school well into her fifties.
The four women have spent the last two years supporting one another as they worked toward earning their degrees. They say that the connection to one another and the sense of community fostered by the program faculty helped them excel in the program.
“Many Natives don’t understand that it’s an attainable career,” said Spotted Thunder Granados. “I’m so proud of us.”
The pinning ceremony is a long-standing tradition that welcomes nurses into the profession. At Minneapolis College, the pin hangs on the end of a ribbon and is placed around the neck of each graduate by someone important to them.
The four women led the pinning ceremony at Minneapolis College. They stood arm in arm, reading a land acknowledgement — a statement respecting Indigenous peoples as the stewards of the land on which the college was built. The four remained on stage for a few more minutes as the Hehaka Ska Drum sang an honor song for the members of the graduating class of 2025.
Scheckel’s grandmother, Theresa Tibbetts, traveled from South Dakota to celebrate both her granddaughter’s and her goddaughter’s graduation. Theresa placed the pin around her goddaughter’s shoulders and tied an eagle feather in her hair. It was the first time Theresa had seen her goddaughter Spotted Thunder Granados since she was a baby.
While the program regularly enrolls Native American students, the four graduates have attributed their successes in the program to the support they received from one another, family and friends, school advocates, and faculty.
Spotted Thunder Granados said it was a significant moment for those from Native communities who may not have believed they could pursue a career in nursing.
“There’s been a lot of mistrust and historical trauma in health care,” said Spotted Thunder Granados, who has worked as a clinical assistant at Children's Hospitals in Minnetonka for the past several years.
Nationally, American Indians make up 0.5 percent of registered nurses, according to the 2024 National Nursing Workforce Survey.
The four graduates comprised more than 10 percent of the students who graduated from the program in 2025, according to Kathy Rumpza, associate vice president of marketing and communication for Minneapolis College.
‘It gives you, like, power’
Nicole Poitra said she entered nursing because she feels “at home” caring for people. Her desire to become a nurse came from her experience caring for family members. For Poitra, that translated into wanting to help people feel less afraid in hospital and clinic settings.
“I feel like they just need someone to feel empathy to bring them up and make them feel like they’re not alone,” Poitra said.
Still, she said, the program proved challenging for her as a non-traditional student.
“I am 55 years old,” said Poitra. “It was a struggle for me to stay in the program.”
Poitra said the support she received from a student advocate helped her remain in nursing school.
Spotted Thunder Granados agreed with her friend, saying the program is rigorous, “Nothing compares to nursing, nothing.”
“They break you down. They humble you. They crack you up. And, like, they get into your mind. They teach you,” said Spotted Thunder Granados. “Then they build you back up again.”
Shaneesa Scheckel agreed, “Your life is not your own when you’re in nursing school.”
Each of the graduates recalled moments when they had to sacrifice attending family milestones to remain in the program. Each had a story about missing a wedding or a funeral. They recounted the stories of classmates who had given birth and returned to class within days to take a final.
Montana Moore recounted moments when she felt like giving up. She said it was their cohort that helped her during some of the more challenging moments.
“Then you call up one of your buddies from the class, and they say, I’m feeling the same way. They say let’s just do it,” Moore said.
Likewise, Scheckel said the sense of comradery helped her to graduate.
“I could not have done it without everyone in our cohort,” Scheckel said. “Like we all have each other’s backs. It gives you, like, power.”
‘Holistic learning’
Each of the graduates pointed to the work of one faculty member in particular who was instrumental in helping them complete their degree program. All four graduates said professor Kendra-Ann Seenandan-Sookdeo helped them recognize their strengths and vulnerabilities as professional assets.
Seenandan-Sookdeo has taught nursing at Minneapolis College for the past decade. She refers to her students as “change agents.”
“We learn together, alongside each other. And the important thing is finding out that that little spark,” said Seenandan-Sookdeo. “And with that comes a whole story, a whole big melody of stories.”
Moore said Seenandan-Sookdeo helped her see her challenges as a professional asset. Moore has struggled with chronic pain for years. One day, she arrived to class with the help of a walker.
“She would just say, ‘How much better of a nurse is this going to make you? You’re going to know so much because you’ve been through it,’” Moore said.
The experience helped Moore transform how she viewed her abilities.
“She was able to help me take all of the things that have happened in my life and the pain and use it as something to propel me forward and actually start viewing it as a blessing,” Moore said.
“It’s the lived experiences that’s the distinguishing factor. It’s not the textbook. The distinguishing factor is what you’ve lived,” said Seenandan-Sookdeo.
Seenandan-Sookdeo placed the pin around Moore’s shoulders during the school’s pinning ceremony.
Spotted Thunder Granados recognized Seenandan-Sookdeo’s emphasis on holistic learning as aligning with her family’s cultural values.
“Kendra-Ann really introduced that concept of holistic nursing. So, because of that, it made it more achievable,” said Spotted Thunder Granados. “I think she really brought that cultural aspect to the classroom.”
Poitra said it also meant Seenandan-Sookdeo expected each of the students to perform well academically.
“I had Kendra-Ann for clinical, and she was no pushover,” said Poitra.
All four graduates plan to move forward with their education by enrolling in programs that will enable them to work in nursing administration.
Spotted Thunder Granados said she’s excited to begin working. She’s also currently applying for positions in her chosen field. She will join her fellow graduates in filling the need for nurses statewide.
“It was worth it because of the knowledge we now have. It makes you think differently about things, like the ability of the body to process and filter. It gave me more respect for human life,” Spotted Thunder Granados said.
English (US) ·