JUNE 1, 2003
Smoke Signals 9
She Is Doing Well In School And She Wants To Give Something Back
Tribal member Tiffany Greenberg is learning about her family heritage and her Tribe's history, and still finds
time to be a cheerleader.
By Peta Tinda
Tribal member Tiffany
Greenberg, 20, is a junior at
Linfield College, and is studying for
her Bachelor's Degree in Elemen
tary Education. She maintains a
3.3 grade point average, all while
taking 18 credits this semester.
She is an excellent example of a
young Tribal member pursuing her
educational goals and achieving
success along the way. She said
that her parents, David and Joyce
Greenberg, always stressed the im
portance of getting an education.
Her grandparents are Elbert and
Tribal Elder Clarise Ellison and her
great grandparents are the late
Abraham and Mildred Holmes.
"I've always been curious of
hearing stories from my uncles and
grandparents who said 'It's impor
tant to know who you are."
She attends the Grand Ronde
and other area pow-wows regu
larly. "It was important to her (her
grandmother) that we knew our
family history. The more you know,
the more you can be proud of," she
said.
For her senior project at North
Salem High School she choose to
study Native American myths and
legends, for which she had a
unique perspective due to her heri
tage. She interviewed Grand
Ronde Tribal Elders, and worked
with the Tribal Cultural Resources
Department.
"The work with the culture de
partment went really good, I looked
at the archives, which are really
amazing. And the cultural depart-
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Tiffany Greenberg at the Linfield College
campus in McMinnville.
ment was really exited to see one
of their Tribal youth interested in
learning," she said.
"It was good for me to talk with
the Elders, I learned a lot from
them. I think it's important to
learn as much as you can from
Elders... it's great to talk to El
ders," she said.
When asked how she was far
ing at Linfield, she said: "I've al
ways had different beliefs. I get it
from my grandma," she said. "I
want to learn a lot more about the
myths and legends and different
spirits. I'm fascinated by spirits.
And people are very respectful. I
think that it's special that I can
believe in a different way."
She said that her educational ex
perience at the college has been
very good, and she is pleased with
the quality of her education and
the amount of time she spends in
class.
She also earns credits by work
ing at the Linfield pre-school, ex
cellent experience for her choice of
careers.
"The kids are a lot of fun," she
said. 'They're so curious about the
world. I think they have so much
to offer."
Greenberg explained that she
gets the most satisfaction from
knowing she did her best.
"Knowing that I have a crazy
schedule, and hearing the profes
sors tell me I'm doing exception
ally well is nice. And for me it's
getting things turned in on time
and knowing I did my best."
She is doing well enough to have
received the Eula Petite Memorial
Scholarship, in addition to other
grants and scholarships from the
Tribe.
Next semester, she wants to do
student teaching for college credit
at the Grand Ronde pre-school.
She said that her advisor was ex
cited at the idea.
"It would be really neat to work
with the kids. I also want to see
the Head Start program."
"My folks are really proud of me.
It was always expected that I
would go to college. My parents
have always been really support
ive, even though my dad wanted
me to be an engineer, like him.
When I was little he'd say: 'So do
you want to be an engineer?' and
take me to work with him. It was so
cute. But those engineers all dress
alike. I'd rather be a teacher... but
he's always been supportive. It's
important to him that we're happy."
When she's not studying or in
class, Tiffany finds time to volun
teer with her sorority. "We do tons
of philanthropic work around the
community," she said. This in
cludes working with Habitat for
Humanity in the McMinnville com
munity, and weekdays she helps
out at Kids on the Block, an after
school program for local kids. Her
sorority just won a Greek philan
thropy award for its volunteer ef
forts. On top of all this, she is on the
cheerleading team and practices
two hours a day.
"It's very competitive," she said.
"Over 100 girls tried out for the
team. But it's also fun and I think
it's good to have positive school
spirit. It teaches you to work as a
team."
What more could you ask from
this intelligent, respectful and edu
cated young Tribal member? How
about playing classical violin, which
she learned from her father and
relatives. She has played for 14
years, participating in youth sym
phonies and her high school orches
tra. When she's done with her educa
tion she eventually wants to work
for the Tribe, said Greenberg.
"I feel it would be nice to give
something back," she said.
Pilebuck Apprentice of the Year Graduates
Tribal Member John Flansberg follows his step-dad into the trade.
By Ron Karten
John Flansberg took on the four
year apprenticeship program in
three years and still graduated as
Pilebuck of the Year. "He's a jour
neyman now," said his mom, Tribal
member June Burneman. Tribal
Elder Blanche Lillard is her grand
mother and Tribal Elder Donna
Casey is her aunt. "I'm so proud of
him and have been from day one."
Her joy comes at a difficult time,
however, as her husband and
Flansberg's step-father Cliff
Burneman, rests in a Spokane hos
pital, a mechanical heart in his
chest, awaiting a rare donation.
Flansberg almost declined to at
tend graduation to be in Spokane
by Burneman's side. "He was talk
ing about not being there, to be
with his (step-)dad," said Charlane
Carlson, Office Manager for the
Piledrivers, Bridge, Dock and
Wharf Builders Local 2416 in
Portland.
"This is a big deal," she said, "but
to see him walk across the stage
with the heavy heart he was car
rying was very moving to me."
With the graduation from ap
prenticeship school in late April,
Flansberg followed his well re
garded step-father into the trade.
Among those he has to thank now
for the kind reception he received
is Dale Garland, Superintendent at
Advanced American Diving Ser
vice, the company both members of
the family work for. "He kind of
sponsored me when I got in."
"Dale watched him grow up," said
John's mom, "and knew what kind
of worker he was."
"I remember Garland coming over
to the house when I was little," said
Flansberg. During the apprentice
ship, "he spoke up for me. I guess I
kind of grew up in the trade. My
father was in the trade for 25 years."
"Pile drivers are on the heavier
end of construction," said Bob
Acker, business representative for
the Local 2416. "They put in the
footings for high rises and deep
foundations. We do marine work
from floating rigs and on the
beach." The esplanade on the east
side of the Willamette River in Port
land is held up by pilings "installed
by our people," said Acker.
In fact, the East Side Esplanade
is the project that gave Flansberg
his start as an apprentice.
"Everywhere he's been," contin-
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John Flansberg
ued Acker, "we've had contractors
sing his praises very highly. All
say that he's a hard worker, well
rounded, gets along with co-workers
and he's a leader."
And Flansberg names his co
workers when asked about the
highlights of the job. "Working
around the other journeymen and
the crew. Really great bunch of
guys," he said.
"John is very detail oriented," said
Ron Hansen, Director of the union's
Training Center in Portland. "Ev
ery apprentice has to turn in
progress reports monthly. His were
always on time. He did everything
the best he could. He is a prime ex
ample of what we want apprentices
to be. We got real good praise from
the instructors. All of the classes that
he attended were A's. I wish we had
more apprentices like John."
"It's kind of hands-on with the ap
prenticeship," said Flansberg. "Some
of the harder stuff, they keep you
back, but you see how it was done."
Flansberg lives in Lyle, Washing
ton, across the river from The Dalles
with his wife, Lisa, and their sons,
Johnny, 9, and Joshua, who is al
most 7. And they also played an
important part in his decision to join
the trade.
"I've got a family now," he said,
"(and the job provides) great ben
efits and decent money."