S moke S ignals
NOVEMBER 15, 2016
7
Larsen’s career path traverses Tribal Education programs
By Brent Merrill
Smoke Signals staff writer
In the life of Tribal member Devin
Larsen, they key to success has
been in her attention to details.
And if you’re trying to figure out
what launched her success, you also
will need to pay attention to the
details like when she calmly shares
a story of being impaled as a child
by a stick after a fall on a bicycle in
her hometown of Willamina.
She has no problem telling how
“horrified” she was to pick herself
up after the downhill fall and find
the stick lodged in her stomach
on one end and poking out of her
stomach on the other end. It’s when
she tells you that she didn’t cry that
you begin to realize her strength.
And when she tells what it feels
like to have been in the Tribe’s ed-
ucational program from her Head
Start/Preschool days all the way
through to her bachelor’s degree
in Anthropology from Eastern
Oregon University, it’s the details
that matter.
“I started down at the preschool
when I was 3,” says Larsen. “Peo-
ple were always cheering me on. I
remember in the interview saying
that I credit the education program
out here for a lot of where I ended
up.”
Larsen, who graduated in June,
began working for the Education
Department she has been a part
of most of her life as a lead tutor/
adviser in Youth Education on Oct.
12.
“I just happened to be on the
interview panel and I was just
very impressed,” says Education
Department Manager Leslie Riggs.
“She is so polished and sharp. She
is a great success story.”
Larsen, who is the daughter of
Tribal member Jeff Larsen and Hol-
lie Mercier and the granddaughter
of the late Mike Larsen and Kathi
Paterson and Paul Justen and
Darcy Davis, finished her college
degree while working full-time for
Tribal Court as a records clerk.
She was the Tribal Court’s re-
cords clerk from December 2014
until September of this year.
“It was a really good job and I
learned a lot of new skills and got
along with everybody great,” says
Devin of the court job that she
started when she was 20. “I had
been working at the preschool for
five years since the age of 15. I just
wanted a little different experience
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Devin Larsen, left, the new third- through fifth-grade lead tutor/adviser
for the Tribe’s Youth Education Program, reads “Room on the Broom” to
her sister Gracie Mercier, right, and Lyliana Rideout during the afterschool
program at the Tribe on Wednesday, Nov. 9.
to really see what I wanted to do.
I definitely got a new perspective
on the Tribe, things that I had
never experienced before. I really
enjoyed it.”
Devin says that after she grad-
uated from college she knew she
wanted to return her career path
toward education and wanted to
eventually become a college adviser
or work in the Tribe’s employment
program.
“It’s really working out well for
me,” says Devin. “Part of the reason
why I want to become an adviser is
because a lot of people don’t realize
how many opportunities we have
out here. I try and tell people even if
it’s not your thing (going to college)
give it a chance.”
Devin says that she received
help to get her education and that
those same programs are currently
available to Tribal members who
want to attend school in hopes of a
better future.
Devin received student rental
assistance through the Housing
Department and took advantage
of the Tribe’s educational leave
policy, which allowed her to spend
as many as four hours a week on
her studies while getting paid for
an entire work week.
“There are so many things that
people don’t even know about that
are out here,” says Devin. “There
are so many resources out here so
WIC visits Health & Wellness Center
Pregnant? Breastfeeding? Does your family include a child
under the age of 5?
If so, you may qualify for the Women, Infants and Children
program. With WIC, people can receive answers to nutritional
questions and access fruits and vegetables, whole grains, eggs,
milk, cheese, juice, cereal and more.
A WIC representative visits the Health & Wellness Center
on the third Tuesday of the month, which will be Nov. 15 and
Dec. 20.
Walk-ins are welcome between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. When WIC
clients arrive at the Health & Wellness Center, they should
enter through the Wellness Department located at the back of
the medical wing.
For more information or to schedule an appointment, call
503-623-8175, ext. 2297.
when people don’t take advantage
of the educational opportunities I
can’t believe it. Since I’ve been a
little girl people have been telling
me the Tribe is going to help you do
this and you’re going to achieve it
so I really thank the Tribe a lot for
where I’m at.”
Working full time in Tribal Court
and attending school full time was
difficult, she says, but she knew
she had the support around her to
make it.
Devin’s mother, Hollie, who
works as an administrative as-
sistant in the Member Services
Department, is married to Tribal
Elder John Mercier. Together they
formed a support network around
Devin while she threw herself at
her degree by taking online courses.
Devin says it was that strong sup-
port she received from her family
and boyfriend that gave her the
confidence to take as many as 19
credit hours a term while working
a full-time job.
“I have always been proud of
Devin and her desire to challenge
herself academically,” says Hollie.
Hollie says Devin has always
been inquisitive and focused on
learning since she was a toddler.
“I can remember when she was
barely 3 years old she would meet
every guest at our front door with
a cardboard map of the United
States and eagerly announce ‘Ask
me, ask me!’ which meant she
wanted them to immediately quiz
her about where each state was
located,” remembers Hollie. “It was
very important to her that everyone
test her knowledge at least once
before we moved on to any other
conversation.”
John Mercier, who was following
Devin when she took her fall on the
bike, says he witnessed it firsthand
while Larsen was growing up.
“She has always been one to be
inquisitive,” says John. “When we
first got a house together I would
be reading a book and she would
be asking me what my book was
about. So she would sit and act like
she was reading next to me.”
John, who is the Tribe’s acting
Tribal Employment Rights Office
director, says he has been happy
to watch Devin grow up and that
he is very proud of her and her ac-
complishments in her educational,
career and personal life – pointing
out that Larsen recently became a
homeowner.
“She did well all through school,”
says John. “We wanted her to know
that those opportunities were
there. That is one of the benefits of
the Tribe being restored is giving
these opportunities. She has done
fantastic.”
The respect John has for his step-
daughter is mirrored in the way she
feels about him.
“He has always been there,” says
Devin. “I really appreciate him. He
is a great influence. It was nice to
have that relationship with him
when I was younger and even now.”
Devin says she receives love and
support from her mother as well
and that all through college it was
her mother who was her cheer-
leader.
“My mom has always been so
proud of me,” says Devin, who was
accepted at the University of Ore-
gon and Oregon State University
out of high school, but who chose
Chemeketa Community College
and eventually Eastern Oregon’s
program because it allowed her
to work full time for the Tribe.
“It definitely helped having them
support me.”
Devin says her late grandfather
Mike Larsen was also a big support
for her as a teenager and then in
her first year of college. Larsen,
who was a respected and beloved
Tribal Elder in Grand Ronde,
walked on in January 2013.
“I sure miss him,” says Devin.
“Toward high school we got really
close. My grandpa Mike always
told me how proud of me he was.
He was so supportive. Even now I
know he would be totally bragging
about it, which is so funny because
that is just how he is. I miss him a
lot, but I know that he knew I was
on the right path.”
With her new job, the 22 year-old
has had a chance to reflect on the
last seven years of working for the
Tribe and all of the experiences that
have come with being part of the
Tribal family.
“I want to mention how much I’ve
enjoyed being able to work for the
Tribe these last seven years,” says
Devin. “Each position has been a
stepping stone toward my goals
and most importantly has given me
the opportunity to become better
acquainted with the membership
and our community.”
Devin says she hopes other young
people in the Tribe will follow her
path and use her experiences as an
example that they also can achieve
great things if they want.
“One of my favorite things about
our Tribe is that we are continu-
ously providing opportunities for
our youth to grow and succeed,
and my hope is that I can make a
difference in some of the lives of
our future generations as so many
of my family members and fellow
employees have done for me,” says
Devin. “I can’t thank the Tribe
enough. It’s pretty amazing. I’m
really blessed.”