Indigenous Pathways
Summer Program for Native High School Students
Sunday, June 22 – Thursday, June 26, 2025
The Indigenous Pathways Program is a chance for Native High School Students to experience and learn more about the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
The program serves as a starting point for students entering grades 10 through 12 in the Fall of 2025 to explore what university life and studies have to offer. Students from any federally recognized Native nation may apply.
Experience Life on a College Campus
This program is designed to enhance the college-going experience by familiarizing students with campus life, introducing different fields of study, and providing insights into the application and admissions process.
Students will gain valuable insights into the college experience, including what to expect and how to navigate their new environment. Activities will include living in a residence hall, exploring cultural and resource centers, and building meaningful communities and networks.
During the program, students will stay overnight on campus in a university residence hall with a University of Illinois student staff member on site. Housing and accommodations costs are covered by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Travel to Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is readily accessible by car, plane, train, or bus. Participants in the Indigenous Pathways program can be reimbursed up to $500 in travel expenses incurred for attendance.
Expenses will be reimbursed after attending the program and require copies of receipts to be submitted along with basic personal information. Acceptable travel expenses include transportation services (airfare, train ticket, bus ticket, mileage, taxi/rideshare), lodging, and meals.
Expenses must incur while in route to or from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for the Indigenous Pathways program. Reimbursements are sent via USPS mail and usually arrive 3-4 weeks after all relevant information has been provided.
About the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign sits on the traditional lands of the Peoria, Kaskaskia, Piankashaw, Wea, Miami, Mascoutin, Odawa, Sauk, Mesquaki, Kickapoo, Potawatomi, Ojibwe, and Chickasaw Nations and was founded in 1867 under the first Morrill Land-Grant Act. Since that time, the University of Illinois has grown into a world-class research institution and contains 16 schools and colleges and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 100 graduate and professional programs. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign offers scholarships for members of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, connected historically with the state of Illinois, as well as students who are not residents of the state of Illinois and are members of any of the Tribal Nations federally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Questions?
Please contact Native Affairs Program Coordinator Jenna Wombles for assistance with the registration process at jwombles@illinois.edu or 217-300-9580. Print registration forms can be mailed to the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, 614 E. Daniel Street, Suite 303, Champaign, IL 61820.
Summer Program Highlights
Activities led by campus partners have included:
“Scouting for Campus Resources” – Native American House
For many Native Nations, scouting is a warrior tradition and remains a necessary exercise when exploring environments new to you. Locating campus resources and spaces is part of what makes your academic and social transition to university life successful. Native American House (NAH) staff will facilitate campus and internet-based scouting exercises, including frozen treats and prizes! A tour of the NAH will serve as the starting point for this activity.
“We Are The Stories We Tell” – Krannert Center for the Performing Arts
In this workshop students learned storytelling methods through humanities, collaboration and self-representation. These methods promoted self-empowerment and allowed students to access their own creativity while helping them tell their own stories.
“Navajo Water Project” – Applied Research Institute, Grainger Engineering
Learn about the importance of Indigenous knowledge in engineering design solutions and the research being done at the University with building Indigenous infrastructure and working with the Navajo Nation.
“Explore the College of ACES” – College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences
Visit the U of I Sustainable Student Farm for a hands-on experience in diversifying fruit and vegetable production, meet local freshwater fish species and conduct a food science experiment.
“DIY Quantum Dots” – The Cancer Center at Illinois
Students were lead in a hands-on activity where they created “DIY Quantum Dots” while learning why nanotechnology is important in cancer detection and research. Students then received a tour of the labs and had the opportunity to talk to graduate research students as well as other high school students researcHStart program.
“Working in a Cleanroom” – Department of Mechanical Science & Engineering
Work in an environmentally controlled lab while creating your own pattern on a silicon wafer by using photolithography.
“Demystified the College Application Process” – Undergraduate Admissions
Students received an informative presentation by an Undergraduate Admissions representative who demystified the college application process.
Every society needs educated people, but the primary responsibility of educated people is to bring wisdom back into the community and make it available to others so that the lives they are leading make sense.
Vine Deloria, Jr.