BROADCASTS.com

b'

Jourdan Bennett-Begaye is Navajo. She attends the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Jourdan is also one of the creators of the Survival of the First Voices Festival.

Jourdan grew up in Shiprock, NM. Sports played a big role in her life as a child. She played soccer and volleyball. One came naturally, as Jourdan\\u2019s mother was a volleyball coach. Soccer was completely foreign to her and her first practice she showed up in tennis shoes and denim shorts. Both experiences are great learning environments. In one, you have access to knowledge, mentors, and opportunity. In the other, you are in an environment unfamiliar to you, you are uncomfortable, you have to open yourself to learning and growth and being comfortable being uncomfortable. I think access to structure, mentors and resources, as well as discomfort are critical to development and success. People can succeed with one or the other, but combined experiences are really springs to success.

Jourdan eventually focused on volleyball full time. She played club volleyball, traveled many hours each week to practices and tournaments. It even allowed her to travel to Australia, opening Jourdan up the world of travel.

Jourdan began college at Emory University. Her goal was to go work at the Centers for Disease Control. But she experienced culture shock, living far away from home and not being able to play volleyball due to some injuries. She transferred to Fort Lewis College, which was closer to home. But it was her last choice when initially considering what school to attend.

I asked Jourdan why that was the case. She got very real and shared a powerful story. Initially she thought Fort Lewis was \\u201ctoo rezzy\\u201d and she was looking for a different experience. She said during high school she felt a bit ashamed of being Native; she accepted it but felt ashamed of her identity.

Today, she has the complete opposite perspective. What caused this change? A story from her grandparents. She was visiting them one day and her grandmother told a story about how Jourdan\\u2019s Greatx2 grandmother was born on the long walk. Jourdan learned she descends from someone who survived not only the journey itself, but survived an experience where women and babies would be killed on the journey and that only half of the people on the walk survived. Jourdan realized that \\u201cshe was a miracle\\u201d and that she was on Earth for a reason. The story helped her understand who she is and where she came from.

Talk about powerful and empowering. So much of our recent histories has been about survival. And we have. Suicide has been an issue for too long. Jourdan\\u2019s message that each person is a miracle, that they are here because previous generations survived is one worth sharing in our own communities.

Jourdan\\u2019s inspiration for Survival of the First Voices with a friend during a road trip. They were driving home from LA and Jourdan mentioned a new media festival that occurred in New York and that people wanted a similar event on the West Coast. They decided to do it themselves. And they did it in three months. It\\u2019s amazing to see how successful they were in implementing the festival in such a short timeframe. They just took action. So amazing. They are in the third year of the festival and continue to grow it.

Listen to the episode for more about Jourdan\\u2019s story. And be sure to check out their Facebook page for more information.

\\xa0