LIVE: Turtle Mountain College Student, CEO, Helping Native Students Navigate College Life

Kilyn Parisien Is Set To Graduate With A Double Degree From The University Of Kansas

A young woman with an impressive resume is helping fellow Native American students learn how to succeed in college.

Kilyn Parisien from the Turtle Mountain Reservation visited the KVRR morning show nearly four years ago. Then, she was a beauty queen who wanted to be a surgeon.
Things changed while she navigated life as the first person in her immediate family to go to college.
But now, she’s on track to graduate in a year with a double major in Sociology and Psychology from the University of Kansas.
She’s helping guide other incoming college students through a webinar sponsored by the American Indian Graduate Center on May 7th.
Her main advice to Native American students preparing for college?

She says, “We live in a rural community, and that goes for anyone in a rural community because North Dakota is so spaced out, and you can’t be afraid. You come from greatness and you have to believe that you’re great and you will do great things. So you have to believe in yourself and be brave.”

Click here to register for the college readiness webinar.

Parisien is also the CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Turtle Mountain. Through that group she’s helping young people on the reservation learn leadership and financial skills.