Page 3-Third Issue May 2017

(Photo courtesy of  Joe Smietanka's parents)

Joe's Corner 

This is a section dedicated for student writing and named after Joe Smietanka, who passed away in 2016. This section is named after him because of his dedication and love for the art of writing.

Instead of student writing this time we present an article on the Memorial Tree Project that is for Joe and others who have lost their life while trying to better their lives at Helena College.

Trees Soon to be Planted for Memorial Tree Project

By Karen Henderson
Karen.Henderson@umhelena.edu

     Last October, one of Helena College’s students, Joe Smietanka, lost his life in an automobile accident. The accident happened just one day after Joe and his classmates in Karen Henderson’s Creative Writing class performed the first-ever Poetry Slam at Helena College. Joe’s classmates and Henderson were devastated by the loss and sought a way they might remember Joe. The idea of a memorial tree was suggested, but that required an organizational strength that the class lacked.

     Enter TRiO Students 2 Scholars (S2S) Club. Henderson approached the club and asked them to take on the service project of a memorial for Joe and other students we’ve lost too soon. Finally, this May, the memorial tree project will come to fruition. Through generous funding from Helena College Student Government Association, the Smietanka family, and others, two Little-leaf Linden trees have been purchased, one for the Donaldson campus and one for the airport campus. Long-living, slow-growing, the Linden is a perfect tree for a memorial and comes with a 5-year guarantee from Valley Farms, who will plant the trees this May. S2S has plans to purchase memorial plaques to accompany each tree, and a dedication will be held in the near future.

     Helena College loses students to a variety of causes, and it’s always a loss to the college and our community when a young person with promise loses his/her life. TRiO S2S, especially president Dalton Johnson, stepped up, followed through, and made this happen, demonstrating Margaret Mead’s sentiment when she said, “Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

We are looking for student writing to publish in future issues please submit your writing to the helenahelmnews@gmail.com

Non-traditional Students of Helena College

By: Kiera Marshall
Kiera.Marshall@mail.umhelena.edu

College has become accessible to more people in recent years and with this there is a larger population of non-traditional students and Helena College is no exception. A non-traditional student doesn’t have specific definition, but can be older student, goes part time, or has had a felony or any other interference in their life that stopped them from attending college.

There are several students that are non-traditional students. I am one myself. I receive veteran benefits that help me live and I mentor incoming students that are veterans or receive benefits. Helping them adjust to college life is sometimes hard, but I have been able to meet some great people and I was glad to help them. They are usually non-traditional as well.

Another student, who is referred to as ‘Levi’, has a felony arson charge on his record, which has caused obstacles for him, but he continues to push through it. Levi is getting an Associate of Science (A.S.) and is going to be a science tech over the summer with Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (FWP).

Being a person with a felony charge, he says that it makes the process more complicated and adds to his workload and must work harder to be seen as a normal student. He said that there are more steps for him to follow, but they need to be taken for him to be in college. When telling others about his felony, how they react to the news depends on the context of their relationship.

As I discussed the prejudices he faces, I learned that it is common for former felons to be attend college after being released and Levi has mentored a few of them on his own and has been offered the opportunity to mentor others like him from his parole officer.

Levi was involved in a pre-release program, but that is only the first step to helping felons hoping to get a college degree. Pre-release programs give them an opportunity to make friends with others in similar situations, but being more flexible about what they can do could help further the program.

There is a large amount of support from teachers, his probation officer, and the deans. “I wanted to do it. I would rather jump through hoops that do something I hate,” said Levi when asked if he knew he wanted to go to college after his release.


His advice to others is to “stay busy” so they don’t have time to get into trouble.