by By Rosemary Stephens, Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribal Tribune
The screaming fans could be heard outside the basketball gym as Haskell University’s lady Indians close out Southwest Christian College, in the final minutes of the game, with a score of 55-52, Feb. 17 in Bethany, Okla. Leading her team to victory was #13 shooting guard, Sydney Jessepe.Jessepe, a 5’7 sophomore, scored 17 points, 6 rebounds and showed a spirit of leadership and confidence on and off the court. “We have a new coach this year, Shane Flannigan and he really knows his stuff … our record this year so far is 11-7,” Jessepe said.
Jessepe, comes from Mayetta, Kansas where she attended Royal Valley High School. Her grandmother, Rosana Whiteskunk said Jessepe was the tallest girl in her class, “when she was little, in grade school, I would ask Sydney if she was smart and she would look up at me and say ‘grandma I am really smart’.”Jessepe, the oldest of five siblings, speaks fluent Cheyenne and Pottawatomie and has always helped her fellow students and her younger brothers and sisters by being a mentor and tutor.
“I used to tutor a lot in high school, I was the math teacher’s student assistant and I continue to tutor at Haskell … I tutor students who aren’t up to the college level in Algebra yet,” Jessepe said. “One of my younger sisters, Sylvana, I kind of mentored her and she is way ahead of where I was when I was a junior in high school … look out for her because she will probably be a Gates scholar and she is 5’11 so she will be here at Haskell behind me.”
When asked about her own grade point average, Jessepe kind of laughed and said, “Let’s just say I could stay in the academic dorm if I wanted to. Athletically I am classified as a sophomore, but academically I am a junior.”
Though able to graduate next year, Jessepe wants to play college basketball as long as she can and plans to attend Haskell her full four years. “I always knew I would attend Haskell University because my grandmother and my grandmother’s sisters all attended Haskell. Its only an hour away from where I live and its really convenient to have my home so close to where I attend school … a lot of people don’t get that opportunity,” Jessepe said. “Ever since I was little I would attend powwows at Haskell, visit the dorms and I could envision myself going to school there. I would go to basketball games and imagine myself down there on the court. It’s a reality now and I am loving it.”
Jessepe, sitting in the gym lounge, said in a quiet confident voice, “I bring to my team a positive attitude, you know I don’t like teams that start to get down on themselves when they are losing, so I am usually the one who tries to get everyone pumped up and stay that way … I just bring a lot of positive energy to the team.”
Averaging 10 points a game on the court and being a success in the classroom, Jessepe believes every individual is responsible for how far they can go in life.“The only person that dictates their attitude and whether they make it or not is himself or herself. There are plenty of kids that come from bad homes that make it out because they have the willpower to press on and to stay positive,” Jessepe said. “If you stay positive within yourself, say positive things to yourself ever day and be thankful for what you have, you can go a long way with whatever you have.”
Life for Jessepe was not always easy growing up, but she said she is proof that anyone can overcome obstacles and pursue their dreams.“I had alcoholic parents so a lot of my outside family, my grandparents, aunts, uncles … they gave me a lot of support and they have a whole lot to do with what I am doing now in college,” Jessepe reflected. “Being in an alcoholic family I never viewed drinking as fun or choosing that option … I viewed alcoholism as a hardship and there is a lot more to live for than to drink and partying and you are not going to get anything out of partying. I have seen it first hand and it’s a deadend. I saw it as a bad thing right away and didn’t want that for my life.”
Jessepe said she knew it was because of her grandparents and other elders in her life that she is reaching her dreams. “I want to thank all my families, my Whiteskunk family, my Weaselbear family, my Jessepe family and my family on the reservation. I want to especially thank my grandpa Joseph Jessepe, my grandpa Lyman Weaselbear Sr. and my grandma Rosana Whiteskunk Jessepe. Those three, being older, have mentored me emotionally and spiritually,” Jessepe said. “They are very involved in their traditions which help me have a higher power to look up to. I have a lot of respect for my grandparents and my grandmother’s sisters … they have been very supportive of me. Coming to away games to play, it’s comforting to know I have family here to support me. I am thankful to family, my grandparents for raising me and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.”
(Rosemary Stephens is the Editor-in-Chief of the Cheyenne & Arapaho tribal tribune. The original story can be read in the March 2012 edition @ http://www.c-a tribes.org/Websites/michaelwood/images/Newspapers/newspaper_2012/March_1_2012.pdf )
