William Jarrett (Jerry) Martin
is the son of Rosalee Rowell who lives in Cherokee and the brother of Joe Martin, former editor of the Cherokee One Feather. His grandfather was Jarrett Washington. Jerry grew up in Auburn, Alabama and graduated from Auburn University in 2001 with a degree in Pharmacy. He did a stint in the Army between high school and college. Jerry presently is a pharmacy manager for Walgreen’s in Wilmington, Delaware.

Jerry loves the outdoors, fishing, camping, hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, kayak surfing, rollerblading, mountain biking and boating. He also is interested in saving money. He says: “Best advice ever: Get rich slow--invest, don't speculate. I like to make value plays in the market and then I am very patient with them.”

Jerry says the Yogi Crowe Scholarship Fund helped him pay the rent when he was at Auburn University. His advice to Cherokees who are considering college is to just go. “Even if you are not sure of what you want to do, go anyway. If there is some untapped talent or interest you have, college is the place to discover it.”

Karen L. Holiday
is half Navajo and half Eastern Band of Cherokee and is the daughter of Jack Holiday of Tuba City, AZ and Carol and John Standingdeer of Cherokee, NC. Karen lives in Cherokee, NC and is a single parent and proud mother of a son and daughter: Siah Holiday, age 6 years, and Carys Holiday, age 18 months.After graduating from Cherokee High School in Cherokee, NC, Karen attended the University of New Mexico for 3 semesters before

transferring to Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas. Karen obtained her Associate of Arts in Social Work, and then transferred to the University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK where she obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Social Work in 1998. With the assistance of the Richard (Yogi) Crowe Memorial Scholarship, Karen attended Washington University in St. Louis, MO and obtained her Masters in Social Work with a concentration in mental health in 2000. “The assistance I received from the Richard (Yogi) Crowe Scholarship Fund was greatly appreciated and I hope other recipients will donate back to the Scholarship so that we can all assist Cherokee students obtain graduate degrees.”

Employment soon followed Karen’s MSW degree with the White Path Center in Cherokee, NC and the Muscogee Creek Nation’s Children and Family Services in Okmulgee, OK. In 2001, Karen accepted a job with the Indian Health Service’s UNITY Regional Treatment Center in Cherokee, NC as a Substance Abuse Specialist. Karen has now worked at UNITY for approximately 6 years. UNITY is an in-patient substance abuse treatment program for Native American youth, ages 13-18 years old.

When asked what Karen liked about working at UNITY, Karen replied, “I like working with Native American adolescents and I enjoy working with them to change the impact of substance abuse on their lives and families. Working at UNITY affords me the opportunity to work with Native American kids from all over the US. In my job, we try to plant the seeds of success and offer tools to make kids more successful in their own efforts to overcome addiction and other obstacles in their lives.”

When asked what advice she would offer to Cherokee students, Karen said, “I would encourage all Cherokee youth to study from the time they are in elementary school and until they finish high school. A strong educational background is key to an improved life regardless of whether they go to college or not. If one does decide to attend college, I want them to know that it is hard to leave your family and friends, and scary to face the unknown. That is normal. However, facing and dealing with those fears is a part of growth, and sometimes personal growth hurts. The good part of this educational experience is that once you achieve personal growth, it is well worth the effort.”