Boxelder student Shyne Anderson looks toward a brighter future

February 2, 2021

Young woman carrying a log and wearing a yellow hard hat — Shyne Addison installs buck and rail fencing to protect an archeology site from motorized vehicle damage on the Bear Lodge Ranger District on the Black Hills National Forest in August 2019. Boxelder students who work on projects like these earn credits towards a high school diploma with a Career and Technical Training Certification in an agriculture, food and natural resources cluster, certified by the South Dakota Department of Education. Math teacher Derek Sukstorf chaperoned Boxelder students on this project. USDA Forest Service photo.

Two women, at a table of holiday treats, bags and envelopes, assembling holiday care package for students participating in distance learning. — Shyne Addison (far left) helps assemble Christmas gift bags that include treats and homemade cards to be mailed to Boxelder students enrolled in distance learning off-center. USDA Forest Service photo by Bonnie Fuller.

COLORADO—To ensure the health and safety of its students and staff, Department of Labor officials made the hard decision to close Job Corp Centers as the coronavirus pandemic escalated.

With centers temporarily shuttered, Shyne Addison, a student enrolled in Boxelder Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center, found herself back in her hometown of Eagle Butte, South Dakota, in May 2020. When Boxelder sent its students home, it quickly pivoted to distance learning to continue students’ educations.

The COVID-19 pandemic turned the world upside down, and the youth population served by Job Corps has been disproportionately impacted. Although young adults suffer the lowest mortality rates, the challenges they have encountered have been harsh. Students’ access to education has been stymied, some encountered food insecurity and/or experienced unsafe home environments, and all faced disrupted social lives at a developmental stage that is challenging to navigate.

While she was in residence, Boxelder Job Corps Center staff and fellow students pushed Addison beyond her self-perceived boundaries. Back in Eagle Butte and cut off from this supportive, albeit challenging, environment, Addison found herself adrift. She struggled with living with family members who abused alcohol, and she had to navigate a nomadic living environment. Addison found herself reverting to bad habits, which included excessive drinking.

Young woman at a table with a plate of birdseed, peanut butter and a spoon to apply the concoction to a pinecone. — Shyne Addison participates in a distance learning science project that involved some students retrieving pinecones from nearby woods while others covered the cones in peanut butter, rolled them in birdseed, and hung them by strings outside dorm rooms, not necessarily in that order. The result was what one teacher described as “a sticky mess.” USDA Forest Service photo by Bonnie Fuller.

When Addison first arrived on center at age 17, Boxelder staff discovered she had suffered sexual violence. She was experiencing anxiety attacks and suicidal ideation, conditions she had struggled with since the age of 13. Boxelder’s nurse and the center psychologist kept close tabs on her, and at one point, she was sent home to undergo intensive counseling. That was a turning point for Addison. She began to recognize all life had to offer and how Job Corps could help achieve her ambitions.

“I made the decision that I did not want to die. I started to think about the opportunities available, like having my own family, how I would raise my kids and how I could break the dysfunctional cycle in my family,” said Addison.

Living at home after Boxelder’s closure, and recognizing that she needed help, Addison reached out to the center nurse. She asked if she could return to Boxelder. Concerned Addison was backtracking in her progress, staff made the decision to bring her back.

“Shyne’s has shown great strength and poise and I have seen such growth in her,” said Boxelder Job Corps Academic Manager Bonnie Fuller.

After being tested for COVID-19, Addison arrived back on center on Nov. 18, 2020. Staff sanitized her belongs and explained COVID-19 safety protocols before she entered a 14-day quarantine. After passing a second coronavirus test, Addison moved to her permanent dorm.

Back on center, Addison has been studying math and English and is now half a credit shy from graduating. COVID-19 has delayed her studies, but Addison has set out specific goals for her future. After she graduates, she wants to earn an Emergency Medical Technician certificate and then enter college. She has hopes of earning her Certified Nursing Assistant certificate through Boxelder’s partnership with Western Dakota Tech but needs to increase her Test of Adult Basic Education scores. In the meantime, she’s transferred into Boxelder’s Office Administration trade and is working on developing her leadership skills.

Close-up of a plate of bird seed, peanut butter and pinecone used to create a pinecone bird feeder. — The “sticky mess” created by Shyne Addison during a distance learning science project that involved students retrieving pinecones from nearby woods while others covered the cones in peanut butter, rolled them in birdseed, and hung them by strings outside dorm rooms, not necessarily in that order. USDA Forest Service photo by Bonnie Fuller.

“Shyne has returned and taken on such a strong leadership role,” said Fuller. “She is really watching out for the other ladies on center and showing them the kindness and compassion that students did not show her when she was going through troubled times.”

A member of two Native American tribes, Addison wants to go to college in Ft. Wakashe, Wyoming, to learn her deceased father’s, a member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe, native language. She is already fluent in Lakota, the language of the Cheyenne River Sioux, and the tribe of her mother.

When asked if she had any advice to share with other Job Corps students, Addison stated, “I’m so proud of myself for not quitting Job Corps although there were so many times that I just wanted to quit. I’d tell other students that, no matter how hard it gets, ask for help. That’s what I tell myself.”

Boxelder welcomed back its first cohort of students Dec. 15, 2020. Students must socially distance, and they continue to learn in a virtual environment.