"Everyone likes the teachers here. They really care about us."

Antonia came to St. Labre Indian School as a kindergartener. Sometimes it takes awhile for young children to adjust to school, but it seems this young lady was already beginning to plan her educational future. She noticed, “Everyone likes the teachers here. They really care about us.” That was key from the beginning: teachers who really care about their students, a given at St. Labre.

From that beginning point, Antonia thrived in school. By the time she reached her senior year (2026) she had been on the honor roll all four years of high school and had carried A averages in all her classes.

Additionally, she made a trip to Chicago to attend a pre-college prep seminar. “They taught us a lot of things about college, and about ourselves,” she says. “Through this awareness program I decided to major in political science.”

In the meantime, though, Antonia plays on the varsity volleyball team and is captain of the girls’ basketball team her senior year at St. Labre. When asked how the team is doing, she laughs, “We’re winning a lot more games than we’re losing.”

She also takes pride in her Native heritage, Northern Cheyenne and Lakota. She is an accomplished fancy dancer at powwows and loves her classes in tribal government. And with a little laugh, she admits to playing video games once in a while.

Getting back to her future plans, she will be attending the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana, where she will major in political science and then enter law school.

And what will that lead to? Without hesitation, she enumerates her three main goals: “I want to be a defense attorney and eventually be president of the Northern Cheyenne Nation. In the meantime I want to be a really good attorney.”

There you have it: Antonia has her professional life planned out for the next few years. Some might think this is wishful thinking of a young girl, but when you meet Antonia, you know she means business, and all of her teachers at St. Labre couldn’t be more proud of her.