Boozhoo! Duane Bedell ndizhinikaaz. Gnoozhekaaning ndoonjibaa. Bay Mills Community College nda-nokii. (Hello! My name is Duane Bedell. I am from Bay Mills Indian Community. I work at Bay Mills Community College). I have been working in the higher education field for 15 years. I started as an adjunct instructor, which eventually lead into a full-time faculty position at Bay Mills Community College. In addition to being a faculty member, I am also the department chair for the Computer Science program, which allows me to work with students in my role as the advisor for the program.
Beside being a faculty member, I worked and continue to work in the Information Technology (IT) field. Starting off as a PC Technician, then moving to an IT Manager, I have a lot of real-world experience I can share with students while training them to become successful in the IT arena. I truly love the education profession because I have the opportunity to watch students gain confidence in their abilities and themselves as they pursue their educational, personal, and professional goals.
Aside from my professional experience, I am truly passionate about learning my native language, Ojibwe. As I continue to learn Ojibwe, I wanted to see if I could use technology to help others in the Bay Mills Indian Community learn Ojibwe by sharing what I have learned, and by initiating online conversations with others who are learning how to speak Ojibwe and/or from those who speak Ojibwe well.
Through research, I was able to discover the Ojibwe language is prevalent in other Mid-Western Native American communities. In fact, most places outside of Michigan have fluent speakers while Michigan is slowing rehabilitating our language. Therefore, I feel it is important to play a role in helping keep the Ojibwe language alive in my community.
Beside being a faculty member, I worked and continue to work in the Information Technology (IT) field. Starting off as a PC Technician, then moving to an IT Manager, I have a lot of real-world experience I can share with students while training them to become successful in the IT arena. I truly love the education profession because I have the opportunity to watch students gain confidence in their abilities and themselves as they pursue their educational, personal, and professional goals.
Aside from my professional experience, I am truly passionate about learning my native language, Ojibwe. As I continue to learn Ojibwe, I wanted to see if I could use technology to help others in the Bay Mills Indian Community learn Ojibwe by sharing what I have learned, and by initiating online conversations with others who are learning how to speak Ojibwe and/or from those who speak Ojibwe well.
Through research, I was able to discover the Ojibwe language is prevalent in other Mid-Western Native American communities. In fact, most places outside of Michigan have fluent speakers while Michigan is slowing rehabilitating our language. Therefore, I feel it is important to play a role in helping keep the Ojibwe language alive in my community.