USA Funds Default-Prevention Council Member Profile: Wayne Birdtail

Wayne Birdtail knows how hard life is for some of the students he helps at Fort Belknap College in Montana.

Birdtail grew up in the small town of Harlem right outside the Fort Belknap Reservation. He says the area always has been economically depressed, with few jobs available for residents. He joined the military right after high school and served in Iceland in a security-police position on Keflavik Naval Air Base. When he returned home, his mother urged him to go to college.

Using money available to him through the GI Bill, Birdtail enrolled in Montana State University-Northern about 42 miles away, in Havre. “I’m glad my mom pushed me because now I have a bachelor’s degree,” he says.

Today, as financial-aid director of Fort Belknap College, Birdtail helps students navigate federal financial-aid programs so they can go to school. Fort Belknap College offers a variety of associate-degree programs in areas such as allied health, computer technology, business, natural resources, elementary education and psychology. About a quarter of the students go on to four-year colleges to complete their academic degrees.

The college is located on the Fort Belknap Reservation in the central part of the state along the Canadian border, and most of its 423 students are from within an 80-mile radius. Nearly 95 percent of the students are Native American, and nearly all of them use some sort of financial aid to pay about $1,655 for tuition, fees and books each semester.

Providing assistance
Although the school does not participate in the federal student-loan program, Fort Belknap College students can apply for federal grants, as well as Federal Work-Study assistance. Additionally, most students receive assistance from the American Indian College Fund, a major supplier of scholarships on campus.

Through another federal program, Birdtail says students can obtain money for transportation and earn money for logging a specific amount of study hours.

“We try to give all students scholarships and work with them to accommodate their needs,” Birdtail says. He counsels students daily and helps them apply for scholarships, complete federal financial-aid forms and understand the importance of budgeting.

“I emphasize the importance of budgeting, but it’s hard to budget when there’s no income coming in,” he says. The most-satisfying part of his job is providing money to students to help them with their education. “Our students really need the assistance.”

Birdtail says the college acts as a resource for the entire area. It operates a radio station, and area residents use the library. The college hosts a career day on campus and invites area high-school students and their families to explore the careers available to them if they pursue postsecondary education. Birdtail also gives presentations at local high schools about the financial aid available to students.

Overcoming obstacles
The region’s economy and other factors make it difficult for students to get an education, Birdtail says. There’s no housing on campus, and some students travel 80 miles roundtrip daily to come to classes. “There are not a lot of jobs here, and they are hard to get without an associate degree or higher,” he says.

Birdtail has worked in the financial-aid office nearly seven years, and says he’s noticed that students’ attitudes about education are changing for the better. “They’re staying in college more,” he says. “The families are being more supportive, and they realize the kids need a college education.”  

He serves on the school’s scholarship and retention committees. He also is a member of the USA Funds^® Default-Prevention Council, which he joined in 2001, and says it’s rewarding to have the opportunity to give USA Funds input on debt-management products and services. He says the council’s most-important role is to find innovative ways to increase students’ financial literacy.

As a college student, Birdtail says, he could have used some financial-literacy education himself. “I didn’t know anything about the financial aid available to me because of my low-income status until I was a junior.”