In the days ahead of Pikes Peak State College’s commencement ceremony, graduating student Margo Condon would be the first person to tell you she didn’t think she’d be there two years ago.

A 42-year-old, first-generation student who sustained a brain injury during her time in the military, she admitted that she only began attending because her son was doing so elsewhere in Colorado.

Now, having earned her associate degree, Condon also found herself giving the college’s land acknowledgement, which recognizes the land’s Indigenous people as its original stewards, at its commencement ceremony on Saturday at The Broadmoor World Arena.

“I did not realize how big a thing it was, at that time,” she recalled when first agreeing to the request. “But I’m a ‘Yes,’ ma’am.”

A member of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe in South Dakota, Condon is among the first recipients of PPSC’s First Nations Promise to graduate. The Promise programs began to be offered at the college in 2019 to remove financial and structural barriers for specific student populations.

The First Nations Promise began in 2024 to cover all expenses for members of all 574 federally recognized tribes who live in El Paso, Teller or Elbert counties.

“We understand our privilege is not without consequence,” Condon said in her land acknowledgement speech. “Together, we celebrate, in honor, the historical, contemporary contributions of Native Americans to Colorado Springs’ thriving culture.”

Indigenous populations across the United States have historically had low college enrollment numbers because of multiple factors that often include financial and geographical barriers, a lack of academic preparation and insufficient student support services on campus. A 2025 study by the Journal of Online Graduate Education found that the transition for students to move away from their tribal community to a college or university campus is among the most common challenges these students face.

Enrollment data from the Colorado Department of Higher Education reports that Native American or Alaska Native students have accounted for roughly 1% of the state’s student population from 2010 through 2024. Data from the state Demography Office shows that this same ethnic group accounted for .62% of Colorado’s population in 2024.

In the Four Corners region of Colorado, Durango’s Fort Lewis College, whose Indigenous student population has ranged from 23% to 33% over the past 10 years, is home to a dedicated Native American Center on campus, which has offered academic, cultural, social and transitional support for years.

The center’s assistant director, Larenz Esplain, said that their work began to supplement their tuition waver for Indigenous students and then expanded to improve their retention and graduation rates and develop a sense of belonging on campus.

He added that, because they serve students from a variety of backgrounds and cultures, they don’t treat them as “a monolith” and employ active listening and multiple systems and processes.

In Condon’s case, she admitted to initially struggling with and failing many of her classes. Being unfamiliar with college coursework and expectations, along with available resources on campus, led her to doubt herself after her first semester.

She added that growing up on a reservation, experiencing generational trauma and being “raised very traditionally, very stoic and very strong” exacerbated these challenges.

“And one thing that I’ve noticed is that Natives, in general, don’t ask for help,” she said. “We will figure it out ourselves and we will stay out of the limelight.”

Along with covering tuition and fees, the First Nations Promise program provides personalized academic coaching and supported pathways for students to enroll and complete their degrees. While Condon’s military benefits covered the costs to attend, it would be this support system that made the biggest difference.

During her second semester, she would get introduced to the college’s First Nations Promise coordinator, Kateri Kerwin, who introduced her to other Native students, campus resources and provided routine coaching and academic advising.

Kerwin said that Condon, who was diagnosed with a learning disability following her military tenure, required an ongoing process of support rather than a single solution to determine her path to academic success.

“So, she’s really grown along the way and faced adversity with a growth mindset,” she said.

This growth has included becoming more engaged with her campus. After joining the Native American Students Alliance this past year, which includes 56 students from 31 tribal nations, she soon found herself socializing with other students, sharing cultures and experiences and cultivating a shared sense of Native pride.

“So, I think that’s one thing that the Promise Program brought to me, to see and watch other Natives be successful,” she said.

After earning her associate’s degree in business, Condon hopes to continue her education towards a bachelor’s degree before either starting a business or a career in real estate.

The first of nine siblings to leave their reservation and a daughter to a mother who never surpassed sixth grade, she proudly walked across the aisle at commencement wearing her First Nations Promise stole and her son’s graduation cap.

“I always tell my son it was he who changed my life and now he’s going to be here to see something that I definitely had no idea that I was going to do,” she said. “Like, this was not in the books. So that’s something I’m really proud of.”

“I think that’s one of the biggest things that I’m proud of, because I never thought I would go to college and he’s going to be there,” she said. “Because we started this journey together.”

Gazette reporter Nick Smith contributed to this story.