By Melissa Smith/reporter

Students at TCC are rarely just students. Sometimes they are employees, spouses, volunteer and/or parents. They are also athletes, friends, musicians, intellectuals and/or artists.

The upcoming Native Circles Retreat on NE Campus aims to help students reconcile the varied parts they play.

“[The Native Circles Retreat] will give students the opportunity to find a way to connect soul and role,” said NE academic advisor and event coordinator Marjeanna Burge.

The event is sponsored by the student organization Circle of Nations, the counseling department and student activities, but Burge said both the club and the retreat are intended to be inclusive of all heritages.

“This is not just for Native American indigenous people,” she said. “[The retreat] will give honor to the native culture, but it is about reconnecting with the [Native American] values.”

Retreat activities will include selected poetry readings, stories, deep listening and reflection and practices and techniques to help “stay grounded in the mix,” Burge said.

The retreat is designed around the Circle of Trust approach developed by Parker Palmer, founder of the Center for Courage & Renewal. It will be led by Estrus Tucker, a national facilitator for the Center.

“Life is speaking to us all the time, but people don’t take enough time to reflect,” Burge said. “The best authority on our lives is us.”

The retreat will be held 9 a.m.-4 p.m. April 7 in NBSS 1103. It is free although a $10 donation is suggested to cover materials and food. Space is limited, and an RSVP is required at 817-515-6908 or marjeanna.burge@tccd.edu.