On the morning of April 27th, PhD student Cynthia Begay, MPH, passed a set of sashes to Dylan Goodwill, M.Ed., assistant director of undergraduate admission. Made from a handwoven blanket and embellished with cardinal and gold detailing, the sashes would be a surprise for graduating Native American students of the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences and that evening. The event would pay homage to the traditional way of honoring someone by wrapping them in a blanket.

The ceremony was part of a celebration hosted by the Native American Student Assembly (NASA), formerly the Native American Student Union, which is made up of Native undergraduate and graduate students from across the University of Southern California. The group was recently indoctrinated by the University thanks to the work of its dedicated members.

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