Paying for camp one burger at a time

(Times photos - Paul Natonabah)

Kellylynn Zuni, front, and teammate Tynisha Bitsui, both from Wingate High, practice a drill at the Navajo American Volleyball Academy camp June 12 at Navajo Prep.

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For weeks, Erica Dee and Kamille Walker spent their free time preparing for the Native American Volleyball Academy one Navajo burger at a time.

The two sold anything they could think of, including the popular burgers, to help Dee raise money to attend the camp at Navajo Preparatory School in Farmington, nearly three hours from her Kayenta, Ariz., home.

Dee and Walker are as close as two high school sophomore girls can get. So when Dee needed to raise money to attend the camp Walker was more than willing to help.

"It seemed more fun to be able to take someone with you, we're really close," Walker said. "I wanted her to go but she wasn't too sure if she could pay for it."

So they came up with a plan.

They would sell anything they could think of, which ended up being mostly Navajo burgers.

They sold anywhere they could get their parent's to drive them, and most of the time that was the busy intersection in Kayenta.

"I did a fundraiser with my family," Dee said. "We sold different things on the roadside. We had Navajo burgers. On some evenings my friends would make cupcakes and sell those.

"I would probably say that if you love the game you could do anything," she said. "My family we are a family with medium income, I really wanted to attend the camp but my mom didn't have any money at the time so we did fundraisers."

Walker introduced the camp to Dee. Walker attended the camp the first year it was held in 2007. She skipped last year but found an interest in it again this year.

And Dee's mother, Marcella Holiday, said she couldn't help but be supportive.

"I think volleyball is her ultimate passion and she's a very, very determined young lady," Holiday said. "When you have a child that determined, as a parent you do everything to fulfill their dreams. She had an interest so we did some fundraising."

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Holiday said the idea for fundraisers was her daughter and Walker's idea, and she wasn't surprised. She said her daughter is known for her determination and figuring out how to do the impossible.

"She will go beyond, maybe beyond normal teenagers," Holiday said. "She challenges herself. When she confronts a problem she'll talk about it and find a way to figure it out."

So far, Dee's determination hasn't let her down.

Dee said before the summer began she had four volleyball camps she hoped to attend.

One was NAVA. Two have been crossed off the list but two more remain.

Dee said with one of the camps costing about $400, she may have to get a job, but if that's what it takes, she said she'll do it.

Dee is a first generation volleyball player in her family. With two siblings interested in softball, cross country and football, Dee has stepped out of the box within her family.

"I don't know how I started playing, I just loved playing," she said. "My family doesn't play, I'm the only one, my sister did cross country and softball, and my brother played football.

"My mom and aunt didn't play," she said. "I'm the only one who played."

Bu that's OK with her because she got to experience something she considers to be a great opportunity.

During the camp June 14-16, Dee stayed in the dormitory at the school with other campers, learning to live with and getting to know strangers who had the same passion.

"It was very collegiate...you learn so many things, it's unbelievable," she said. "I definitely probably would bring some of the things I learned back to the girls on my team. The coaches, they have really encouraged and supported. It was really fun."

So fun that Dee started to think about plans after high school. Dee said she would like to attend an Ivy League school but is not sure how volleyball would fit in.

"I was talking about it with my mom and she asked what if (colleges) give you a scholarship to play volleyball at a community college," she said, 'or would you go to an Ivy League school, that's my big goal so I don't know."

For now, as Dee thinks about it she is torn between the two. And until she makes her decision she will continue to work hard to get what she wants, even if it takes one Navajo burger at a time.

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