Jennifer Murillo
By MONTE MCKEAN
Sho-Ban News
FORT HALL— Jennifer Frances Murillo is a candidate for Miss Shoshone-Bannock.
She is 22 years old and is the daughter of Larry and Rita Murillo. Her Indian name is Donziape, which means Rose.
Jennifer’s dance style is traditional and the traditional dish she’s preparing is tea. Her talent is about plant medicine.
Her beliefs and values are strongly centered on being a good person. She has strong family values. “Spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental health are all equally important in our journeys.”
She graduated from Century High School in 2013 with highest honors, in 2013/14 NFCA scholar athlete, was on ISU College of Science and Engineering dean’s list six times and she graduated with a degree in biomedical sciences with honor’s distinction from the UHP (ISU), and obtained a national phlebotomy certification.
Murillo was a member of ISU softball team that won a Big Sky championship in 2014 and 2015.
Jennifer is invested in her community. In high school she was involved in National Honor Society, Key club, recycle club and NDN scholars. She has done community service projects in both Pocatello and Fort Hall. She has tried to be as involved as she could be while in college but she was limited because of her athletic scholarship/duties.
She was a member of Native Americans United Club, University Honors program, Women of Color Association Club and was a diversity center “All Star” helping the center with diversity center floats for Homecoming. She was also mistress of ceremony for the annual MLK day ISU celebration in 2016, through softball she also volunteered in multiple times with the Pocatello marathon, the annual ISU women’s craft fair and the Pocatello Rotary Club.
During her internship in Utah, she was able to volunteer with the Salt Lake Urban Indian Center and also on the Goshute reservation. This year she has volunteered with Fort Hall community activities sponsored by tribal programs.
She has plans on attending graduate school with hopes of attaining a master’s degree in public health and eventually attend medical school. I have always wanted to be a family physician and “I hope to work with Native people and other underserved communities,” she said. She enjoys and is interested in listening to music, playing and watching sports, health/fitness, arts/crafts, traveling and spending time with family and friends.
Her platform message is the importance of community health and higher education.
“I am passionate about pursuing a career in the healthcare field so I would hope to share my views on the importance of health and raise awareness through speaking out in the community.”