"We know that education is the silver bullet out of poverty," said Jason Younker, assistant VP on sovereignty and government to government relations at the UO."I almost dropped out because I was so stressed and I didn't think how more expensive the university would be," said Megan Van Pelt, a junior at the University of Oreogn who is also a member of the confederated tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.RELATED: Sacheen Littlefeather, who took the 1973 Oscars stage to decline Marlon Brando's award, dies at 75"I just remember crying, to be honest, because to not have that on my mind every day is super nice," Van Pelt said."I just remember my first year was just constantly looking for scholarships, constantly asking my advisors for help for anything to get those scholarships in.And I just think it’s a sigh of relief to think that this program is also going to help other students who are not part of the Oregon federally recognized tribes but also all the other natives we have on campus."