Bush graduates from Tulane

Ava Bush, third great-granddaughter of original enrollee Rebecca McCurtain Darden, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ava, a triple major graduate, obtained degrees in Asian studies, anthropology and art history (minor in Japanese). She received awards, including the prestigious Tulane 34 Award.

In the Annual Blessing Ceremony for Graduating Indigenous Tulane Students, she received a stole to be worn during graduation. Ava proudly represented the Choctaw Nation as the only Choctaw participant. Ava worked for the New Orleans Museum of Art and was a tutor captain and a teaching assistant for a class in Mandarin.

Ava will be completing a fellowship to curate a virtual exhibit on terracotta sculpture at the Center for Art and Archaeology in Delhi, India, before pursuing a master’s degree at Harvard University for East Asian Regional Studies, where she has been awarded the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies Fellowship. Ava wishes to thank the Choctaw Nation for its support.