After a little searching and some renovations, Amber Ante has made a home for herself on campus and off.

Amber, 27, is the secretary of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee American Indian Association. Off campus, she volunteers at the Indian Community School as a reading tutor. She is also on the committee for the American Indian Music Awards which is held every year at the Indian Summer Festival here in Milwaukee.

She says that being a member of the Native American community at UWM gives her a sense of belonging to something smaller in such a big place. As a first-time student here at UWM in the 1990s, Amber failed to get involved in organizations on campus, and she felt lost and ended up leaving school.

When she came back in 2004, she joined the American Indian Association and it helped her stay on track. The association’s gatherings have helped Amber stay focused on school and connected to other students.

Amber is literally building her future. Home remodeling is one of her hobbies, and that has proven to be a useful. She lives on the South Side with her siblings in her “big old” childhood home. She does all sorts of remodeling work on it, from dry walling to painting, and likes to experiment with different colors and textures.

Amber equates her family to the modern Brady Bunch. Amber is the second oldest child and has two brothers and three sisters. A family birthday party is like a community event, with about 70 people in attendance.

Amber says she sometimes gets embarrassed when her family has big gatherings. Her mom always reminisces about things from the past that Amber would just as well leave there in front of her friends.

When it comes to food, any pasta at the Olive Garden will do. And don’t forget the salad. Amber loves the salad dressing from the Olive Garden so much, she leaves with a bottle every time she eats there.

If Amber were granted three wishes, she would first wish for a new car. “One that runs without problems,” she clarifies.

Then, she would take an all-expenses-paid trip around the world.

She takes a while to come up with a third wish, and then settles on asking for more wishes.

Hey, now … doesn’t that break the rules? For now, Amber will settle for making her own wishes come true.

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