Lakeside (Plummer-Worley): Family struggles threaten to derail Brutis SiJohn, but don’t succeed

Brutis SiJohn can do hard things.

Faced with frequent challenges at home during his four years at Lakeside High School, SiJohn emerged as an honor roll student, star basketball player and, in the words of one Lakeside instructor, the type of student that all teachers love to have in class.

But back to the beginning. During the fall of 2020 – the start of his freshman year – SiJohn’s father was imprisoned, and Brutis was sidetracked in more ways than one.

Instruction for much of that school year was online as COVID shut down in-person programs, and SiJohn found it hard to focus on his lessons, frequently failing to log in and complete his assignments.

“I’m not an online learner,” he said, “and I was skipping my classes, and not trying even when I was there. A lot of my not caring was around what happened with my dad.”

SiJohn rebounded during the third trimester that year, making an immediate turnaround when schools opened their doors, and sophomore year he made the honor roll for all three trimesters. Then tragedy struck.

SiJohn and his two brothers – one older, one younger – had lived with their grandfather for as long as he can remember, but near the beginning of his junior year, his grandpa died, and his life was in turmoil once again.

The boys stayed with their grandmother briefly, and were able to remain in Tribal Housing because his older brother was 18 and served as guardian to the other two, but it was tough going, to say the least.

“We wanted to stay where we were in our house,” he said, “but sometimes during the year we couldn’t pay the bills or even turn up the heat. Our grandma and some of our friends helped us with bills and food, but it was hard to get up and go to school. Lots of times we were late, and my grades weren’t failing, but they weren’t very good.”

At the beginning of his senior year, his older brother moved to Montana for college, and SiJohn moved back into his grandmother’s house, where things improved with her guidance and home-cooked meals every night.

“Senior year has been my best and my favorite year,” he said. “Waking up, going to school, playing basketball, and hanging out with my friends, I got to be a kid again. I even started playing golf this spring. High school has been really fun this year.

“Brutis is a first-team all-star,” said PE teacher Jim Giulio. “He not only has a strong work ethic, but pushes all his classmates and friends to strive for greatness. He motivates others around him to do better and be better. He is a true leader in every sense of the word.”

SiJohn isn’t sure what awaits him in the fall, but is interested in studying kinesiology in college. If he chooses to join his brother at Salish Kootenai College, he plans to play basketball there, but otherwise is interested in Lewis-Clark State.

Wherever he lands, he’s confident that he can handle almost any challenge, because he has had plenty of practice.