High school should be a time of growth and self-discovery, and it was especially transformative for Amanda Carroll, Peguis First Nation and Cree. As a high school student she discovered both her cultural roots and her professional path.

Born in Bozeman, Mont., Carroll is the oldest of six children. She is proud of her Peguis and Cree heritage, but didn’t always feel connected with her tribe the way she does today. Growing up, she didn’t hear the Peguis language spoken at home, nor did she learn about their traditions.

Rita Peterson is a busy woman. She runs a truly 21st-century company, one of the only woman-owned, Native American– owned, HUBZone (Historically Underutilized Business Zone)-certified engineering services firms serving the Department of Defense around the country, around the globe, and even into space. Her brainchild, Caribou Th under LLC, is headquartered on the Lac Courte d’Oreilles Ojibwe Reservation in Hayward, Wis.

Logan Pallin, First Nation, grew up just outside the northern Minnesota community of Cloquet. Relatively rural, Cloquet has only about 10,000 residents, and Pallin spent much of his childhood exploring the surrounding forests and lakes.

Like many graduate students, he was drawn to science early on when he became involved in science fairs. “I just loved working on a project, figuring it out, and then having the opportunity to share it with the scientific community,” he says.

AISES cofounder and former chairman Al Qöyawayma has an excellent “man cave” in his home in Prescott, Ariz., filled with a cozy clutter of art and books. Steve Jobs, who stares out from the cover of his biography, reflects some of Qöyawayma’s own ideas about success. “When we write resumes, we want to put in the good things,” Qöyawayma says. “Of course, it’s not always the good things you learn from.”

In the high desert around the capital city of Window Rock on the Navajo Nation, you will find a scene that has been common in Eastern Europe since the 1930s. Schoolchildren are gathered with heads bowed and pencils clutched, intently looking at math problems. They may be serious about the task at hand, but they also laugh, discuss, and debate a little before one steps to the board and lays out a problem — and an equation to solve it — in an exercise that demonstrates both technique and skill.

Michael Charles, a brand-new graduate of Cornell University, has always applied himself. But he hasn’t always been sure of his path in life. After graduating from Longmont Christian High School in Colorado, Charles, Navajo, hadn’t decided on a direction for his studies. “I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do, but realized that I have strong math and science skills,” he explains.

For Chayla Rowley, a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, working as a civil engineer focusing on water provides an opportunity to develop solutions that are beneficial to both people and nature. “It’s thrilling to know I can continue my ancestors’ long tradition of nurturing the Earth so future generations may enjoy her blessings,” Rowley says. This philosophy, rooted in her ancestral culture, serves Rowley well in her role with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), working out of Steamboat Springs, Colo.

Entrepreneur and software trailblazer Paul Kabotie is taking a moment to reflect. It’s been a while since he’s retraced his road to here and now — he’s become a successful professional, happy family man, and proud member of the AISES Board of Directors. “When I was starting out on my own, I couldn’t possibly have known how things would work out,” says Kabotie. “It really was about always taking the next step forward, no matter what.”

By the time she was 17 years old, Sheridan Evans had already had three knee surgeries. Surgery after surgery could have been a daunting experience, but for Evans it was the catalyst that opened her eyes to the field of medicine. And with a brand-new bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in Native American studies from the University of Oklahoma, Evans is well on her way toward her goal of becoming a surgeon providing high quality care for Native Americans.

Ambitious and determined, Melissa Flamand isn’t afraid to set the bar high. Challenging academic programs, her parents, and her teachers have shaped her into the person she is today: a student who values hard work and is focused on her goals.