Sam Low stands in awe of his ancestors — and he isn’t alone. “They possessed ships that were capable of traveling the world,” says Low, an anthropologist, filmmaker, photographer, and lifelong sailor.

The busy North Star AISES Alliance and Professional Chapter (NSAAP) has a big reach, representing professional members all over the Upper Midwest (Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Nebraska, and Illinois), as well as the province of Manitoba in Canada. The chapter is a leader in promoting the AISES mission and supporting STEM in Native communities throughout Region 5. In addition to having fun, members find a lot of satisfaction in what they achieve together.

Everyone wants a job that is personally satisfying and improves the world. Few career paths offer as many different ways to achieve both objectives as geoscience.

Like many other Native students, Kenny Swift Bird was motivated to go to college. He had some great teachers at the high school in his small Nebraska hometown of Chadron, less than an hour’s drive from his Oglala Lakota Tribe’s Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. When he took statistics, calculus, and chemistry, his teachers helped him discover both his aptitude for STEM and how much he enjoys it.

A map can speak many languages, reach many audiences — and significantly support the stewardship of natural resources. Where geospatial data is needed, geographic information systems (GIS) are an important tool for building maps that locate information related to flora and fauna, cultural preservation, and recreation, among other applications. 

Growing up surrounded by his family and immersed in culture provided a firm foundation for Jeffrey Davis. “My driving factor is words of wisdom from my grandparents William ‘Buster’ Davis and Martha Davis,” says Davis, Tlingit. “They told me early on that I should always do any job to the best of my ability because my success and hard work are a reflection of me, my family, my community, and my culture.”

Elsie DuBray turns 18 on the Fourth of July. She’s headed for Stanford University after graduating last spring from Timber Lake High School in Timber Lake, S.D., where she sang in the choir, played flute in the band, participated in the One-Act Play and Oral Interpretation programs, served as student council president, played volleyball, and volunteered with the Cheyenne River Youth Project. 

Adonis Martinez spent his childhood at the foot of the Black Hills in Rapid City, S.D. He was raised by his grandparents and great-grandparents in a family that has emphasized education for generations. His great-grandmother and grandmother both attended college, encouraged by their families. Growing up, Martinez was told, “You either go to school or you work. There is no in-between.”

Growing up on ancestral lands next to Yosemite National Park, Irene Vasquez spent countless hours hiking, swimming, biking, and attending cultural ceremonies. Over the years, she’s seen the ecological deterioration of the land that she calls home. This deterioration pushed Vasquez to realize a dream: to help influence management of public lands with an Indigenous perspective.

Patricia Bancroft gives her family a huge part of the credit for her success. In her household there was no question — skip-ping college was just not an option. “I’ll be the second of three siblings to get an undergraduate degree,” says Bancroft, a member of the class of 2018 at Northern Arizona University. “I say it every day: my degree is not only for me but for my family.”