For Jacob Calderone, setting goals and following through on them has always been second nature. “I think that comes from my mother,” he says. “My mother uses her dedication and hard work to accomplish goals in her life. Her success motivates me to work as hard as I can for what I want.”

A recent graduate of Kamehameha High School on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, Nalani Miller is poised to start college at the University of Rochester with a dream of becoming a biologist and finding a cure for cancer.

Cedric Mannie grew up in a small rural community called Kinlichee on the Navajo Reservation.

The first Native American to complete a doctoral engineering degree at Cornell University, Dr. Grace Bulltail is as committed to building bridges between students and potential mentors as she is to promoting education.

Kaella-Marie Earle can’t remember a time she wasn’t interested in engineering.

In Oak Springs, Ariz., in the Carrizo Mountains, there’s a spectacular view in every direction. Onri Jay Benally, Navajo, calls Oak Springs home.

The world of medicine is vast, and as a youngster Nizhoni Denipah knew she wanted to be part of it.

Originally from Tółikan (Sweetwater), Ariz., Ranalda Tsosie describes herself as “a proud Diné woman.”

A typical eleventh-grader might spend Saturday hanging out with friends or playing sports. Marcy Ferriere spends her Saturdays crawling into abandoned wolf dens to gather data about these creatures’ habits.

Inspired to pursue geological engineering by his strong connection to his North Dakota homeland, Tyson Jeannotte will walk off the stage in May with a master’s degree from the University of North Dakota.