My parents — both teachers — made sure I knew the value of my education and my culture. I grew up in Boyertown, Penn., far from my family in Oklahoma, but staying connected to my community in the Comanche Nation was an essential part of my life. We would often spend summers in Oklahoma, where I was immersed in our culture and traditions.
My parents sparked my excitement for STEM at an early age, and in middle school I joined the Technology Student Association, where my dad was an advisor. The TSA was my first exposure to many aspects of engineering, including design, working with a team, and competitions. During high school a highlight of my time with the TSA was serving as state president.
When I began my program at the Rochester Institute of Technology, I wasn’t sure what area of engineering I wanted to go into, but my time in the TSA had taught me the value of gaining a broad range of experience. I started with Engineering Exploration, where I was able to get a hands-on introduction to project management and team leadership, which guided me to mechanical engineering. I pursued both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in that field. I’m drawn to mechanical engineering because of the diverse range of applications — you can take your career in countless directions!
I continue to be grateful for the support and connection I found with other Native scholars at RIT through leading both our AISES College Chapter and the Native American Future Stewards Program. My advice to other Native students in STEM is to get involved with organizations at your college where you can cultivate those connections because they are essential for staying afloat as you pursue your career. I struggled, especially throughout my fourth year, with an intense schedule of classes, coursework, and projects. I often felt isolated and disconnected from other women and Native students in academic spaces, where I found myself in the minority. After paring back on clubs with stressful workloads that took too much out of me, I used my time to run for student government and became senator for the College of Engineering. In that role, I focused on making my college a reflection of what I wanted to see and organized events and activities to bring the Native student community together.
I also led the first team from RIT to participate in the First Nations Launch high-power rocket and aerospace design competition. Working together with other Native students on projects that have real-world applications was hugely impactful for me. It offers the opportunity to share ideas and cultural knowledge. I was especially grateful to learn about the Haudenosaunee culture while in New York and connect with their wonderful community. These relationships not only enhanced my learning, they also made my college experience more fun!
I feel grateful for the connections I have made through the AISES conferences and career fairs, which played a key role in guiding my path and ultimately led me to my first role with NASA in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Now as an aerospace flight systems engineer at the NASA Glenn Research Center, I hope to be a role model for other Native students interested in engineering. The future of the field is ever evolving, and Native communities have so much knowledge to offer. In my work managing a team focused on creating more energy-efficient aircraft, I think of the importance of living sustainably, and how Native communities are masters at that.
As the world continues to combat climate change, we need to learn how to have a good relationship with the environment and work to repair the land. Our Native communities know what these lessons look like, we have the ancestral wisdom to put them into practice, and we need to have our voices heard in the STEM fields. The Native communities and resources I found at RIT and NASA have been integral to my own success, and my goal is to forge pathways to opportunities for future generations of Native scholars and STEM professionals. Together we have the power to shape the future of STEM and create a lasting impact on not just our field but also our planet.
