As long as I get to be with nature, I’ll be happy. The chaparral biome, here in the California coastal desert, is one of the only environments like it in the world. There’s unique flora and fauna, like California poppies — neon bright orange when they bloom — with cultural significance for our people as they’re medicinal and edible.
We don’t have a reservation or federal recognition, but I grew up going to powwows of the San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians in the summer. When we were children, my older sister, Skye Bird, helped blaze the trail for me and my twin sister, Sage Rose. She’d do little photography sessions with the plants and later tell us about their importance. I had a single braid that my sisters would braid for me.
In middle school, I was in an engineering club with various robotics practices and a little computer programming. We had high school volunteers help us start a hydroponic program with a scientific approach to cultivating these plants. Later I came back as one of those volunteers, getting more kids interested in growing native seeds and food crops.
I was a decent student in high school but didn’t have the study skills. I absorbed information like a sponge when I was at school, but at home everything just went out the window. I’d do anything but homework. College was a big change. I graduated in the peak of the COVID-19 lockdown and was supposed to move to a dorm at Cal Poly Pomona and study agricultural sciences.
As the lockdown continued, I was denied housing. I had already uprooted myself, but luckily I landed a job and made just enough to pay rent. I was living on the tightest budget possible. I didn’t mind — I had school and free food. Then I went on the scramble and stopped going to school for a bit to figure out what to do. I was more focused on surviving than schoolwork, and I wasn’t absorbing anything from Zoom classes.
That was one of the hardest times in my life. I had a lot of doubt and failed a class for the first time ever. If I wasn’t at home, I was at the Native American Student Resource Center hanging out. I didn’t want to be the only one playing games while everyone else was actively doing homework or working on projects. That environment change compelled me to study. They held me accountable whether they knew it or not.
The people at the Student Resource Center encouraged me to join AISES — at first I wasn’t interested, but I was at the Center all the time already. Tuesday afternoons became my favorite days. That was when everyone came together for AISES meetings. I finally signed up for membership and volunteered for our Regional Conference, working with the Student Resource Center advisor, who wanted to see me succeed.
Finally, I built up the courage to say I was having a really hard time and asked for support from my community. I was happy they were understanding, and even now after dropping out to go to community college where it’s affordable, they’re there supporting me regardless. If I hadn’t gone to the Native American Student Resource Center and joined AISES, I wouldn’t have met any of them or followed through with this journey at all.
Now I’m the student representative for Region 2, which is California, Nevada, and Hawaii. I serve as a connection between professionals and students, letting eligible students know about certain scholarships and opportunities. I started traveling only when I joined AISES — I’ve gone to conferences in Palm Springs, Spokane, and San Antonio.
I got started in mechatronics at Chaffey College because I was still interested in engineering and robotics. Mechatronics includes mechanics, hydraulics, pneumatics, closed-circuit systems, and some coding. When you think of a car, it’s got a computer, the engine, the brake hydraulic line, and the A/C. Mechatronics is a developing industry with all of that.
I would like to go into agricultural engineering because with my specialty in mechatronics, the agricultural fields have tons of automation that make resources and energy efficiency more accessible. There are automated milking machines, harvesters, even past the farm level when agricultural products are packed up and shipped out.
I’ve learned that if you can’t make the journey, you need to change your path until you can. I had a hard time telling my mom I wasn’t going to Cal Poly anymore because I was ashamed, but she is supportive as long as I’m happy with what I’m doing. I’m taking my time to build up to full-time coursework. Dropping out and not giving up takes a lot. I’ve failed and made mistakes, but I won’t let it stop me.
