The Friday night Student Social was fun for all.
“Indigenous knowledge is not in competition with western engineering but instead is parallel to it.”
— Alvin Harvey, MIT graduate student
Chinle High School student Shantelle Smiley was one of many College and Career Fair attendees who stopped by the Blue Origin booth to send a postcard to space.
“I’d love to be able to highlight what the Air Force and Space Force are doing for Native Americans. We are breaking down barriers.”
— Jacqueline Melcher, Indigenous Nations Equality Team, U.S. Dept. of the Air Force
Therapy dogs were available for hugs in the XBox Game Room.
Logan Lee from Iolani School, a K-12 preparatory college school in Honolulu presented his research on Friday.
Professional of the Year Executive Excellence Award honoree John Desjarlais had to leave the conference early, but was gracious enough to pose with his daughters holding his profile in Winds of Change magazine. He will be recognized at the 2024 AISES National Conference in San Antonio.
“Our poster is about looking at the variables of what causes catastrophic flooding events on the Hay River.”
— Alyssa Sandeman, University of Alberta
A lighthearted moment at the Storytelling with the Elders session.
“I highly recommend a stop at the Resume Room. It’s the first step to getting an interview.”
— Katelin Bigelow, Merck
“AISES set me up for a successful career. Back in 1985, I was the first NAISEF winner AISES sent to ISEF. I almost didn’t go because I was running competitively. But I decided to miss the state track meet for AISES, and I’m glad I did! Now I’m the highest ranking Native American woman state conservationist in the country.”
— Roylene Comes At Night, USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service
Enjoying a game of giant Jenga at the TC Energy booth.
Lisa Paz (Pawnee/Comanche), AISES Managing Director of Engagement and Advocacy and Ruben Hernandez, AISES Vice President of Information Technology designed one of the cutout figures to match Lisa's outfit at the conference.
photo by angelika Silva
The Boeing team gathered for a group portrait at the Sequoyah breakfast.
LIGO's Corey Gray poses with his profile photo in Winds of Change magazine.
“There is such a shared circle when you get involved in AISES. Because of AISES I made a connection with Heather Heckler — we are both from the small Brothertown Indian Nation.”
— Luke Baldwin
Volunteers are essential to making the AISES National Conference run smoothly — and it's fun too! Thank you to all who gave their time.
“There are many ways to get involved in STEM research at all levels, even in high school.”
— Sethuraman Panchanathan, National Science Foundation
We spotted this impressive collection of work at the Native Talentz booth in the Artisan Marketplace. Each beaded medallion takes Kevin Jensen three days to complete.
Brook Thompson poses with her photo in Winds of Change magazine.
Our food security and food sovereignty are directly impacted by climate change.”
— Keith Parker, Technical Excellence Professional Award Winner
AISES members flocked to Indigenous Eats at River Park Square Mall. The food was delicious!
“I never dreamed I could be captain of a ship, so I am very grateful for this opportunity.”
— Lieutenant Kiana Kekoa, U.S. Coast Guard
The cutout figures scattered throughout the convention center made for some fun photo-ops.
“The Tamamta (All of Us) Program at the University of Fairbanks lifts up graduate students and centers Indigenous knowledge in fields like fisheries management. We are in the third year of supporting students.”
— Sonia Ibarra
Hugs are good medicine. Click the image above to see a slideshow of some of our favorite moments with the AISES family.
“Keep your grades up, keep your physical fitness up, and you’ll have a really good shot at the Air Force.”
— Nicholas Kowalski, U.S. Air Force
Virgil “Smoker” Marchand's Salmon Chief sculpture is one of many art installations along the Spokane Falls.
“My research is about a way to convert ethylene to energy without carbon emissions. It would really help our planet.”
— Drésean Abeyta, University of New Mexico School of Engineering
Scooters were a popular way to get around the conference and the city.
Turtle Mountain Community College student Trayor Allery made us laugh with his impressive collection of badge ribbons!
Playing video games designed by and with Indigenous creators in the XBox Game Room.
“The conference has been great. We are going to look at getting involved with the AISES regions too.”
— Jeremy Busby, Gresham Smith
Attendees explored the intersections of STEM and Indigenous culture and got to make a small piece of jewelry at the popular Building Community Through Beading session.
U.S. Space Force's Haida StarEagle and Astronaut John Herrington at the Sequoyah Fellows Breakfast.
Sulaina Banks, representing Cal Poly Humboldt at the College and Career Fair, poses with the Humboldt AISES chapter's Winds of Change College issue cover.
“We’re applying different designs that are emblematic of Native Americans at Amazon.”
— D.G. Smalling, master artist, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
A message book, top, for Dr. Henrietta Mann, who was honored at the Closing Banquet for her many years of service to the AISES family.
The hardworking AISES staff gathered for a group photo at the pre-Closing Banquet.