Epicurious taught that community equals happiness — so AISES must be happiness.
— Tyler Rust, PhD candidate
I’m in graduate school now in Hawaiian studies. It’s hard for all us Native people to succeed as professionals. We hear that we aren’t good enough, so hearing at AISES over and over from professionals who are doing it that we should get those thoughts out of our head is so inspiring.
— Jillian Kamakaila Paulino
While I personally did not go to college, I’ve found opportunities at Amazon where they value experience as well as education. It’s a growing company that is inclusive — they respect all points of view. I also like that it’s collaborative with cross-functional teams and you have the satisfaction of seeing what you are building through to completion.
— John Brown, Amazon
I’m working for my master’s in education heading to a career in educational policy and support services. I was a high school English teacher so I was happy to have the opportunity to come here to STEM Activity Day and volunteer to work with students on their resumes.
— Hannah Luber, graduate student, Marquette University
I’m studying finance at Arizona State. One of my goals is to go back to my tribe and teach about how money works. I was one who got a per cap payout from my tribe and just didn’t know how to manage it. I want to help other kids not make that mistake. Volunteering with Native Financial Cents seems perfect for me.
— Katherine Jacobs, Arizona State and Region 3 Representative
I had always wanted to be a doctor, but I never heard of a Native doctor on our reservation. So I was an EMT, did mountain search and rescue, and spent 10 years as a sheriff’s deputy. Then at age 40, I finally had the confidence to go to medical school. Remember if you want to do something, only two people can take it away from you: you and the Creator.
— Dr. Bret Benally Thompson, faculty, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, family, palliative, and hospice medicine
I was so pleased to see that the AISES rainbow pin this year shows the black and brown ends of the spectrum to include LGBT people of color. The most exciting thing about my Blazing Flame Award is that it will raise awareness.
— Sheila Lopez, Intel Corporation
In Alaska, where I’m from, rural areas are adapting to a changing climate. I’m involved in science camps for kids to relate to their environment. We focus on sun, soil, and fish species in experiments for the kids to conduct. But we don’t just focus on youth: we incorporate the generational knowledge of older people and try to address the generation gap where many adults spend their working life away from the reservation and return in later years, so the kids have limited exposure to what they know.
— Eve Dawn
I’m enjoying volunteering at STEM Activity Day. I’ve been in Milwaukee three years now, and I believe in community service and giving back. I’m a pharmacist, and I can talk to these high school students and maybe spark some interest.
— Ehab Abourashed, American Chemical Society
I’m a mechanical engineer whose work involves collaborating with a variety of other engineers. I’m always working on complex problems with really smart people, and at the end of the day you know you are making a difference in people’s lives, as in working on heart pacemakers. Working on products just being prepared for market is so challenging and rewarding.
— Jake Kaganovich, Boston Scientific
At the Department of Energy nuclear energy lab, we secure critical national infrastructure like the power grid for Homeland Security, as well as working on cybersecurity, the environment, and energy (like biofuels and modular nuclear reactors for smaller applications).
— Michelle Kidd, Idaho National Laboratory
Never be afraid to put yourself out there for opportunities that seem interesting. You never know where it may lead.
— Vanessa Benally, Booz Allen Hamilton
I applaud AISES for bringing students to the conference to expose them to new ideas and explore career paths. I’m very interested in the natural science presentations, and so glad to see the dynamism of the presenters and their enthusiasm about their subjects. I’d encourage even more natural science–related presentations.
— Mike Heim, professor of natural science and horticultural researcher, Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College
