Navigating student life, especially when entering university or tertiary education for the first time, is no easy feat.
Students are often dealing with newfound independence, more travel, gruelling schedules, and a shift in priorities, all while trying to develop new skills and knowledge.
Finding support and motivation during this time is essential, but it means different things to different people.
In my role as chief executive of Aurora Education Foundation, I work with a number of Indigenous scholars who are studying at some of the world’s most prestigious universities.
Recently, I asked three of them to share what had helped them get to where they are now and what advice they had for other students just starting their educational journey.
Lean on your loved ones
Warumungu woman Mady Wills is currently completing a Master of Science in Developmental Psychology and Psychopathology at King’s College London, with a Roberta Sykes Scholarship.
Mady said the support she received from her loved ones was invaluable along her journey, but almost equally, the doubt she received from others around her motivated her to achieve her best.
“Reflecting on my educational journey so far, I have a huge amount of gratitude for the support I have received along the way. It hasn’t always been easy, and I have faced moments of doubt – both my own and from others – that challenged my commitment to my dreams,” she said.
“But sometimes when people doubt you, question you, or make you second guess your dreams, it can actually be the most powerful motivator.
The journey (whatever this looks like, be it career, high school, TAFE or Uni) is not meant to be a smooth one, and it’s important to remember that encouragement doesn’t always come in the form of praise. Sometimes, scepticism fuels resilience.
“For me, each challenge, doubt or difficult moment strengthened my determination to work harder, to prove my capabilities, and to demonstrate what is possible. All I would say to anyone even considering taking this step – submitting that scholarship application or researching that course abroad – do it.”
Build stamina
For Wardandi Noongar woman Danielle Kampers, developing stamina was key to her success. Danielle is studying a Master of Science in Oceanography at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, with a Roberta Sykes Scholarship.
Danielle said one piece of advice about cultivating stamina and resilience changed her outlook on her education journey and set her up with the tools she needed to succeed.
“When I started my science degree it filled me with enthusiasm to address significant challenges in marine environments and explore the wonders of scientific inquiry,” she said.
“One piece of advice that stayed with me was the importance of ‘stamina’ – it’s crucial for a fulfilling and productive career in science. Cultivate resilience, manage stress effectively, stay flexible, maintain a positive outlook even during tough times and the rest will work out for itself.
“Additionally, don’t hesitate to ask for help when needed, support and kindness are passed along and often come back around when you need it most.”
Focus on what you can control
Warumungu man Ethan Taylor, who is currently studying at the University of Oxford to complete a Doctor of Philosophy in Politics, with a Roberta Sykes Scholarship, said that while hurdles are bound to happen on any journey, remaining focused on your goal was most important.
“I would encourage other aspiring Indigenous scholars to stay driven and focus on what’s in their control. If something doesn’t work out, that’s okay – keep moving,” he said.
“Hard work will never guarantee you success in academic or scholarly pursuit, but it will certainly put you in the best position to be successful.
“If you’re a humanities or social science student like me, keep focussing on the fundamentals of scholarship in this area: reading and writing. Keep reading widely in your field and keep eliciting feedback in your writing.
“Keep thinking and developing your ideas, even in the face of apparent rejection or failure. At the end of the day, by mastering these fundamentals and learning how to articulate yourself better, you’ll end up becoming someone who can’t be ignored or overlooked.”
Vice-chancellor of the Auckland University of Technology Professor Damon Salesa shares his views about place-based innovation in the context of his university in south Auckland. He is the first Indigenous person to be appointed a vice-chancellor in New Zealand or Australia.
He shares multiple lessons and strategies for driving equity in universities and providing opportunity for a diversity of learners.
Halloween 2024 is a holiday that won’t be soon forgotten by Bernalillo High School teacher Lorilei Chavez. You see, October 31 was the day she was honored as the first Indigenous teacher named New Mexico Teacher of the Year.
Sixth period was going as usual for Lorilei and her social studies class. The group was in the middle of a lesson when BHS principal, Alyssa Sanchez-Padilla, and her secretary came to the door with an urgent request: Bring your students to the school’s black box theater to bump up attendance for a guest speaker.
“And so, you know, as a teacher, I’m like, ‘Oh no, we’re in the middle of a lesson,’” she related. “You know, I don’t want to lose valuable teaching time. But if the principal is asking you to take your students somewhere, you know, you get going.”
As she walked with her students to the theater and the seventh-period bell rang, her principal asked to detour to sign some tutoring paperwork. While walking, Chavez noticed a few extra student resource officers.
“Like I was getting kind of like an inclination that something was going on, you know?” she said, noting she was dressed in 1980s style for Halloween, with a side ponytail and an off-the-shoulder shirt.
Still thinking there was a guest speaker, Lorelei came to the theater and saw the “shimmer of cheerleading pompoms” and a huge cheer erupted as she entered the room. Assuming the cheer was for the “guest,” she got a bit spooked and started to back out of the room, she said.
“My principal was behind me and she just put her hands on my shoulders and softly nudged me forward,” she recalled. “I saw my mom and rushed over to her. Then she points up at the ceiling and there was this huge banner that says ‘Lorelei Chavez, Teacher of the Year.’”
“And that’s when it all just hit and took me over. And then it went from joy, like surprise to joy to like pure happy tears,” she said.
“It’s a life moment I’ll never forget.”
From Bernalillo and back
Lorilei describes herself as a “very proud product of Bernalillo Public Schools.” Beginning with kindergarten near home on the Kewa Pueblo (Santo Domingo Pueblo), she spent all but one year of her young life in the BPS system, beginning with Santo Domingo School and ending with graduation from Bernalillo High in 2008.
“It’s funny because I remember being in high school thinking, ‘Oh, I want to go as far as I can. Like, I want to go to school in California. I want to go to college in Washington, D.C. And I don’t want to come back to Bernalillo,’” she recalled with a chuckle. “And then six years later, I ended up (substitute teaching) while going to college. I’ve been there ever since.”
Beginning her college career at Central New Mexico Community College, Lorilei got her basics taken care of before transferring to the University of New Mexico. She graduated in 2018 with a degree in Native American Studies and a minor in History. Though she started as an education major and shifted away, her experiences as a substitute convinced her to go through CNM’s Alternative Licensure program, which she finished in 2020.
“When I started subbing as I was going to (UNM), I realized that I had a really deep ability to connect with students on a level that maybe some of my colleagues weren’t able to,” she said. “Because our district is 48% Indigenous, a lot of the students that I worked with didn’t really have Indigenous teachers or teacher aides or even substitutes that looked like them.”
Since the Bernalillo school system works with seven different tribes, Lorilei said she feels it’s important that Native students have Indigenous role models in the school setting. She used simple examples, like seeing her dressed in Native regalia or “big Native earrings” and beaded medallions to honor Native heritage.
“I think that’s what allowed me to see that I would be a good educator,” she said. “I would have an impact on students if I did a shift and got my teacher certification.
“And so that I think is my main drive even to today, is my ability to connect with students, uplift them, hear their voices, allow them to feel seen in the classroom, which I think creates the motivation to continue their goals and succeed in whatever they’re trying to accomplish.”
Serving her community
Lorilei said being named the first Indigenous teacher to win the statewide Teacher of the Year award was obviously an honor. But because “a core value of Pueblo people is the idea of service,” she said she feels that she is representing more than herself in accepting the award.
“As I serve my community, I wake up every day knowing that I’m going to serve my students, my future generations as I represent Santo Domingo Pueblo,” she said. “I wake up every day thinking, ‘What impact am I going to make on my community and what impact am I able to make today on the future generation?’ So, winning an award like this has been really hard for me to accept and value the honor. Because I feel it doesn’t just belong to me. It comes from a community of educators that has raised me and taught me.”
With her Native American Studies background, she said she strives to balance Indigenous culture and Western education in a school setting.
“The people, the past EAs, the language teachers, the teachers who’ve taught me that have poured into my education, I think is what brought me to today,” Lorilei said. “With this title and this beautiful award, I’m able to bring home not only Santo Domingo but to the Bernalillo Public Schools. I think the pressure of being the first Indigenous Teacher of the Year is making sure I’m honoring not only my school but my students and the community that I come from.”
‘Indigenizing’ the Education System
Lorilei said that as Teacher of the Year, she will emphasize “Indigenizing” education in New Mexico, as well as supporting teachers’ mental health. The desire to bring more Native experiences, stories, and perspectives into public education is something that grew from her time in the UNM Native Studies program.
“Going to (UNM’s) Native American studies program as a college student really opened my mind to this understanding of needing to know your culture, your history, the laws and the narrative that existed in Native community,” she said. “Things that weren’t necessarily told in the history books that I studied or in the papers that I wrote. Things not in the curriculum that I was offered as a public school student.”
“So graduating from UNM NAS instilled this understanding that going back into the public schools that I work at… I had no choice but an obligation to encourage our district and hold our district accountable when adopting curriculums and encouraging Native history in the core curriculum,” she concluded.
Lorilei said she and her fellow educators in the Bernalillo Public Schools “are blessed” to have a district leadership that understands the equity and value of bringing in Native languages and history as a core content.
She also said she feels very fortunate for the opportunity to work in a district that allows her the opportunity to build a curriculum that includes Indigenous history – subjects like the Pueblo Revolt, boarding schools, Native removal, sovereignty and decolonization, in a “school building that was not necessarily built for Indigenous education but built for Western education.”
“As the first Indigenous teacher of the year, I feel like that also is my obligation and duty, is to work to continue to advocate, to educate, so that we can uplift Native narrative, history, stories in curriculum,” she said. “Not just in high student of color populations, but in districts across the state.
“It is a passion of mine to Indigenize education and bring Indigenous perspective in Western curriculum. And so that’s something that I’m going to really push toward and be passionate about and continue to advocate for moving forward,” she related.
Prioritizing balance for teachers
Lorilei also said she is “super passionate” about state leadership and school districts starting a movement around prioritizing teacher mental health. She said she plans to “really pour some energy in as Teacher of the Year.” As a teacher working at the high school level, she said implementing teaching materials and testing guides, and “doing all the things that I need to do as a teacher to be the best teacher” leaves her drained at times.
“Balancing all of that with my life and my culture and everything that I am as a human being, an auntie, a sister, a cousin, is very difficult,” she said. “I really think as a state and as a nation, we really need to take a deeper look into how we are healing our teachers. How are we showing up for them in capacities that include mental wellness? And that includes body health and that includes spiritual strength in whatever capacity that they connect to.”
She concluded: “My goal and my hope is to really work with school districts, including mine, to have wellness days, wellness fairs, professional development days where teachers are paid to take time to take care of their mental health… because we’re so spread thin from the many, many things we have to do as educators.
“I’d really like to see us looking at an innovative way to address teacher wellness in ways that maybe the state and the nation haven’t before.”
The New Mexico Teacher of the Year program is sponsored by The New Mexico Oil and Gas Association. The award of $ 10,000 will go to Lorilei to help with professional development opportunities and support her travel needs.
