Tell us about you.
I am from a small town called Ukiah which is located in northern California and I am a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Ever since I was little I have always been involved in Native American culture. I’ve attended numerous Powwows, learned to bead traditionally, and collected willow for basket weaving. I also assist the Native American community at UC Berkeley by serving as the Data Analytics Director for the Indigenous and Native Coalition (INC); our latest major event was the revitalization of the UC Berkeley Pow Wow which was a success. We had over 58 traditional dancers and over 350 attendees. When I was younger, my family always told my brother and me about how few Native Americans were in higher education, and I found it inspiring to see those who achieved that pathway. I am currently a member of the STEM Excellence through Equity & Diversity (SEED) Scholars Honors Program at UC Berkeley which has the main goal of getting highly skilled, underrepresented minority groups into higher education such as PhD programs.
In addition to this, the level of respect that I have for these resources and animals that are used by tribes is immense and it translates into my work. Every time that I work with a specimen, I say a short prayer to the creator before handling and storing it. I am currently employed on a project called RANGES by the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ) which is located on the campus of UC Berkeley, but my experience in curatorial work is extensive. I have experience working with ethanol, formalin, insect identification/eradication for collections, skinning, tissue sampling, taxidermy, archiving, and specimen care.
I am also an employee at the California Academy of Sciences (CAS) in the Department of Arachnology. My current work revolves around genetic metabarcoding and the non-lethal determination of scorpion diets through the genetic sequencing of their regurgitation. I have been working in museums since I was nine years old, and I began at a facility run by the University of California, Davis called the Hopland Research and Extension Center (HREC)
Since then I have been conducting outreach at both HREC and the MVZ for adults and youth to teach about biology and inspire others to pursue their own goals and become the scientists of the future. I thank those who have been gracious enough to teach me about the field of natural history and I look forward to endless lessons that await.
Can you describe a moment when you felt a sense of belonging on campus?
The first time I truly felt a sense of belonging on campus was when I first attended a beading session at the Native American Student Development Center. During this time, I was just a freshman who was particularly new to everything at Berkeley. Nobody else in my family attended this school, so I was unfamiliar with everything around me and was unsure how to find resources. Then I heard from one of my SEED program supervisors that there was a Native American Student Development Center on campus and that I should take a look. When I arrived at the center, I was warmly welcomed into the community and was invited to sit down and bead with them. I met a lot of good, passionate people at the community center and most of them are still my friends to this day.
Berkeley is a large campus that can be challenging to navigate. Can you share a particular experience or resource that has significantly contributed to your ability to find your way around the university community?
Berkeley is a particularly difficult school to navigate, I would specifically say navigating in the sense of finding resources and properly managing one's workload. The resources that have helped me the most so far on campus with this factor are both the Native American Student Development Center and the SEED Scholars Honors Program. Both of these programs provide students with resources on how to manage their time, class registration, campus navigation properly, and handle the mental strain of the UC Berkeley campus. It’s important to manage all of these aspects to the best of your ability to get the most out of UC Berkeley.
What does "thriving" mean to you personally, and how have you experienced this during your time at UC Berkeley? What could support your thriving even more?
When I think about the word “thriving,” I see myself excelling both academically and personally. I would say that during my time at UC Berkeley, I have been fortunate enough to thrive in both of these aspects. Being on campus has allowed me to discover parts of myself that I never thought existed. I discovered what I want to do with my life in addition to what I need to do to get there. I learned that even though the path ahead of me is getting smaller, I still have so much struggle ahead. However, being at UC Berkeley taught me the skills that are necessary to excel in an academic and personal setting.
What advice would you give to new members of our campus community to help them realize their hopes / dreams / thrive on campus?
The best advice that I could give to an incoming student is to always take the first step. Take the time to reach out to professors and peers about opportunities and interests. Nothing on this campus will ever happen for you – it is up to you to make it happen. For example, before my freshman year, I reached out to a curator at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology to express my interest and how I wanted to become a part of their community. That summer I met with that curator and was able to land my first research position managing the MVZ’s extensive research collection. Without that first step, I would have never been able to gain experience in a proper museum setting. However, after holding an Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program
(URAP) position there for a year, I was able to become an employee at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. The same thing can be said about my position at the Academy of Sciences, none of it would have been possible unless I made the first step to show interest. So overall that's my advice, have the courage and incentive to take the first step, you never know where you’ll end up, but you’ll always regret it when you don’t.
What is next on the horizon for you?
Honestly, I don’t even know where the years went here. Three years have gone by already and it only feels like one. However, I would say that my plan is primarily to attend grad school. I am currently looking at a variety of different programs, however, all have the common factor of allowing me to continue my work at the California Academy of Sciences (CAS). While conducting my research for graduate school there, I also have begun plans on creating an outreach program at CAS with the main goal of getting Native American communities into the Academy of Sciences for free. I hope that in the future I will be able to conduct outreach for both adults and youth to educate about biology and inspire others to pursue their own goals and become the scientists of the future.
