Extra Curricular
Organizations
Since I started at UMich in 2021, I have been involved with the Native American Student Association (the other NASA). Through NASA I help run the UMich Powwow and we organize clutural events and trips across Michigan especially to help incoming students navigate college.
I also am passionate about increasing support for Native students and professionals in STEM which is why I am reviving the UMich American and Indian Science and Engineering Society. This is a work in progress, but it should be up and running by the end of 2023. Updates here.
The Society Advancing Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science hosts an annual conference which I have attended the last few years. This is a great resource, especially for early career students, for engaging with a broad network of researchers and exploring education and employment opportunities. Check out the UMich chapter here.
First Nations Launch
In undergrad, through AISES, I was involved in the First Nations Launch, a high power rocket competition for AISES chapters in the US and Canada. Through this program my team and I (four students, two faculty) launched an 8 ft, level 2 rocket to nearly 4000 ft. The requirements of the competition also required us to have an "anomaly" occur during the flight so we added a small door to the rocket that woudl open during the flight. Over all, our team came second in the competition that year and it was our first time competing! Watch a video of the flight from the mounted camera here.
The 2021 UW FNL team preparing our rocket for launch.
NASA members new and old posing after our tour of the Ziibiwing culture center.
North Trip With NASA
Each year, members of the Native American student association travel to Nothern Michigan with new students. This helps ease the transition into UMich which is a huge school, it also helps to form connections early on with other Native students. This photo is from our trip in 2022 taken in the Ziibiwing Center in Mount Pleasant.
SACNAS
The 2022 SACNAS conference was held in Puerto Rico and had a record breaking 6,000 attendees of all career stages from high school to tenured faculty. Despite its size, this conference is one of the most personal and lively conferences out there and I highly recommend attending, especially for undergraduates looking to make connections.
From left to right: Me, Majo Colmenares Diaz, Marbely Micolta. Three UMich grad students attended the SACNAS conference in 2022.
Outreach
This is a photo taken during a fundraiser event for the League of Astronomers. I was involved with a lot of ourteach during undergrad and I hope to get back into it soon. My favorite experience has to be the mobile planetarium. Started in 2013 by graduate students, the mobile planetarium is exactly what it sounds like: it's a large, inflatable dome that can be transported by car to K-12 schools to bring the planetarium to student groups that have difficulty making the trip out to the UW planetarium. A full guide on how to set one up at your institution can be found here.