The Mid-America Transportation Center (MATC) Sovereign Native Youth STEM Leadership Academy took place June 18 to 22 on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus and brought in 33 Native youth from across the state. The students were welcomed by MATC Director Dr. Aemal Khattak and given an opening prayer by Rosebud Sioux Elder Phyllis Stone, who spoke to the students about taking pride in being Native.
Established in 2017, the Sovereign Native Youth STEM Leadership Academy is a summer program that provides Native American high school students with an extended learning opportunity in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) subjects and leadership. Students explore a wide range of education and career options after high school through the mentorship of Native American faculty, university students, and professionals in the public and private sector. The program is organized by MATC staff with help from teachers at the recruited high schools in Lincoln, Macy, Winnebago, Santee, and Niobrara. The program is free thanks to the generous support of the US Department of Transportation as well as donations, especially from the Claire M. Hubbard Foundation.
This year’s activities included conducting experiments in the Civil Engineering laboratories. During Dr. Shannon Bartelt-Hunt’s Environmental lab rotation the students had a competition for who could filter the clearest water. In Dr. Jamilla Teixeira’s Geotechnical lab they constructed a small-scale pavement structure consisting of four distinct layers. Dr. Christine Wittich specializes in structural engineering and instructed the students to make towers using K’nex toys, which were then tested on the lab’s shake table.
Other STEM activities included modifying VEX robots at Nebraska Innovation Studio to pick up plastic spheres and place them in rings. The students were given a tour of the studio by Director David Martin and printed Herbie Husker on souvenir canvas bags using a screen printer. Ted Hibbeler, Tribal Extension Educator for the Native American Coalition, taught the students about growing food for their community, letting the students plant vegetables in a garden on East Campus.
The program also hosted guests from outside the university, inviting Society of Care’s Lead Family Coordinator Angel Geller to lead a listening activity and social games. Society of Care serves Native American youth, families, and communities throughout Nebraska and is responsible for the development of a nationally recognized UNITY Native American Youth Council called the Trauma Warriors, which consists of intertribal youth ages 12-21. During a formal dinner in which attendees could wear their traditional formal attire, they heard from keynote speaker Bill Johnson. Mr. Johnson has been recently appointed the Senior Vice President of Development at the University of Nebraska Foundation. He previously attended UNL and played basketball under coach Danny Nee. He also spent four years as an assistant coach and director of basketball operations for the Huskers. He spoke to the students about his experiences as a Native student and athlete in higher education.
On the last day of the program it was the students’ turn to share what is important to them through story map presentations developed with personnel from University Libraries. The activity was organized by Interim Dean Dr. Liz Lorang, Assistant Professor and Geospatial Data and Programs Librarian Dr. Wenjie Wang, and Assistant Professor and Research Specialist Librarian Dr. Gabriel Bruguier. Dr. Bruguier was formerly the MATC Education and Outreach Coordinator and took an integral role in creating this program before taking his new position. He also served as a guest speaker during Monday night’s dinner, sharing his own story map presentation about his life and educational experiences.
The students, mentors, and teachers represented over a dozen tribes and came from Lincoln, Winnebago, Niobrara, Bloomfield, Macy, and South Sioux City for the program.
