“It brings a lot of hope for our future.” ND EPSCoR staff members reflect on attending recent national conferences

This October, two members of the ND EPSCoR leadership team put new travel miles on their suitcase wheels. Jim Doolittle, Head of Operations, and Sheridan McNeil, Director of Tribal Operations, both attended the AISES National Conference and the NSF EPSCoR National Conference. Here’s what they learned.

AISES National Conference

American Indian Science and Engineering Society, or AISES, is “a national nonprofit organization focused on substantially increasing the representation of Indigenous peoples of North America and the Pacific Islands” in STEM education and careers. There are many AISES chapters across seven regions in the US and Canada, which they describe as “a powerful way to build community with other people who want to be part of something bigger than themselves, providing a critical network for Indigenous students, professionals, and tribal members where connections between STEM, community, culture, and confidence are explored, encouraged, and celebrated.” The chapters range from PK – 12 Clubs to TCUs, mainstream universities, professional, and Tribal chapters.

Their annual conference is the largest gathering of Indigenous people in STEM in the US, with more than 3,500 people in attendance. According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, “the conference features the largest college and career fair in Indian Country, professional development skill-building workshops, career and community leadership development sessions, research competitions, hackathons, and networking suites, among other events.”

Events and sessions for this year’s conference included a STEM activities day, Native artisan market, career skills development in topics like negotiating and resume writing, as well as presentations on scientific topics such as engineering, cyber security and resilience, using AI to preserve Indigenous Languages, and plant medicine. Participants also had the chance to connect with the esteemed members of the AISES Council of Elders, gaining valuable wisdom and guidance.

For Jim, a highlight of the conference was the energy that participants brought. “From the start of the conference to the end, it was impossible to miss the energy, intelligence, pride, and professionalism of the students and adults involved in AISES,” he said. “I have been involved with other student focused organizations and this was an impressive event. Attending this conference improved my understanding of Indigenous research and how to be a better collaborator and partner with colleagues at TCUs.”

Sheridan pointed out that “you don’t have to be Indigenous to come to the AISES conference. If you're not, you're going to learn so much about the amazing work that Indigenous students and professionals are doing in research and STEM. It is one of the events I get to go to that fills my cup back up by being around such great energy and learning about all the exciting research students are doing. I absolutely love seeing all the ribbon skirts and shirts, moccasins, and other diverse tribal regalia fill the giant conference halls! It is truly so inspiring. ”

NSF EPSCoR National Conference

Every other year, NSF EPSCoR brings together STEM researchers and students, EPSCoR staff members, and other stakeholders like legislators and federal employees, to discuss strategies to fulfill NSF EPSCoR’s mission to “enhance the research competitiveness of targeted jurisdictions by strengthening STEM capacity and capability through a diverse portfolio of investments from talent development to local infrastructure.”

Presentations ranged from information from NSF EPSCoR Program Officers on navigating funding opportunities, to scientific research happening in EPSCoR jurisdictions, to Sheridan’s favorite session on closing the gender gap in STEM education from “Professor Sko.”

Sheridan also sat on a panel titled “Working with American Indian and Alaska Native Communities in EPSCoR Jurisdictions” which she says included “individuals from all of the jurisdictions that work with Native populations and Tribal colleges.

“We talked about how we are working with our Tribal communities and Tribal colleges. So everyone kind of had a little different take on what their jurisdiction is doing. I focused primarily on ND-ACES and Track-1 activities and how we incorporated a new TCU Pilot Pillar into year five that the TCUs co-designed. This was an important move for us because we want to ensure that our TCU partners have a voice because they know best what works for them and the communities they serve. But we also gave some history, so I opened the panel with a background of TCUs and our tribal nations. What does it mean to be a sovereign nation? Because even today, there's still not a lot of information known about Indigenous nations and that they're sovereign.”

In addition, Sheridan used her time at the conference to advocate for Tribal colleges and universities. “That NSF needs to do better with Tribal colleges was pretty apparent” at the conference, which she brought up both in public sessions and private discussions. “The Program Officers were so accessible and they really seemed to want to learn and to do better.”

For Jim, much of the value of the conference came from learning more about NSF’s future plans for EPSCoR. “It was fantastic to witness the enthusiasm and energy from the Director of NSF as he laid out the vision for NSF and the EPSCoR Program. Also hearing from the leadership of NSF EPSCoR and having conversations with Program Officers provided valuable information needed to vision and plan the next 5 to 10 years in our jurisdiction.” Jim also enjoyed reconnecting with old EPSCoR friends and meeting new ones. “The drive to Omaha itself was worthwhile in getting to know a colleague from RCA better and spending time with three awesome graduate students from NDSU.”

“Proud Auntie moment”

The most important thing Sheridan took away from both conferences was hope. “It's always a proud Auntie moment when I see our Indigenous students” participating in national events. “Watching the students present and interact with all of the organizations there and networking is just really cool. It brings a lot of hope for our future. When I see something like that, I'm very hopeful.”