I am an Alaska Native woman. I'm both Tlingit and Haida, two tribes from the southeast of Alaska. I am also the reigning Miss Congress of National American Indians. My experience at the University of Puget Sound has allowed me to become more comfortable and confident in my identity, which has furthered my involvement in my tribe.

Prior to Puget Sound I was quite involved in my Native community back home. I participated in a dance group, in performances and was slowly learning my native language. After my first year of college in Virginia, I felt very disconnected from that part of myself. At UPS, however, I have been able to integrate further exploration of my culture into projects and papers. The benefits of a small school where a professor knows your name are absolutely limitless. My class work has also allowed me to explore the history and roots of the hip hop community from the Bronx to Cuba and back up into Alaska. At UPS, though sometimes takes a bit of effort, you can often personalize an aspect of your research and writing to cater to your interests and history. That is what allowed me to further root myself in the Tlingit and Haida tribes to which I belong.

The greater my knowledge base of my tribe the more I called home and asked for recommendations of book titles and names of elders or experts to call. This is one of the aspects that people in my home town noticed and used to support their choice to have me represent them at the National Congress of American Indians Miss NCAI scholarship pageant, after their Miss Tlingit and Haida backed out at the last minute. Again, the shining qualities of UPS showed through when I was able to take off four days to compete and then win the title. I stayed in close contact with my professors over e-mail and notes during the trip and afterwards, and though it required a lot from me, their flexibility and faith in my capabilities allowed my grades and education not to be hurt by my travel.

This year marked an important event at the University of Puget Sound. A fellow student founded a First Nations group on campus. Four other Native Americans from all over the country and I were also founding members. The support from the diversity center and its coordinator were invaluable. UPS was very receptive and open to the formation of group dedicated to support for each other, community involvement, and the spreading of knowledge about the Native presence in the Northwest and on campus.

UPS  has not only been supportive of my interest in Native culture, but of other cultures as well. As a person very interested in the cultures differences, and also cultural similarities, I have also taken classes about Latin American History, African American History, Women Studies and Jazz History. Each class was in a different discipline and met different core requirements, but each helped me on my path to a broader knowledge of other cultures. My choice to explore diversity was definitely an option at UPS.

The University of Puget is a small school often praised for its availability of resources. While I have been at UPS I have really seen that follow through. My personalization of research projects and papers, my involvement in student groups on campus, and my course work in other cultural settings all illustrate how supportive UPS can be.