Effective outreach strategies for reaching students in the Navajo Nation

Abstract:

The Navajo Nation is the largest reservation in the United States, and the vastness has made reaching out to Navajo students in the Geosciences an obstacle. The Navajo Nation is mostly rural and schools within the reservation itself are far apart from one another with travel between schools often taking hours. While there are numerous opportunities for Native American students in the Geosciences, those who reside on the reservations are often unaware of these opportunities and these obstacles to reaching out to them are significant impediments to engagement. In this presentation, we discuss practical ways to reach students in the Navajo Nation. These methods include traveling long distances to talk to students, giving local presentations at high schools, colleges and universities, and attending STEM events such as science fairs and STEM stations, where we share personal experiences and build relationships. We wish to emphasize that this intensive, in person communication is the only way to truly engage students. This method is the only one we have found to encourage students to apply to REU and other geoscience-related programs.