t
McNair Scholars Symposium at the University of California Berkeley, as well as the 2009 McNair Colloquia
at the University of Arizona, Tucson.
In Spring 2010, I completed my Bachelor's of Arts with a major in Psychology and a minor in Special
Education. In Fall 2010, I began my graduate student journey with the UA Visual Impairment Program
and obtained my Master's of Arts under the guidance of faculty mentors in August 2011. Upon graduation,
I returned to Dinétah (homeland of the Navajo) and worked with the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind
in the Eastern Highlands Regional Cooperative as an itinerant TVI, working with students between the
ages of 3-21 in various schools on the reservation for 5 years. In addition to working as an Itinerant TVI
during the school year, I also worked with the Southern Arizona Association of the Visually Impaired as
an Orientation and Mobility Intern with the Ready-Set-Go: summer transition program. As well as, fulfilling
contracts with the Navajo Nation Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation during school breaks with
the Independent Living Services program, working primarily with adults with visual impairments. Working
with various age groups, their families and establishing trust through clanship to share my knowledge was
beautifully rewarding. Rewarding because the process of establishing Individualized Education Plans
(IEPs), planning for transition and independence at home, school and community was woven through the
philosophy of K'é (kinship, interconnectedness). Building community through collaboration with parents,
grandparents, teachers and administrators to ensure all students could access their education was one
of the many joys of returning home.
After working as a TVI and working with various programs, I have found the need for services and
personnel to deliver these services in rural indigenous communities is prevalent. In returning to the
University of Arizona for the third time, I truly hope to return home with more solutions to improve the
delivery of services and number of great teachers of students with visual impairments serving these
unique communities. In the short time I have been a PhD student at the UA, I am finding my focus in
VIDBE-Q
Volume 62 Issue 1
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