By Carol Woodland, Staff Reporter | Photo by Carol Woodland
In partnership with the Native American Task Team, CNM’s chapter of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society plans to hold a 5k fun run and one mile walk on Sunday April 6, said Teresa Billy, Academic Adviser and member of the NATT.
Billy said the groups have been planning the “Honor Your Heritage” 5k since last November which was Native American Heritage month, but bad weather prevented the event from being held at that time.
Nabahe Abeita, Vice President of AISES and Engineering major, said he is very happy to see the event come to fruition is looking forward to volunteering during the race.
“I’m excited about the fun run first of all because we had to postpone it before and now we actually get to have the event occur, I’m excited to have the event to have other Native American members volunteer to help make it successful,” Abeita said.
Billy said that the groups wanted to host the run to promote unity, health and wellness for the CNM community.
Members of the NATT and AISES met with the Dean of Students, Student Activities, Security, and the Communications office as part of the event planning, Billy said.
“This was something that students really wanted to have here on campus. It’s the first time ever a 5k and 1 mile fun run will be held on campus,” Billy said.
Volunteers will be needed to help the event run smoothly and there will be training for volunteers on Friday, March 4 at 2:30 p.m. in the Student Services Center, room 205, she said.
Students who are interested can contact Academic Adviser and AISES Adviser Dee Bluehorse (dbluehorse@ cnm.edu) if interested in volunteering, she said.
The race will be held on Sunday, April 6, and those interested in running or walking should arrive in front of the Student Services Building at 8 a.m. to register, as the event will kick off shortly thereafter, Billy said.
During spring break, five students from the AISES attended the third national AISES Leadership Conference at Santa Ana Pueblo said Dee Bluehorse, AISES adviser and academic adviser.
In addition to all of the AISES chapters present there were professional speakers from local New Mexico businesses, as well as some from out of state companies who gave presentations and workshops, Bluehorse said.
Jasmine Casiquito, Liberal Arts major, said she had not been to the conference before, but found it to be deeply enriching.
Students could attend sessions; in financial planning, social media, resume building, public speaking and interviewing, among other leadership development activities, Bluehorse said.
“One of the things I learned at the leadership is that there are so many obstacles, but you just have to find a way to get through them, there’s always a way, no matter how difficult it may be,” Casiquito said.
The club’s advisers took part in professional training sessions in which they were able to share some of the things they do to help students be successful, Bluehorse said.
She had expected to receive a lot of input from other group advisers, but in fact it was CNM’s AISES chapter that was giving out much of the input, and Bluehorse said “We were on top, I found myself giving ideas out to them.”
Bluehorse said that the CNM students were also very influential communicators and a dignified group who made quite an impression on the other attendees during the conference.
“One thing that was mentioned to me by other chapter advisors, is that CNM is really shining at this conference,” Bluehorse said.
Bluehorse said she attributes some of that positive attention to the efforts of Jana Dunow who is incredibly dedicated to the AISES students’ success.
“She was a very influential person regarding this, she even held a previous workshop for our AISES officers to attend,” Bluehorse said.
Jana Dunow, academic advisor and AISES co-advisor said that though the group is rooted in promoting Science and Technology fields, their view on what falls under the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math umbrella is much more diverse than other groups on campus such as STEM Up.
Dunow said AISES covers everything from health sciences to psychology to heating and refrigeration technology, and Bluehorse added that even business could be included.
“Business is included as well too because we’re finding out that a lot of the programs that deal with STEM need those other disciplines in those areas too,” Bluehorse said.
Dunow said that the group provides valuable backing to students to help them become successful in their careers.
“They have great resources, they have internships during the summer, and they also have peer mentors which can be huge for students figuring out where they want to go,” Dunow said.
AISES is also involved in a variety of volunteer projects in the greater community including the New Mexico Mesa STEM conference in February where Jasmine Casiquito volunteered, Bluehorse said.
Other AISES students have volunteered in the community through partnerships with Habitat for Humanity and Project Feed the Hood, Bluehorse said.
“All students can experience the same things that Jasmine (Casiquito) was able to because it’s going to help them as they go through their college career,” Dunow said.
Editing Correction:
Native American club hosts fun run should have been dated on April 6, as the dates for the race and volunteer session were printed as March 4 and 6. American Indian Science and Engineering Society members will be volunteering, but AISES is not the host as it is stated in the headline. Throughout the article, AISES was referred to as THEATER.
