First Lady of the Navajo Nation delivers keynote address
May 14, 2024
minute read time
Pictured left to right: Shawn Montgomery, LM STEM with LM coordinator; Kevin McCarthy, LM Support Partner education programs manager; Jennifer Grossheim Harris, LMSP Navajo Nation Public Affairs lead; Amy N. Begaye, 2023-2024 Miss Navajo Nation; Jasmine Blackwater-Nygren, First Lady of the Navajo Nation; Katie Mclain, LMSP junior groundwater scientist; Stacy Trowbridge, LMSP junior groundwater scientist; and Kayla Bia, LMSP outreach coordinator.
The Office of Legacy Management (LM) recently coordinated and co-sponsored the second annual Miss Navajo Nation STEM-sation event at Monument Valley High School in Kayenta, Arizona. The STEM-sation event has become one of LM’s signature Navajo Nation STEM events. The event takes place each year in partnership with the Office of Miss Navajo Nation, Navajo Transitional Energy Company, Diné College Land Grant Office, Navajo Abandoned Mine Lands Reclamation Department, Arizona Public Service, and BHP.
At this year’s STEM-sation, Miss Navajo Nation Amy N. Reeves-Begaye, the reigning Miss Navajo Nation, gave a welcome speech, and First Lady of the Navajo Nation Jasmine Blackwater-Nygren was the keynote speaker. Miss Navajo Nation and Blackwater-Nygren attended Monument Valley High School and encouraged students at the STEM event to continue their education after high school by going to college or a vocational school. They told the students about the many jobs and opportunities on the Navajo Nation. More than 500 students from middle and high school participated in the event. LM was one of 12 presenters, two of which were competitive robotics teams.
LM demonstrated three STEM activities at the event. Two hydrologists demonstrated a groundwater model while public affairs staff showed students how to use litmus paper to figure out if a common household liquid was an acid or base. Students also viewed LM interpretive centers through virtual-reality goggles.
STEM-sation events include professional organizations and agencies that share career and professional expertise and knowledge, educational opportunities, and resources with students on and near the Navajo Nation. STEM-sation events have become one of LM’s top priorities on the Navajo Nation and support students in learning about science, technology, engineering, and math to meet current and future challenges.