Desire to Give Back Drives Native Student Interns

Giving back to their communities is a common motivator for the Native American students who serve as summer interns with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs at Sandia National Laboratories.

Specifically, the promise of returning an in-depth understanding of renewable energy technologies to their tribes and a desire to champion innovative solutions to unique tribal energy project funding challenges are unifying themes among the 2018 class of Office of Indian Energy/Sandia interns.

Also a member of the Navajo Nation in this class of interns is Christian Gould, who is studying chemical engineering at New York’s Columbia University. Serving along with Chief and Gould is returning 2017 intern Teri Allery, the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa member from Belcourt, North Dakota. Allery is working to finish her master’s degree in construction management and engineering to supplement her undergraduate degree in civil engineering at North Dakota State University.

Allery, Chief, and Gould applied for the internship for various reasons, but they’re all deeply passionate about energy and bringing its array of benefits back to their tribes. They also recognize that while understanding the intricacies of energy can be difficult, merging energy technologies with the cultures of a variety of tribes can be challenging.

“Given the number of site visits, this program would show firsthand the unique challenges tribes face and how they overcome them,” Gould said. “Additionally, I want to learn how tribes addressed cultural concerns within their own community related to renewable energy. Often, when we think of renewable energy, it is difficult to find any negative impacts. However, when working with tribal communities, we must have respect for cultural values and traditions.”

For most interns, a highlight of the 12-week internship is its many tribal energy project site visits, which give them the opportunity to explore and engage with energy technologies such as hydro power, on-grid photovoltaic (PV) installations, off-grid electricity systems, large- and small-scale wind energy systems, a solar power tower, and distributed energy resource (DER) systems that integrate microturbines, fuel cells, and large battery banks. Gould, whose specific interest lies in electrochemical engineering, hopes to work with batteries in conjunction with off-grid renewable energy systems.

In a blog post Allery wrote about her experience in 2017, she said, “My ah-ha moment during this visit [to the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority’s (NTUA) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified building in Chinle] would have to be the two tracking solar PV collectors. I also liked that the building is set up to never be without power. The building is connected to the grid to cover the other 70% of electricity not generated by the PV system, but should there be an outage, they have a back-up generator.”

The Office of Indian Energy college student internship program through Sandia National Laboratories aims to instantly immerse interns in tribal energy project planning and development, working directly with experienced, internationally recognized energy experts. Inevitably, it also provides invaluable networking opportunities. Chelsea Chee, an intern from 2011 to 2013, said during an interview that she finds the networking opportunities her internship presented useful in her current work as the diversity and inclusion coordinator for New Mexico's Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. She was recently honored with a national award for diversity.

Gould said he applied, in part, because he was excited to meet other Native engineers. “Being able to network would offer valuable advice related to graduate programs, fellowship opportunities, and potential career paths,” he added.

The internship program is designed to help develop tribal energy resources through an educated and technically skilled workforce. Many Alaska Native villages and Indian tribes have significant untapped energy resources. Given the substantial opportunities to develop these resources for the benefit of their communities, motivation and inspiration are not in short supply for these interns.

Gould said the fact that his grandparents attended Indian boarding schools motivated him to move across the country to pursue higher education and attend Columbia University. He said his sisters were great role models for him and he hopes to serve as a role model for his nieces and nephews, while delivering solutions to energy issues facing the Navajo Nation.

Chief said his family is very close, and he is inspired most by his grandpa, who grew up on the Navajo Reservation during a more difficult time. Seeing how his grandpa overcame those difficulties and continues to give back to his community today inspires Chief to do the same. Committed to answering the question of how he can give back to his own Navajo community, he said that while his focus has changed slightly over the years, he has always known he wanted to work with the Navajo Nation in developing energy solutions.

“Once I was in college, I began to see how I could apply my engineering discipline to improving my Native community,” he said.

Allery draws inspiration from Indian women who “fight tooth and nail for what they believe in” and “never back down from a challenge.” From 2010 to 2017, three-quarters of interns in the program were female. Allery once hoped to become a nurse, but ultimately found her way to civil engineering through a fascination with roads, bridges, and their construction.

Allery said she believes after another year as an intern, she can begin take what she’s learned about energy and bring that back to her reservation. Many former Indian Energy interns have continued to pursue tribal-related work.

“We currently do not have a sustainability director for our tribal community. This would be my dream career—to go back home and bring many different green projects to our reservation,” said Allery. 

“The goal now is to make it a reality and I will have my dream career.”

Learn more about the Office of Indian Energy college student summer internship program.