I was full-on ready to be a full-time artist. And then I was invited to be a teacher at a summer institute in Denver, through the Native American Youth Outreach Program. I think it was seeing those kids connect to our traditional arts — part of our cultural inheritance that they had little exposure to before. It was seeing kids connect to our indigenous ways that changed me.

Every day I am so inspired by Ismael. He is an extremely charismatic, kind, and well-spoken individual. He is intellectually curious and often surprises me with a range of conversation topics.

I am thankful everyday that I am a teacher. In my career of 25 years, I have been fortunate to teach in a variety of school districts and elementary grade levels.

When I was in high school there was a chance that I wasn’t going to graduate. I struggled through school and didn’t feel engaged. However, there were two male teachers that I had in high school who helped me on the right path to graduate. Without them I likely wouldn’t be where I am today.

A former student who was an Educators Rising club member in high school persisted through college and graduated with a degree and a teacher license. They returned to the school district and got hired as a high school teacher and is now an Educators Rising Club Advisor, coming full circle from where they started.