Sovereign Native Youth STEM Leadership Academy opens doors for Nebraska students

For the past eight years, the Mid-America Transportation Center (MATC) has been helping Native youth learn about careers in STEM fields and the possibilities available in a college education.

This year, the Sovereign Native Youth STEM Leadership Academy (SNYLA) – held June 23-27 – also has provided some former students like Yesenia DeAnda the opportunity to give back to their fellow students.

A member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, DeAnda attended SNYLA twice while in high school. Now a pharmacy major at the University of Nebraska Omaha, DeAnda was eager to return in a new role – as one of six academy alumni who have returned as mentors to the 23 Native youth from across Nebraska at the 2024 academy.

DeAnda said SNYLA provides an important opportunity to Native students, like her, to envision what is possible in their futures.

"I had always wanted to be a lawyer. When I first came to the academy, I started to see myself liking science more," DeAnda said. "This is my third time being back and it's also about making the connections. I always find somebody new that inspires me."

Ezzat Haider, MATC's education and outreach director, said the mission of the academy has always been to increase opportunities for students in high schools to learn about STEM fields, and that has been a success. But, Haider said, the academy is also helping the university and MATC grow.

"When opportunities like the academy open up for students to come to the university campuses and see what it looks like to have a career in engineering or transportation or science, it plants the seeds that lead to more students with different backgrounds enrolling," Haider said.

"Students who have gone through that experience in the summer academy have become engineering majors at UNL and have joined us in working here (at MATC)."

This year, the five-day program included presentations, including some from College of Engineering faculty, and hands-on activities with a focus on engineering and non-technical skills such as public speaking and communication that are vital to careers in STEM fields. Hands-on sessions included a shake table that simulates the effects of an earthquake on high-rise structures, work in a materials lab to create asphalt pavement mixtures, designing a water filter, a crash test presentation from UNL's Midwest Roadside Safety Facility, and plant sciences activities on East Campus.

The SNYLA curriculum is developed by Native faculty, students and leaders from across the country. Students from Federal Region 7 (Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas) high schools are eligible to participate in the academy regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, tribal affiliation or other protected status.

Meko Ogden, a member of the Lakota Nation from Lincoln and a student at The Bay and Lincoln East High Schools, said she attended SNYLA in 2023 with the goal of bonding with other students. This year, Ogden said, her outlook has expanded to her future.

"I enjoy math and engineering. When it comes to putting things together, either coding wise or doing the math to figure things out, that's something I'm interested in a lot," Ogden said.

"I enjoy getting to hang out with people and learning more about the different opportunities at UNL that I could take part in and possibly help me reach my goals. I was thinking about going to (college) in Kansas, but I've decided that UNL is closer to home and I'd be able to stay at home."

DeAnda said her previous experiences as a student in the academy created a sort of ripple effect with others in her high school and inspired her to be a mentor this year.

"(Seeing) Native students liking something encourages other Native students to want to do it, too," said DeAnda. "Back at my (high) school, the first year when I came (to SNYLA), nobody was that interested. But as me and my friends came back, it got other people wanting to attend, too.

"Coming here really opens up a lot of doors."