{"id":40134,"date":"2015-11-06T13:51:21","date_gmt":"2015-11-06T20:51:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stage.headlessnauedu-b6hgdzckfdgxgzhe.westus-01.azurewebsites.net\/?p=40134"},"modified":"2016-01-24T14:08:33","modified_gmt":"2016-01-24T21:08:33","slug":"finding-home-and-balance-at-nau","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/finding-home-and-balance-at-nau\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding home and balance at NAU"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0By Shania Valentine, secondary education major, minor in philosophy<\/em><\/p>\n

Starting at NAU as a freshman in 2013, I was\u00a0apprehensive, overwhelmed and\u00a0at a loss in finding comfort on campus. I would often feel isolated and different being from a multitude of cultures and identities: first-generation college student, biracial, Native American and a new citizen of Flagstaff.<\/p>\n

I questioned my choice of\u00a0going to college, I questioned my responsibilities toward my family and I questioned my ability to succeed.<\/p>\n

It was difficult finding balance, knowing that I was so far from my family and traditions. That is, until I found my home away from home.<\/p>\n

As a sophomore, I became a Peer Teaching Assistant and mentor for Native American Student Services<\/a>\u00a0without knowing the satisfaction I would find within it. I also\u00a0became the campus-based leader for the Gates Millennium Scholars organization. Both positions are housed\u00a0in and involve the Native American Cultural Center<\/a> and Native American Student Services.<\/p>\n

Throughout the year, I grew\u00a0close to my coworkers and the advisors at the center\u00a0who come from a variety of Native American and Native Hawaiian backgrounds. I also had the chance to connect with my mentees who come from different backgrounds, tribes, and ethnicities as well. After spending the majority of my time in this building, I realized the warm support I was looking for was here the whole time.<\/p>\n

The Native American Cultural Center hosts\u00a0cultural events that share traditions. Because of the inclusivity, I was\u00a0comfortable right away, and I no longer felt so different from my peers. We all celebrate our own cultures while seeking to learn more from each other. At the same time, many of the events that include traditional food or knowledge remind me of being with my own family.<\/p>\n

I was able to find a balance in being away from home since I was now connecting with other people who share their culture with me. I also found myself calling home to learn more about our traditions so I could share the love and fondness I have for my family.<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t have found a better support system than the cultural center\u00a0and program I work for. The center is more than a building: it\u2019s a plethora of caring people willing to listen and who encourage success for our students here at NAU. I owe a huge thank you to all the people who have influenced me both culturally and academically. Ah\u00e9hee\u2019.<\/p>\n

Editor’s note: November is Native American Heritage\u00a0Month with activities<\/a> planned at NAU.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0By Shania Valentine, secondary education major, minor in philosophy Starting at NAU as a freshman in 2013, I was\u00a0apprehensive, overwhelmed and\u00a0at a loss in finding comfort on campus. I would often feel isolated and different being from a multitude of cultures and identities: first-generation college student, biracial, Native American and a new citizen…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":40136,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-views-from-nau"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40134\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}