Education Briefs: Sneezer first energy sovereignty doctoral student

ROCHESTER, N.Y.

Sherralyn Sneezer, Diné, has been selected from a highly competitive field of applicants as the first Ph.D. student in energy sovereignty research topics, via the Energy Sovereignty Institute and its partnership with the Golisano Institute for Sustainability at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Sneezer’s research will be supervised by Nathan Williams, an assistant professor at the Golisano Institute, in collaboration with ESI.

She received a bachelor’s degree with a major in environmental studies from Dartmouth College, where she conducted thesis research on “Solar Energy Development on the Navajo Nation,” and also studied renewable energy and sustainability at Reykjavik University School of Science and Engineering.

She is now completing her master’s in energy at Texas A&M University, studying energy systems engineering.

Her experience includes internships with Sandia National Laboratories’ Indian Energy Solar Program, for which she researched and assessed the potential for utility-scale solar energy development on the Navajo Nation.

She also worked at the Navajo Nation EPA Air Quality Control Program as an Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals intern; and Honor the Earth as a Solar ITEP intern.

She also participated in a 2019 workshop convened by ESI with that year’s Indian Energy Program interns from Sandia National Laboratories.

She said, “Pursuing the energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy on the Navajo Nation and tribal nations is both my personal and professional goal. Renewable energy on the Navajo Nation will address numerous crucial quality-of-life issues, specifically, lack of energy infrastructure, economic development, environmental degradation, and, particularly, energy sovereignty.”

Academy’s Class of 2021

SUN VALLEY, Ariz.

The Native American Christian Academy conducted the 2021 graduation ceremony on Thursday, May 20, with families of the graduates in attendance.

Class valedictorian was Daisy Pierce. Kristi O’Riley provided the commencement address and encouraged the graduates to stay focused and seek wisdom.

The NACA Class of 2021 maintained academic excellence with all earning honor roll recognition.

The NACA graduates are: Tristin Daily, Winslow; Jolicia Ethelbah, Sanders; Noah O’Riley, Sun Valley; Daisy Pierce, Joseph City; Andrea Villalba, Houck and Gallup; and Jessica Villalba, Houck.
O’Riley has been accepted at Grand Canyon University and serves in the Arizona National Guard.

Pierce has been accepted at Fort Lewis College and Southern Nazarene University.

Jessica Villalba has been accepted at Southern Nazarene University where she has been awarded the Hope Rising Scholarship.

Tristin Dailey has been accepted at Southern Nazarene University and is participating in an internship program this summer in Bishop, California.

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