High school graduate honors Navajo heritage during commencement speech

By Angela Menninger
ASU Prep Digital
For the Navajo Times

CHANDLER, Ariz. – Some worry that with each generation, an appreciation for centuries of Navajo culture and heritage grows fainter. Recent high school graduate Halle Johnson is proving that’s not always the case.

When she begins attending classes this fall at Arizona State University, she’ll be the first in her family to attend college. As she meets new people, she’ll introduce herself proudly: “Yá’át’ééh. Shí eí T łááshchí’í nishłį́ dóó Debéłzhíní báshíshchíín Táchii’nii dashicheii dóó Naaketł’ahi (Pima) dashinálí. Halle Johnson yinishyé.”

“Hello. I am of the Red Bottom People clan. I am born for the Black Sheep clan. My maternal grandfathers are of the Red Running into Water people clan. My paternal grandfathers are of the Mud clan. My name is Halle Johnson.”
Halle represented her graduating class at ASU Preparatory Academy South Phoenix during her high school graduation ceremony earlier this spring. Wearing traditional dress beneath her cap and gown, she began her speech by greeting her family from the Navajo Nation who traveled to share in her special day.

Throughout the speech that followed, Halle returned repeatedly to values instilled throughout her upbringing. She touched on what she wants to be when she grows up, conveying sage wisdom with the understanding that her future will be defined by more than her career choice.

“I want to be kind. I want to be inspiring. I want to be ambitious. And I want to be determined,” she told the crowd of nearly 6,000 parents, guardians and loved ones. “Your character will take you much further in life than any honors cord or medals you receive.”

Halle also recognized the family members who have supported her throughout her youth, including her siblings, mother and stepmother. She paid special tribute to the person she calls her “best friend and most important man in my life” – her dad.
“He has shown me the value of hard work and everything I aspire to be,” Halle said. “When the day comes that I am ‘grown up,’ he is the person that I wish to be most like.”

Halle considers the opportunity to represent her classmates a highlight of her high school career – not just because of the confidence beloved school administrators placed in her, but also because it gave her the opportunity to share her culture and recognize her dad in such a special way.

“I don’t know how to explain how grateful I am for him,” Halle said. “When I told my dad I was selected to give the speech, I was so excited. But I didn’t tell him about what I planned to say because I wanted to put him in it and honor how much he’s done for me.”

It may come as no surprise that Halle considers her dad her hero, but there are several others she credits with her success in high school. Among them are Patrick Gibbs, the principal at ASU Prep South Phoenix; Julian Torres, her English teacher and mentor; and Counselor Minerva Fernandez, who helped ensure Halle enrolled in the courses she wanted and needed.

These educators made a big impression in a relatively short time. Halle didn’t begin attending ASU Prep South Phoenix until her junior year. She started at the school when she learned that she could begin earning dual credit and get a head start on her college career. Indeed, she did.

Halle is taking 22 college credits with her from high school and when she officially begins college this fall, she will already be a sophomore.

Despite the time and work that accomplishment required, she also prioritized making time to enjoy her high school experience.

She was captain of her volleyball team her senior year and was team manager for the basketball team. She also served on student council, tutored peers in math and served as a teacher assistant. Outside of school, she volunteered at Banner Health Medical Center, a role she plans to resume over the summer.

This fall, Halle will begin pursuing her dream of becoming a nurse as a student at the ASU Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation. She is still considering which specialty area she wants to pursue, but she looks forward to becoming a traveling nurse and already has a bucket list of places (like Spain and Switzerland) that she’d like to visit once her formal training is done.

No matter where she goes, it’s a sure bet she’ll be honoring her cultural roots along the way. Although she now lives in Phoenix, Halle is no stranger to the Navajo Nation. She lived in Shiprock, New Mexico, and attended school on the Navajo Nation during her elementary years, as well as part of high school.

“Most of my family are very connected to their culture, so because of them, I am also,” she said. In fact, one of the aspects of attending ASU she’s most excited about this fall is participating in the Alliance of Indigenous Peoples, a student-led alliance that represents and unifies any and all self-identifying Indigenous voices on campus.

“I’m looking forward to starting that,” she said. “When I find others who know about the Diné people and Native Americans, I get very excited about the chance to honor my heritage.”

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