February 2022 – Graduate student
Taylor Maki — Kewa Pueblo
Long Beach, CA
Scholarship: Special Higher Education Program
School: California State University, Long Beach
Degree: Education
GPA: 4.0

Community Service

• Rising Native Graduates Mentor

Bio

Taylor recently got a new position at UC Irvine as a Senior Native American Admissions Counselor. Prior to working at UCI, Taylor was contracted to plan an event for incoming Native American students. Previously, Taylor worked at Torres Martinez Tribal TANF as a Youth Education Guidance Counselor. Taylor is currently working on her thesis which explores Native American resiliency in higher education. Last year, Taylor was honored to receive a scholarship from the Chamber of Commerce in addition to a scholarship from Native Forward. In addition, Taylor is also working with Kewa Pueblo, to create a more indigenized curriculum for the Santo Domingo Pueblo School District.

Response

Being an AIGC scholar means giving back to the community in the work that you do. It is recognizing that there were people before you who paved the way and there will be students and scholars behind you. I became interested in education when I noticed the need for more indigenized pedagogy and curriculum. I know that education has been harmful to many Indigenous groups and I hope to encourage more schools to work towards empowering the next AIGC scholars.