March 2022 – Graduate student
Rachel Holiday — Navajo Nation
Kayenta, AZ
Scholarship: GMS
School: North Dakota University
Degree: Master of Public Health
GPA 3.8

Community Service

• COVID-19 relief drive donations/community deliveries
• Monument Valley roadside trash pick-up

Bio

Yá’át’ééh (Hello)! My name is Racheal Holiday (pronouns: she/her/hers). I am of the Coyote Pass-Jemez People Clan. I am born for Black Sheep People Clan. Towering House People are my maternal grandfather’s clan. Folded Arms People are my paternal grandfather’s clan. I am a member of the Diné (Navajo) tribe. I grew up in the Kayenta/Monument Valley area of the Navajo Nation. I am the eldest daughter of six siblings. I enjoy hiking the unique landscapes of Mother Earth, attending ceremonies, camping, fishing, and kayaking with my family. My favorite quarantine activities consist of gardening, drawing, running, and sweat lodging.

I am an AIGC scholar through the Gates Millenium Scholarship I received in 2013. I attained undergraduate degrees from Utah State University and the University of Utah majoring in Community Health. I am currently a second-year MPH graduate student at NDSU specializing in American Indian Public Health and work at the NDSU American Indian Public Health Resource Center as a Public Health Coordinator. After graduation, I hope to contribute to the teachings and philosophy of health in tribal communities. Examples include reintroducing traditional foods and advocating for the usage of tribal values and concepts of health as an alternative to health care and public health initiatives. I hope to use the skills I have learned within my studies to be an advocate and voice for managing communities’ health as a whole and individually where health is a priority.