Support AISES Students Now! Support the Always Runners, Always Scientists: Running for Resilience Campaign

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Show your support for AISES students by sponsoring Dr. Lydia Jennings on March 20, 2021.

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Show your support for AISES students by sponsoring Dr. Lydia Jennings on March 20, 2021. An avid runner, Dr. Jennings is lacing up her running shoes and dedicating a one-day, 50-mile run to benefit the AISES Together Towards Tomorrow (T3) emergency scholarship fund.

Dr. Jennings, who has been a part of AISES since 2014, joined the 2015 cohort of emerging PhD candidates as a “Lighting the Pathway to Faculty Careers for Natives in STEM” program scholar. In fall 2020, she completed her doctorate at the University of Arizona, defending a dissertation titled “Reclaiming Mining in Southern Arizona: Considering Science and Policy Aspects that Build Resiliency.”

“I brainstormed this fundraiser because running catalyzed my dissertation and I wanted to celebrate my graduation despite the barriers COVID-19 caused,” says Dr. Jennings. “The pandemic got me to thinking about the thousands of Native American students who were also affected by the pandemic. As a student who supported herself through undergrad as a waitress, I can only imagine how challenging it can be for so many students right now. AISES was so important in my own educational journey – I see the community and support from the organization as key to my personal success. AISES can do the same for others.”

Show your support for AISES students by sponsoring Dr. Lydia Jennings on March 20, 2021.Dr. Jennings will be joined by a small group of friends and a small crew of filmmakers who will be filming her 50-mile run. Each mile marker on the run will be dedicated to an Indigenous scientist – past and present – who Dr. Jennings sees as a role model. The mile markers will show the range of inspiring Indigenous scientists and traditional ecological knowledge holders who many today will recognize and value.
“AISES sends our thanks to Dr. Jennings in this effort to raise awareness not only about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Native American students, but also about resilience in adversity, resilience in education,” says Montoya Whiteman, AISES Marketing Director. “March 20 will be an amazing day for Dr. Jennings, and everyone at AISES wishes her success.”

To support Dr. Jennings and her cause, click below to donate to the Always Runners, Always Scientists: Running for Resilience campaign.