Walking in Beauty on an Ever-Changing Path: A Leadership Perspective from a Native American Woman Engineer

I am Sandra Begay-Campbell, an engineer and a full-blooded member of the Navajo Nation. It is a Navajo tradition to elaborate on my cultural heritage and my relevant experience before I share my perspective; in a public setting, Navajos let no one share their perspective until we know who you are and develop a personal connection.

I am a member of the Zuni clan (Náneesht’ézhí Táchii’nii) of the Navajo Nation, and I was born as a gift to my father’s clan, the Bitterwater Clan (Tó dích’íinii). I was raised in Gallup, New Mexico, where I attended a mission school, Rehoboth Christian, from 1st to 12th grades. My mother, father, sister, and many of my close relatives attended this more than $100\text{-year}$ -old institution. I had 42 classmates in my graduating class, which was 85% to 90% American Indian, primarily Navajo. The white people that surrounded my community were first- and second-generation Dutch people. The only other ethnic group I interacted with were American Indian people. This was my world when I left for college. I thought all white people were Dutch. It is clear I had misconceptions about the world around me based on my rural upbringing.

My experiences with culture shock and being underprepared for engineering school were humbling, yet all were necessary for my deep understanding of American Indian students and their challenges in pursuing a college education, especially in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields of study.

Within Navajo traditions, we conduct ceremonies with associated chants or prayers to assist in the holistic health of a person: the Night Chant, the Blessing Way Chant, the Enemy Way Chant, and the Beauty Way Chant (Blessingway n.d.). Before I took on a career-changing leadership role, I participated in a Beauty Way ceremony, which consisted of 3 days of prayers. I followed the Navajo medicine man’s chants, although I am not fluent in the Navajo language. I can still hear the rhythmic chant to all the sacred four directions, to all the deity: I walk in beauty behind me, before me, beneath me, above me, all around me; everywhere it is blessed. The Beauty Way ceremony and chants made me a strong and blessed leader.

I was raised in a matrilineal society where everything in life is given through our mothers and our culture is dominated by the women; my expectations were to be heard and respected. As I moved into the dominant society, I was in for a surprise! I have come a long way from the way of the Navajo to the way of the world around me. I appreciate what I have learned in stumbling along the Beauty Way of my career, trying to keep walking forward on an ever-changing path.

I began with a clear academic plan to become an engineer, but it was a rocky road of challenges. I can speak only from my experiences, which can teach other women of color, particularly American Indian women, that you may stumble and fall from your life’s path yet still get back up and continue on.

Just out of high school, I followed my best friend, a Dutch girl, to a small Christian college in Michigan. I was the only American Indian at the school, and it was my first time living away from home. I could relate to the Nigerian students who were also going through culture shock; I lasted only one semester. Once again, my path changed.

I restarted my academic studies at my hometown community college, the University of New Mexico (UNM), Gallup Campus. I took every class that would transfer toward an engineering degree to the main campus. I enjoyed the small classes and could relate to the local instructors. In my first public speaking class, I found my voice and a skill that lifted me out of a severe depression brought on by not succeeding at my initial plan.

Over time, I’ve learned that my initial college experience is common among American Indians, other underrepresented minorities, and rural students. I also know that American Indian communities lose too many young people to suicide. There are many societal challenges to be faced. A college education opens up incredible opportunities, and my hope is to demonstrate success as a leader so there will be more underrepresented minority college graduates, especially in the STEM fields.

Through the support of my study group, where I developed lifelong friendships with another American Indian woman and a Hispanic man, I succeeded in my undergraduate work. We took every class we could together, and we all have become successful civil engineers. Had I waited just $1\text{year}$ to begin graduate school at Stanford University, I would have been in a cohort of Native Hawaiians, and I would have had a better graduate school experience. I would not have been the only woman of color in my class.

I will never forget 1991. My mother, my family matriarch, died $2\text{weeks}$ before I married and within a month of my Stanford graduation. About this same time, I was also being sexually harassed at work. Any woman who endures this type of conflict has difficult choices. I decided not to take up a human resources battle, so I changed jobs. The deep chasm in my life path was repaired only by my strong will and prayers from friends and family.

I gave up my dream job: executive director of a national nonprofit, the American Indian Science and Engineering Society. I had wound up in the emergency room. Fortunately, my body told me what I needed to do when my head did not want to listen. Again, the holistic Navajo teachings were leading me back into the Beauty Way.

Joy returned to my life with the arrival of my twin niece and nephew, Jennabah and Joshua. In order help nurture and support them, I returned to my engineering work.

My American Indian mentors taught me this perspective: There are seasons in our lives just as there are in nature—winter, spring, summer, and fall. We can live through the winter, so we can grow and live through the next season. Beauty or blessing is all around us no matter what season; we just need to recognize it.

Leaders need to experience different journeys and take on more challenging responsibilities. As a higher education advocate, I survived $6\text{years}$ serving as a regent or trustee at the University of New Mexico. It is uplifting to see the increase in American Indian graduates at my alma mater. I currently serve on the UNM Foundation Board, where I’ve created an endowment fund for Native American women. As with many people, I want to give back to my community and share my blessings. I am proud to have three nieces who are engineers and one more who is in her second year studying science (at UNM)! These young Navajo women are finding their own Beauty Way path.

I am in the wonderful fall period of my current career, and I see the harvest of my workplace choices. I am enjoying my work at Sandia National Laboratories leading technical efforts to assist Native American tribes with their renewable energy developments; here, I can influence systemic changes to support underrepresented minorities and women in the academic STEM fields. Changing Our World: True Stories of Women Engineers (Hatch 2006) includes a chapter entitled “Women in Power” that describes my efforts to provide electricity through solar panels and other alternative energy solutions to hundreds of remote tribal members on the Navajo Reservation. As a leader in my engineering career, I am in the third of four rungs of the technical ladder. I remain passionate about my endeavors, but I learned the hard way not to let my enthusiasm threaten my health and my relationships.

I challenge women who are in leadership positions to stay true to themselves, to define their own success, and to think holistically. As a regent, I could not always walk in beauty; I needed to be aggressive and feisty, which was only a situational leadership strategy. For me, this unnatural behavior took its toll. Again, I realized that my success needed to be grounded in Navajo holistic teachings, which take into account the spiritual, physical, emotional, and intellectual aspects of my life. Now I consciously strive to lead using my instinctive leadership style, which is centered around building relationships. My friends have commented that I look younger, and I reply that it is because I’m not a regent anymore.

In conclusion, I draw from an insightful editorial written by my friend Mark Trahant (2007), entitled “‘Where Are Your Women?’ Look Around.” The article retells a speech given by Wilma Mankiller, the first woman chief of the Cherokee Nation. In the early history of the United States, the government was negotiating a treaty, and the Cherokee people asked, “Where are your women? How can we negotiate with you when only half of your people or half a way of thinking is present?” The article answers the question: The women are here. The state and national accomplishments achieved by Native American women need to be recognized and celebrated.

With half of the U.S. population composed of women, where are the women in the STEM disciplines? Where are the women of color? I say, We are here. Not only is it important to have these women in leadership positions, we must have them to make meaningful systemic change.