For Tasheena Egan, the 夜色视频 wasn’t on her vision board. Expecting to live in Arizona and continue her education through tribal schools, Egan didn’t realize how many opportunities the University could offer. Egan is Navajo, originally from Arizona, where she earned her associate's degree at Tohono O'odham Community College.
When she moved to Northern Nevada for family reasons, she thought she had put her own goals of higher education on hold. That was until her close friend mentioned that the 夜色视频 waives fees for all federally recognized tribes, including those from out of state from a program called the Native American Fee Waiver.
The waiver was life-changing for Egan. After much consideration, she realized the opportunity was too good to pass up and that she had made the next step in following her dreams. She applied to the University, was quickly accepted, and began her first semester in fall 2024.
“I was nervous about attending a non-tribal university,” she said. “My first in-person class I attended we had to stand up and introduce ourselves around the class. It was hard because, in my tribal community college, we introduce ourselves in our native language. I couldn’t decide if I should continue that tradition or to say it in English. For the past two years, my identity has been my language, my culture and my traditions.”
“Yá’át’ééh. Shí éí Tasheena Egan yinishyé. Dibelizhini nish艂í台 Naakai dine’e bashishchiin Honaghaahnii dashicheii Nat’oh dine’e dashinalí,” Egan said.
Her introduction translates to: Hello, my name is Tasheena Egan. I am from the Black Sheep clan, born for the Mexican People clan. My maternal grandfathers are The One-Who-Walks-Around, and The Tobacco People are my paternal grandfathers.
“It felt amazing to step out of the box and show others that it's okay to be your true self, even in a space where not everybody's like you,” Egan continued. “Students here at the 夜色视频 were very accepting. They're eager to learn, and they're generally intrigued with what I have to say,” said, Egan, who is now a senior studying social work.
After that day, Egan leaned further into her involvement with the University’s Office of Indigenous Relations. Through the office, she gained new opportunities to connect with her peers.
“I was determined that I was going to get involved that semester. The first couple of weeks, I was I was so excited. I got to go have lunch with my classmates, meet people on campus who weren't in my classes and build a community,” Egan said.
Egan’s involvement in the office pushed her to become a leader for the Tribal Students LEAD Program over the summer. LEAD is a program for high school students to come to campus, learn, empower, achieve and become leaders of the future. LEAD is a culturally immersive, higher education exploration program that allows Native American students to stay on campus and learn about the University application process, financial aid and degree options.
“It's important that students and young adults have knowledge about culture. I led a cultural identity box workshop, where they drew a basket and filled it. That presentation included their own cultural identity and what that meant. It teaches students how to define themselves and how to bring their learned experiences, their lived experiences, their successes and their failures. By bringing this to the forefront, it shapes how you perceive the world and how the world perceives you. I feel like, as Native students, that plays a really big part in their belonging as a student,” Egan said.
“I never expected to lead, I have never done anything like that. It was scary but over time the opportunity to lead helped me grow as a student and in my life,” Egan said.
This month, Egan was recognized as college student of the year by the Phoenix Indian Center, receiving the American Indian Excellence in Leadership Award.
As Egan enters her final two semesters at the University, she continues balancing life as a leader and a full-time student while managing her outside responsibilities.
Egan is a mother of three, a pharmacy technician and a social work intern at Humboldt General Hospital in Winnemucca, all while commuting two hours one way from Winnemucca to attend monthly weekend intensive classes. The intensive class meets one weekend a month from 9 a.m. to –5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. During these weekends Egan stays in Reno to fully immerse herself in her homework and assignments.
Although Egan has a full schedule, she makes it a point to continue her involvement with the Office of Indigenous Relations.
The strong connections Egan has made with the Indigenous Office and Multicultural Center has been a key support system in her life.
“Daphne, Sequoyah, Markie and Rayelle have all been inspiring, uplifting and very motivating. They have helped me build my class schedule, advised me as a student and gave me many opportunities I never expected. I can't be more thankful for them,” Egan said.
“There's always somebody who's going to understand your story. There's always somebody who's going to learn from your story or help you in your story. I've had so many people in my journey here at the University guide me and help me grow as an individual,” Egan said.
Driven to connect and uplift others, Egan hopes that sharing her story paves the way to inspire her peers, no matter what challenges their own stories bring.
As Egan prepares to graduate with her bachelor’s degree this spring, she plans to continue her education in the University’s master’s program for social work, with the goal of one day working in medical and behavioral health social work, with a focus on serving Indigenous and rural communities. Supporting patients and families through culturally informed care, crisis intervention and advocacy within hospital and tribal health settings.
