Winds of Change - Fall 2017 - 51

necessity. "I received a Walkman as a gift and within a
month I had dropped and
broken it," he recalls. "We didn't
have much money, so I studied
the parts, assessed the situation,
and pieced it back together -
and it worked."
That love of taking things
apart and putting them back
together naturally led
Polingyumptewa down a STEM
path, a direction that was
encouraged both by his parents
and by the other budding Native
engineers he met at the AISES
Summit Camp at Arizona State
University he attended while still
in middle school. "That really
put me in the mind-set that I
could do something with this
interest in STEM," he says. "You
can do this type of work and
really enjoy it."

For the past two-plus
decades, Polingyumptewa
has been working tirelessly
to encourage Native students to
follow their own path into
STEM education and careers.
Each year he spends hundreds
of hours mentoring and
guiding young people who
are interested in STEM.
At Boeing, Polingyumptewa
is president of the company's
American Indian Society and is
also the Boeing Enterprise
AISES deputy leader. In these
and many other roles,
Polingyumptewa works to break
down some of the barriers he
knows many Native young
people face as they pursue
STEM studies and careers.
He understands the obstacles
because he had to overcome
them himself, including ones

that were internal. "For me,
self-doubt was a major barrier.
Probably for most indigenous
professionals in STEM, it's the
same," says Polingyumptewa. "I
was always questioning whether
I was really as bright as others
see me. Basically, am I really
good enough?"
Because he struggled
with self-doubt personally,
Polingyumptewa makes it a point
to identify - and try to erase
- the doubts the young people
he works with might have. "I
don't want them to feel discouraged, and I want them to continue
on whatever path they are
pursuing," he explains. Sometimes, especially with younger
students, that means ensuring
they understand the many
opportunities and possibilities
that STEM can provide.

For high school and college
students, Polingyumptewa
emphasizes his own journey and
makes sure they are aware of the
nontechnical skills they'll need to
master in order to succeed. "Some
students are coming straight from
home (the reservation) and don't
have the skills necessary to
function and thrive in a corporate
environment," he says. "Some of
it is critical yet subtle things like
handshakes and eye contact and
normal business etiquette that
may be foreign to the students."
Polingyumptewa says his
efforts are more than worthwhile
when he sees the self-doubts melt
away. "To see young people I have
worked with and mentored who
once doubted themselves
experience their own brand of
success is the best gift I can give
them," he says. ■

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Winds of Change - Fall 2017

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