Colorado State University RM-AMP Student Nizhoni Hatch Named Udall Scholar

Nizhoni Hatch, an honors student majoring in biomedical sciences at Colorado State University and RM-AMP participant, was named a Udall scholar for 2023. She was also named a Udall Scholar in 2022.

Nizhoni’s career goals involve providing health services to the Navajo Nation and conducting public health research that focuses on the health impacts of environmental contamination on tribal lands. At CSU, Nizhoni was also part of Assistant Professor Dominique David-Chavez’s Indigenous Land & Data Stewards lab as an undergraduate lab manager, which develops and tests models for scientific research and education, informed by Indigenous ways of knowing and community values. She is a member of the CSU Native Women’s Circle, a group created to enhance social, group, individual and cultural support for the women of the Native American Cultural Center and is a member of the CSU American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) chapter.

“As a Native woman in science, I hope to develop consensus among Indigenous and Western perspectives to achieve my career goals and make meaningful, significant changes in health care, research and education to centralize Indigenous equity,” Nizhoni said. “In my future endeavors, I hope to represent the principles of the Udall Foundation and carry on the Udall brothers’ legacy by using civility, integrity and primarily consensus-building in medicine, research, and education to advocate for Native Americans’ self-determination and inspire future generations.”

Source article by: Joe Giordano