Winds of Change - College 2016 - 10
The Student BODY
Aaron
Ashley
OMAHA AND HUNKPATI
(CROW CREEK) SIOUX
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE
OF TECHNOLOGY
Aerospace Engineering
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER
Aerospace Engineering
with a Focus in
Bioastronautics
10 WINDS OF CHANGE * 2016-2017 SPECIAL COLLEGE ISSUE
ike many kids, I was interested
in space from an early age.
When I could first open picture
books, my mom saw how
fascinated I was and got me books
about space. She also took me to
museums to see airplane displays,
showed me late-night meteor
showers, and told me about
milestones like the Mars missions.
When I got to high school, I
connected with my ninth-grade
science teacher over my interest
in model rockets. He helped me
form a competitive team, and
from this I decided I wanted to
be an aerospace engineer. I just
graduated from MIT with a
degree in that field and am now
beginning a graduate program at
the University of Colorado, but
the road to where I am today has
been full of challenges.
My father, a civil engineer
with a master's degree, died when
I was three and my sister was
only six months old. After his
death, my mother, a pediatrician,
became a full-time mom with a
part-time profession to pay the
bills. We never had a lot of
money, but we were not aware of
it at the time. My grandma, a
traditional Omaha woman, lived
with us. She and my mom have
always tried to teach us the
language and ways of the Omaha.
On my father's side, I'm Hunkpati Sioux. My great-great-great
grandfather, Cetun Hunka (Elder
Hawk), was one of the 38 men
hanged in the largest mass
execution in U.S. history in
Mankato, Minn., after the Sioux
Uprising of 1862.
My father's father, who was
honored as the last chief of the
Hunkpati Sioux, passed away last
year at the age of 99. He was
known for his belief in higher
education for Natives, and
education has always been a
priority in our family. My mom
continually motivated me to excel
in school and music. I took all the
science and math courses the
high school in my hometown of
Gretna, Neb., offered, but I still
aises.org
COURTESY OF AARON ASHLEY
L
http://www.aises.org
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Winds of Change - College 2016
Contents
Winds of Change - College 2016 - Cover1
Winds of Change - College 2016 - Cover2
Winds of Change - College 2016 - Contents
Winds of Change - College 2016 - 2
Winds of Change - College 2016 - 3
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Winds of Change - College 2016 - Cover3
Winds of Change - College 2016 - Cover4
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