NAU President Rita Cheng continued outreach efforts this week across northern Arizona, visiting with the Hualapai Tribal Council and school district officials in Peach Springs on Tuesday. She finished out the week by welcoming Arizona Sen. John McCain to campus on Friday.
Four NAU students joined the president in a discussion with Hualapai council members on current education challenges on the reservation. The Peach Springs Unified School District does not have a high school facility, therefore students must attend high school in Kingman or relocate to attend one of the federally funded boarding schools located throughout the West.
Jewel Honga, 2014 Miss Indian NAU, performed with the traditional Bird Singers and Dancers at the elementary school and joined her classmates and Cheng in a discussion with K-12 students on the importance of education. Honga, who is Hualapai and Navajo, is majoring in management and will graduate in December.
During a two-day visit to Flagstaff, McCain met with Cheng and student veterans to discuss the experience of transitioning from active duty to the classroom. McCain said he recognized that NAU’s faculty are experts in research related to forest health and water resources, two areas of concern for the future of Arizona. McCain also met with the Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce and toured the Slide and Schultz Fire areas.
Click here to view the president’s Flickr album with more images from the week’s events.