Ethan, (Navajo), believes in having a motivational drive .
“One thing I am passionate about is my balance.
Hello,
My name is Ethan Tsosie. I am currently a senior at ASU Preparatory Academy located in Casa Grande, Arizona. Something that I would like to share about myself is that I am from the Navajo tribe and I am currently the president/founder of the American Indian Business Leaders (AIBL) chapter at our school. Starting this club has been a true legacy for me and for my school. My school is not located on the reservation and there is not a lot of native representation at my school. I am the only Navajo student that I know of enrolled at ASU Prep. It makes me feel alone sometimes but I have adapted and made some new friends of diverse cultures. They love hearing about mine because it is a culture they often don’t hear about. I have been keeping myself busy at school by doing extracurricular activities like joining a VEX robotics team which we did qualify for the world championship, a competitive math team, head of the prom committee and one of two members of the yearbook team. Everything that I have just listed is my passions, passions I would have never known that I liked to do. When I went to school on the reservation it was all about basketball, football, and all the other stereotypical cool clubs. My friends tease me for joining things that would be described as “nerdy” and it phases me but I always wondered why is it nerdy to them but to me it was something I enjoy. If you met me 2 years ago, I would have never imagined being a part of a math or robotics team. I changed because I explored outside of what was expected of me to do. Growing up on the reservation, my parents were always busy and never had time to sign me up for amazing youth programs that I would hear about once in awhile. They moved us off the reservation and there was nothing that I couldn’t join, I had all the options I wanted. Of course, my friends influenced me to join basketball and cross country right away. It was something I enjoyed for a brief time but I knew it was something I didn’t absolutely love. So I took a minute to shred the noise that was around me and join something I would love doing. Now I put on school and community events for everyone to enjoy. I continuously encourage my other native friends to go and strive for higher educations and find hobbies that will keep them busy. I believe that we as a people should continuously strive for the betterment of ourselves. If something makes someone happy I believe that they should do it no matter what others might think. Knowing someone left an event that I managed with a smile makes me happy because I feel like I spread happiness to others.”
