Digital Design & Fabrication Specialist Niko Sanchez was celebrated at the Indigenous speaker series on August 15 for the work he and other CATalyst Studios staff are doing supporting Native student engagement such as facilitating a training and workshop for the Native SOAR program. "It was an honor to be recognized," said Sanchez. CATalyst Studios is the University Libraries makerspace where you can take a workshop, use our machines, work on a project, get tips from staff, and more.

The UA College of Education Native Student Outreach Access, and Resiliency (SOAR) is a high impact service-learning course and multigenerational mentoring program. Grounded in Indigenous teachings and ways of knowing, our course and mentoring program centers the needs of Native students and provides engaging and effective programming for students, families, and educators at no cost.

From Native SOAR's Instagram post: "This summer, our team had the privilege of working with Niko Sanchez to create BEAUTIFUL gifts for our guest speakers, community elders, and campus supporters. Niko...provided an entire week of training for our summer student workers! Together, they crafted silver earrings, bolo ties, and wooden boxes, featuring part of the Native SOAR logo, which was originally designed by Johnny Nelson (@‌badwinds). Best of all, our students are enriched with a new skill set and a certification! Thank you so much, Niko! 🙌🏽"

Cheers to you, Niko!