ABSTRACT
Bowannie shares her background growing up in Zuni, New Mexico, in a traditional Zuni family with Zuni religious obligations. She shares the challenges she faces in working to obtain a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education while being a single parent of two young children. Bowannie struggled with her grades, finances, and the time required for Zuni religious obligations. She explains how her participation in Zuni: Engaging Teachers and Community (ZETAC) helped support her in reaching her goals of being a teacher both financially and emotionally. Through ZETAC Bowannie was able to attend professional development sessions on teaching and personal and professional development. One of her goals is to learn to speak Zuni. In ZETAC she found supporters to help her achieve this goal. Bowannie plans to complete her bachelor’s degree soon and become an early childhood educator.
