Alumni & Student Stories

Her Goal: To Give School Experience New Meaning for her Students

Stephanie Martin
First People’s program
B.A. in Liberal Studies with Teacher Preparation, 2004
M.A. in Education, 2006

When she worked at Pathfinder K-8 School in West Seattle, Stephanie Martin was the extra body, the one who did a little of everything.

A member of the Ogalala Band of the Lakota Sioux, Martin says her heritage and her work at Pathfinder made Antioch’s First Peoples’ program her next logical step. So she signed on for the program offered at the Muckleshoot Tribal College in Auburn. First, she completed her B.A. with teacher preparation. Now she’s working on her master’s degree.

“Everything in life is a progression,” she says as she shepherds her 4th and 5th grade students during their lunch break at the Muckleshoot Tribal School. She’s in her second year of teaching at the Auburn school and is vested in being there.

“Antioch helped me understand the rich culture and heritage in the backgrounds of my students,” she says. “The parents know I have a genuine concern about being with their kids.”

She recollects unpleasant tales of her grandmother’s experiences at boarding school. To be an agent of change became a mission for Martin.

“The boarding school experience has had a very negative effect in Native communities. I wanted to help change the school experience for my students, help them feel good about themselves and have positive experiences at school,” Martin says.

A big part of her teaching career involves supporting her students as they discover who they are.

“I try to help them find their purpose,” she describes. “I want them to feel like they’re the best. Reading, writing, yeah, they’re important. But you really have to believe in yourself.”

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