Yazzie is from Sheep Springs, New Mexico, a town in the Navajo Nation. She grew up on the reservation but always thought about going to new places.

"When I first came here, I had no idea what I was going to walk into," said Yazzie.

Like all families that send their young adults off to college, Yazzie's family was excited for her new adventure, but expressed concern that she was going to a new place because she did not know anyone.

More than a year has passed since she left home, and now she, along with her family and friends, are seeing the fruit of her work and the impact of her Native American culture on others. Yazzie was crowned Miss Native ENMU 2015-16.  In fall 2015, she became director of Native American Affairs.

"It was a big impact to my mom and my family because they were like, ‘She's Miss Native somewhere off the reservation, and she has a crown and everything.' I felt like it was giving back to my community because I was able to show my Native American identity to the mainland," said Yazzie.

After her name became recognizable on campus, she says that people began asking her about her culture.

One of her favorite aspects of being at ENMU is explaining her Navajo heritage in-depth to those curious because it keeps her close to home.

Previously, she has hosted an event discussing her grandmother's weaving, worn her traditional outfit on campus, asked about her traditional music she plays in her office, and taught professors how to speak Navajo.

"The fact that people want to know about me makes me feel so much better because it helps me remember my language, my traditions and my heritage," said Yazzie.

The questions that Yazzie constantly receives are not just from those at ENMU, but from people back home on the reservation. After seeing all the opportunities and accomplishments she has, her family and friends want to know what ENMU has to offer.

She tells everyone about the scholarships, opportunities, personal classes and professors, and how there is no way that anyone can struggle at ENMU because of the resources available.

As Native American Affairs director, Yazzie says that her office promotes cultural diversity, but they also help students with scholarships, create a platform for their home away from home, and try to get students involved at the University.

"When I came here, I was shy and scared. When I met with Multicultural Affairs, they actually brought me out of my comfort zone, and now that is my goal to the students that come here," said Yazzie.

She is studying for her bachelor's in biology with an emphasis in pre-medicine, and is planning to become an anesthesiologist. She credits her professors and advisors for giving her new directions and other fields to look into. She also credits Multicultural Affairs for keeping her to close to home.

She says that her job in the Multicultural Affairs office is getting her ready for the outside world because she is not always going to be working with her own ethnicity, but with various people of different cultures.

"[When I speak with others about myself], I revive something that was dead to people because people assume that Native Americans aren't around anymore… Just that makes me really happy to be a Native American at Eastern."