By Stacie Pretty On Top, Salish Kootenai College IT Services Department
2024-2025 Indigenous Visionaries Fellow
My name is Stacie Pretty On Top, and I am an enrolled member of the Colville Confederated Tribes in Washington state. My family comes from the Wenatchi, Okanogan, and Lakes Bands. I am also a descendant of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Tribe and the Coeur d’Alene Tribe.
My journey after high school was anything but typical. At times, it felt like I had chosen the hardest possible route—one marked by detours, roadblocks, and unexpected turns. Instead of following a linear path from high school to college to career, I experienced life in a different order: kids, marriage, work, college, and then back to work. The one constant, however, was my determination to build a meaningful career.
I started college at Tacoma Community College, but after a year, I welcomed my first child and moved home. My great-grandmother, Zelda, cared for my daughter while I worked in places that offered on-the-job training, allowing me to take a class or two per term. This restriction forced me to focus, and I gravitated toward the field of Information Technology (IT), which became my career.
During this time, I balanced work, school, and raising children. I had my second child, got married, and later welcomed a third. Then, life took a hard turn—my marriage ended. For nearly a year, I felt lost, weighed down by devastation, embarrassment, and uncertainty. But as time passed, my perspective shifted. I replaced self-doubt with empowerment and determination. I realized I had reached the pay ceiling in my job and needed a degree to open new doors.
In the fall of 2003, I packed up my kids, moved two states away, and became a 30-year-old college freshman at Salish Kootenai College (SKC). I enrolled in the IT program and, in my second term, secured an internship at the SKC IT Services Department. That internship turned into a five-year journey as I worked, studied, and raised my children. In 2008, I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology and was offered a permanent position. Since then, I have served as Assistant Director, Systems Administrator, and Database Management Instructor. Today, 21 years later, I am the Operations Manager of SKC IT Services.
In the fall of 2024, I was introduced to the Indigenous Visionaries: Women’s Leadership Program at the American Indian College Fund. The program supports Indigenous women in leadership roles by focusing on mental health, communication, and personal and professional growth. At the time, my longtime supervisor had just resigned, leaving me to navigate a heavy workload and new responsibilities. The phrase “drinking from a firehose” suddenly became my reality—I was overwhelmed, drowning in information and expectations. The Indigenous Visionaries program became a lifeline. It provided me with the tools to build confidence, regain clarity, and develop strategies for balancing work and life. The discussions, support, and sense of community helped me establish boundaries to protect my mental health while thriving in my new leadership role.
Looking back, I am grateful for the so-called “wrong turns” I took. They led me to where I am today—blessed with an amazing husband, a family of seven children, and seven grandchildren. Every challenge shaped me into the leader, mentor, and advocate I have become.
If there’s one lesson I’ve learned, it’s that success doesn’t follow a straight path. Life’s obstacles may feel like roadblocks, but they can also be opportunities for growth and transformation. To anyone who feels overwhelmed or uncertain, I encourage you to take the next step—no matter how small. Seek out mentors, embrace learning opportunities, and trust in your ability to adapt and thrive. Your path may not look like anyone else’s, but that doesn’t make it wrong. It makes it yours.
