First Year Experience Symposium
February 6th, 2025 – Zoom
Two Sessions February 6th, 2025: 10am-12pm and 1-3pm
Come join this 1-day virtual gathering where we will discuss topics in the First Year Experience space for both students and higher education faculty.
Morning Session with the College of Menominee Nation starting at 10:00 AM MST
Description: Dean of Student Success, Kayla Diamond, will discuss the need for a first-year experience program at CMN that honors the heritage, creates a sense of belonging and inspires success. She will discuss what is currently implemented at CMN and how they plan to create the first-year experience program with the assistance of consultant, Dr. Benjamin Rieth, from BelongingU: Rieth Strategy Solutions.
Afternoon Session with the University of South Dakota starting at 1:00 PM MST
Description: Coordinator of Native Student Services, Brooke Jackson, and Director of Native Student Services, Megan Red Shirt-Shaw, will discuss the development and continuation of first year belonging and retention programming through the division of Native Student Services at the University of South Dakota including Early Scholars Program, Iwacinyechi Peer Mentoring Program, Wiyuskinyan Unpi Tipi Living Learning Community, and the Connecting Cultures First Year Experience Course.
The first 15 registrants will receive a paperback copy of Academic Advising and the First College Year! Additional door prizes are available for all participants and attendees. Door prizes available for all participants.
Speaker Highlights
Kayla Diamond
Dean of Student Success at the College of Menominee Nation.
Kayla has worked at the College of Menominee Nation (CMN) for 10 years in various student services areas. She started as a Federal WorkStudy student in the Financial Aid Office, worked as an Academic Advisor in the Retention Department, Recruitment and Enrollment Manager in the Admissions Department, and in May 2024, accepted the Dean position after serving as interim for eight months.
She is an alumnus of CMN, receiving her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration in 2019. She received her Masters Degree in Adult, Continuing, and Higher Education Administration in 2022 from UW-Milwaukee and is currently working on her Doctorate in Higher Education Administration Leadership at Bradley University with an expected graduation date of May 2025.
She has a strong passion for helping first-generation students in higher education and strongly believes in preparing the next generation of leaders.
Brooke Jackson
Coordinator of Native Student Services at the University of South Dakota.
Brooke has worked for Native Student Services for 5 years as a Graduate Assistant and Coordinator. She is an alumni of the University of South Dakota for her Master’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and a graduate certificate in Nonprofit Management in 2022. She has a Bachelor of Science in Speech Pathology and Audiology from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2019.
During her time in these roles, she has advised students, developed culturally appropriate programming, coordinated the Wawokiya to Iwacinyechi Peer Mentoring program, and participated in the President’s Diversity Leadership Council.
Due to the work within these roles, she received the President’s Leadership Moasiac Award for Inclusive Excellence and was honored into the Students Tiospaye in 2021. She currently serves as an advisor to 5 student organizations.
Our presentation will discuss the development and continuation of first year belonging and retention programming through the division of Native Student Services at the University of South Dakota including Early Scholars Program, Iwacinyechi Peer Mentoring Program, Wiyuskinyan Unpi Tipi Living Learning Community, and the Connecting Cultures First Year Experience Course.
Megan Red Shirt-Shaw
Director of Native Student Services at the University of South Dakota.
Megan Red Shirt-Shaw (Oglala & Sicangu Lakota) is the Director of Native Student Services at the University of South Dakota and a PhD Candidate in Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development with a focus on Higher Education and a minor in American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota.
Megan earned her bachelor’s from the University of Pennsylvania in English and her master’s from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Higher Education. She has worked in undergraduate admissions, college counseling, student affairs, teaching, and advising.
In 2021 she was elected to serve a 7-year term on Harvard University’s Board of Overseers, one of two governing bodies that plays an integral role in the governance of Harvard.
