Vonda Wells Is First Northern Arapaho Woman to Receive Doctorate Degree at UW |
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May 19, 2006 -- Few graduate teaching assistants bring as much practical experience to the college classroom as Vonda Wells.
As a University of Wyoming Ph.D. candidate in curriculum and instruction, Wells instructed a Human Lifespan Development course to undergraduate students as part of her assistantship. It was a course for which her educational journey and life journey had prepared her.
After earning her B.S. in elementary education (1994) from the University of Great Falls, Mont., Wells went to work for the Shoshone and Arapaho Head Start program at Fort Washakie. She served Head Start for seven years, first as a co-teacher, then as center director, and finally as education director.
In addition to her responsibilities at work and as a student, Wells has four children of her own. Daughters Kristal, Shila, and Shersa, and son Royal have always supported their mother's continuing her education.
Returning to college at UW, Wells earned her M.A. in curriculum and instruction in 2002. She then served as a Head Start Fellow in Washington, D.C.
Now set to graduate with her Ph.D. this summer, Wells says she is just as excited about her daughter Shila's graduation from Wind River High School this month. Of Northern Arapaho and Blackfeet ancestry, Wells received Sky People Higher Education scholarship support while obtaining both her bachelor's and master's degrees. The Northern Arapaho Endowment provided support to assist Wells in obtaining her doctoral degree. She is the daughter of George and Imogene Wells.
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Native Ceremony -- Vonda Wells, a University of Wyoming Ph.D. candidate in curriculum and instruction, receives a blanket from UW Trustee James Trosper during the recent UW American Indian Studies Program celebration honoring 2006 graduates and next year's scholarship recipients. (UW Photo)
Posted on Friday, May 19, 2006
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