![Headshot of Charity Ropati, senior engineering department](https://sotp.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Charitie-Ropati-1200x738.jpg)
Charity Ropati, who is Yup'ik and Samoan, uses her engineering education from Columbia University to improve Indigenous communities through her work and research. Her focus on impacting the community through her Indigenous work dates back to her 2019 year within the Anchorage, Alaska, school district. Her commitment to providing a comprehensive and inclusive curriculum on Indigenous peoples led to a policy allowing students to wear cultural dress at graduation ceremonies, including the traditional candy she lei celebrated by Ropati. It was approved.
Just this winter 2023 World Wildlife Fund Conservation Leadership Awardgave a keynote speech. United Nations Economic and Social Council Plenary Session He then spoke on the theme of eradicating poverty in times of multiple crises.
As co-founder of the non-profit lilnativegirlinSTEM, Ropati is dedicated to advancing equality in STEM for Indigenous women. She is also a frequent contributor to the Aspen Institute's Higher Education Climate Action Task Force. This task force is an initiative focused on enabling higher education to take action on climate change. Ropati partners with the Native American Youth Center to bring Indigenous education to the forefront of the climate change conversation. Her various contributions have been recognized by publications such as the Malala Fund and Teen Vogue, and she has received national recognition, including being named a Future Rising Fellow for Girls Rising in 2023.
4th year student majoring in Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics columbia engineering, Ropati researches water infrastructure and how to build systems that are resilient in the face of climate change. She is grateful for the support she receives in Colombia. Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, which allowed me to explore the most important topics.
![Ropati's graduation photo wearing a traditional Yup'ik headdress created by artist Gorga Oscar. Credit: Charity Ropati](https://sotp.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Charitie-Ropati-in-headdress-650x424.jpg)
![Ropati's graduation photo wearing a traditional Yup'ik headdress created by artist Gorga Oscar. Credit: Charity Ropati](https://sotp.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Charitie-Ropati-in-headdress-650x424.jpg)
Expressing her gratitude to her colleagues and students in the department, she said: “We really care about ensuring that the engineering we do is for humanity and for the community.”
“What I have seen and learned is that local knowledge, especially indigenous knowledge, is valuable when considering infrastructure, construction and engineering solutions.”
– Charity Ropati
Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, Year 24
Her mission to uplift and support Indigenous communities continued by combining Indigenous culture with climate and infrastructure research. In 2021, Ropati interned in her next lab. kevin griffin in Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory The project helped her connect her Alaskan roots with the cultures of indigenous peoples along the coast as she studied the ecology of plants in the Arctic. By simulating the effects of climate change, the lab was able to study how plants respond to changes in the environment, particularly increases in soil fertility. This shows that the nitrogen present in the soil is increasing, indicating that a change is occurring.
„Growing up, we have been taught that the growth of willows indicates where profound change has occurred and is a sign of a new season. Our research shows that as Native people we have always It reaffirmed what I knew,” Ropati said, crediting her faculty and professors for supporting her research interests coupled with her identity as an Alaska Native woman. „Doing this research means a lot to me because it allows me to intertwine what her grandmother taught me with the work we do here in the lab at Columbia University.“
Her research and cultural connections have expanded her influence; columbia climate school Earth Network is a program that supports interdisciplinary collaboration and fosters new approaches to climate research and education across Colombia. In addition to climate research, Ropati is a 4,000-acre laboratory that examines how physical, biological, and human systems interact with the environment to better understand conservation avenues. A Harvard student he conducts research at Forest.
As she wraps up her final semester at Columbia University this spring, Ropati reflects on how her education has had a profound impact on how she navigates the connections between STEM, climate change, and indigenous cultures. I am. „When we think about building infrastructure, how do we make sure the community has a say in what we're doing?“ Ropati said. „What I've seen and learned is that local knowledge, especially Indigenous knowledge, is valuable when thinking about infrastructure, construction and engineering solutions.“
When asked what advice he would give to current and prospective students, Ropati said, „Don't just think technically about the work we do, but also think about the impact of our work on society.'' I encourage you to think.