Shareholder on Track to Serve Engineering Needs of the Y-K
Charitie Uquviar Ropati with ties to Kongiganak, is a Calista Shareholder pursuing a career in engineering to serve the needs of the Y-K Region.
Ropati graduated in May from Columbia University with her bachelor’s in civil engineering on the water resources track. She is continuing her education at Columbia University and expects to graduate in December with her master’s in civil engineering.
“In my village [of Kongiganak], we still don’t have water and sewer services,” Ropati says. “After growing up in that environment, I wanted to become a civil engineer so I can work on that water infrastructure.”
Ropati is completing her degree and works as a design engineer in New York City on her path to becoming a better engineer every day, she says. She hopes to return home to Alaska in a few years.
Ropati interned with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) over the summer. She worked with Southwest Alaska communities including Atmautluak, and more communities in Northwest Alaska.
“Working on water and sewer projects in our Region over the summer reaffirmed why I even started to learn engineering,” Ropati says.
Her affinity for the Region and her family stems from her love for yuraq (traditional Central Yup’ik dance) and subsistence fishing.
“I was always taught that returning to our traditional practices like yuraq was good for your mental health,” Ropati says. “I’ve found that to be correct in my case.”
Growing up, Ropati would learn through observation. She started by watching her grandma cut the fish, and she started with the first step of cleaning the fish. Eventually her grandma showed her how to properly cut the fish.
“Most of our moms encourage us to do things that we don’t want to do, and applying to ANSEP was one of those things. It ended up being the best decision of my life.”
Charitie Uquviar Ropati, Calista Shareholder working in engineering
“You know you’ve made it to the next step when you’re learning how to cut fish from your grandma,” Ropati says. “I learned how to cut and how to make dried fish. It’s hard work, but it’s healing.”
In her growth as a student, Ropati applied and received many scholarships and experiences that helped along the way, including ANSEP, the Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program at the University of Alaska at UAA and UAF.
“The best thing I did was to join ANSEP when I was young,” Ropati says. “Most of our moms encourage us to do things that we don’t want to do, and applying to ANSEP was one of those things. It ended up being the best decision of my life.”
Ropati did not see a future for herself in science and engineering, but after participating in ANSEP she met many Native women in science and engineering. It inspired her. Ropati learned from her mom, Elizabeth Lozano, that our traditional ways of life are rooted in science and engineering.
“My mom told me ‘Your great-grandfather built houses out of wood, mud and water. He built kayaks out of driftwood and bows that can kill a walrus. Our ancestors carved the kayaks perfectly and the women sewed the seal skin on the frame,’” Ropati says. “’You were born of engineers,’ she told me. I still carry that with me every day, along with our thousands of years of knowledge. Nothing can stop us from reaching our goals.”
Ropati has nearly 15,000 followers on Instagram where she advocates for better representation of Indigenous women in the sciences and youth-led climate change solutions. She was the recipient of the World Wildlife Fund’s 2023 Conservation Leadership Award.