“My goal when I first started at NAU was just to graduate,” says Cheyenne Pettigrew, ’26. “Even if it was the minimum, I just wanted to pass my classes and earn my degree.”
In spring 2026, Pettigrew graduated with a 4.0 GPA, honors recognition, and the College of Education’s Outstanding Senior Award.
A member of the Navajo Nation from Shiprock, New Mexico, Pettigrew spent several years working after high school before deciding to pursue a college degree. Encouraged by her mother, a longtime educator, she enrolled in NAU’s College of Education to study elementary education and follow a passion she discovered while helping raise and teach her nieces and nephews.
Pettigrew credits donor-funded scholarships through the NAU Foundation with helping make her success possible.
During her time at NAU, she received six donor-funded scholarships totaling nearly $10,000. The support eased the financial burden of college, allowing her to focus on coursework, student teaching, and preparation for a career in education.
“Scholarships allowed me to focus on my studies and showed me that I could be successful,” Pettigrew says.
The support also provided something equally important: confidence.
“People who had never even met me were willing to support me, invest in my future, and actually believed in me,” she says. “That gave me a lot of motivation to do as well as I did.”
In March 2025, Pettigrew’s mother passed away unexpectedly. While grieving the loss and considering what came next, she found unwavering support from faculty and staff in the College of Education, who helped her stay on track toward graduation.
“Seeing how much they cared and hearing their words of encouragement really helped me realize this was the right place for me,” she says. “They found ways for me to complete the semester no matter what it took.”
The experience reinforced the kind of educator Pettigrew hopes to become.
Pettigrew, who completed her student teaching placement with a fourth-grade class at Leupp Elementary School on the Navajo Nation, says she aims to create the same kind of welcoming, supportive environment that her professors created for her.
“I want every child to feel safe and know they can depend on me,” she says. “The way my professors made me feel at NAU is how I want my students to feel.”
As she begins her teaching career, Pettigrew hopes to help shape the next generation of leaders while creating classrooms where students feel seen, valued, and believed in.
“I want donors to know that their support goes beyond financial assistance,” she says. “Just knowing there are people out there rooting for you makes a difference.”
