Isaiah Pashano of Tohono O’odham Community College

Growing up in the villages of Walpi and Sichomovi in the Hopi lands, Isaiah Pashano (Hopi) learned about life from his 12 older siblings and his family’s cattle and other animals. He played music and sports in high school, eventually bringing these skills to TOCC, where he formed a band with fellow students and ran cross country.

In 2024-2025, to enrich his science studies, Isaiah worked as a research assistant on Ma:cig Oidag, the Learning Garden, at TOCC’s main campus. It is a garden also known as the TOCC Living Laboratory. This project, which was funded by the National Science Foundation, channeled water and increased native plants on campus.

Clearly a person with many interests, Isaiah seeks a career working with animals. He is pursuing an Associate of Science degree in life science and plans to transfer to a state university to follow his dream. Isaiah received TOCC’s student of the year recognition at the 2025 AIHEC Student Conference in Rapid City, South Dakota.