Nicole Quintero of San Carlos Apache College

Nicole Quintero is a student from the White Mountain Apache Tribe. Before enrolling at San Carlos Apache College, her story was stalled in a difficult and painful chapter marked by substance abuse and addiction. Nicole’s story, however, took a marked turn, thanks to the connections she made at the Rainbow Treatment Center and San Carlos Apache College. Such growth is not easy; Nicole reflected: “To be honest, when I started my first class, I was scared. I felt like I didn’t belong. I thought I was too far behind, too damaged, too different. But every assignment I turned in, every test I passed, every class I completed, I proved myself wrong.”

Nicole put in the hard work, day-after-day towards her studies and her ongoing growth and transformation. She finished her first degree, graduating with high honors in May 2024 with a certificate in substance abuse and addiction studies. As many students do, she decided that she could keep going for an associate’s degree. She was beginning to believe she had everything in her current possession to be successful in college and even life beyond.

When the college began recruiting students for the AIHEC 2025 conference, Nicole signed up in a moment of freedom and optimism. As doubts began to creep in about her abilities and worth, she attempted to quietly bow out weeks later as the day approached. Thankfully, San Carlos Apache College staff who could see her potential talked her out of it. And good thing they did. Nicole spread her wings at AIHEC 2025, taking part on the critical inquiry team that presented on the topic of Indian boarding schools. Furthermore, Nicole was introduced to the wide world of higher education and the resources available for her as a Native American student.

It was at AIHEC 2025 that Nicole “jumped out of her nest,” as she decided she could succeed in higher education outside of her reservation. She applied and was accepted to the University of Arizona to pursue a Bachelor of Science in public health. And she enrolled last minute in their A Student’s Journey and the American Indians Into Health Professionals summer programs to increase networking opportunities and familiarize herself with the university before the fall. Beyond that, Nicole began saying yes to requests that came her way. This included a trip to Auburn, Washington, to attend the Native Women’s Leadership Symposium to share the ARROW model that San Carlos Apache College uses.

Timely external confirmation continued to come as she made these bold choices. After graduating again with high honors in May 2025 with her Associate of Arts in social work, Nicole was awarded multiple scholarships to help make the University of Arizona journey come to pass: the Education Forward Arizona Native American Scholarship with Freeport-McMoran, the Full Circle Scholarship with the American Indian College Fund, and an internal scholarship from the University of Arizona. Not only did she believe she could do it, so did the gatekeepers of higher education scholarships.

Nicole is now seeking to be a health educator at a treatment facility or any organization that has a public health focus, like a recovery center. She wants to promote self-care and holistic health, especially in the nutrition and exercise arena, sharing the valuable message that people need to learn to take care of themselves before they care for others. She hopes to take the principles and learning from her educational studies and from the Rainbow Treatment Center and place a unique Indigenous health and wellness focus on its messaging to the public. She is hoping to bring this transforming message of freedom and hope to her community on her reservation. She is still writing her unique story, and she is grateful for the place that education has played in shaping it.