Peter Thais '25 (Kanien:keha'ka/Mohawk)
Undergraduate Student,
Peter Thais (Kanien:keha'ka/Mohawk) is a senior studying Biological Engineering with a minor in American Indian and Indigenous Studies in CALS. He is the Co-President for the Cornell American Indian Science and Engineering Society Chapter (AISES), the Internal Relations Chair of the undergraduate student organization Native American Indigenous Students at Cornell (NAISAC), and the National U.S. Student Representative of AISES. His work with AISES includes student-led sessions on leadership and Indigeneity within STEM career paths and is a lead organizer of the Spring 2024 Region 6 AISES conference hosted by the Cornell chapter.
""It can be difficult to adjust to the academic rigors at a prestigious university like Cornell. However, AIISP has offered me the necessary support and sense of community that have helped me to thrive and excel. Specifically, the Akwe:kon Program House has provided an Indigenous space on campus where I feel most comfortable.”"
Peter was named Student of the Year by the Native Scholars Forward Fund, was selected to sit on the Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council, serves as a Student Ambassador for the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program at Cornell and is a lead student coordinator of the peer-to-peer Native American and Indigenous Mentorship Program (NAIMP). He was inducted into the McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program in his sophomore year. In the summer of 2023 he was a research assistant in the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering in the Charles Lab run by Michael Charles (Dine/Navajo) studying the effects of dispossession on Indigenous food systems that benefited Land Grant Universities.
Peter plans on pursuing a Ph.D in Environmental Engineering with a research focus on the role of traditional knowledge in climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.
Interests
Biological Engineering (Major)
American Indian and Indigenous Studies (Minor)
Environment and Sustainability (Minor)
Awards & Honors
- 2024 Ron La France Memorial Award - Presented by the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program
- 2024 American Indian Science & Engineering Award - Presented by the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program
- 2024 Akwe:kon Leadership Award - Presented by Akwe:kon Program House
- 2023 Undergraduate Excellence in Leadership Award - Presented by Cornell Engineering, Cornell Tech, and Cornell Bowers Computing & Information Science
- 2022 - 2023 McNair Scholar - McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement Program
- 2022 Student of the Year - Presented by the Native Scholars Forward Fund
- 2021 Coca-Cola Scholar - Presented by the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation
- 2021 Tewaaraton Native American Scholarship - Tewaaraton Foundation, USA Lacrosse
Contact Information
nationalstudentreps [at] aises.org