Winter commencement will be a historic occasion both for North Dakota State and Judi Simley, a member of the Turtle Mountain Ojibwe tribe and the first Native American woman to graduate from NDSU with a master’s degree in software engineering.

Simley was also the first Native American to receive a bachelor’s degree in management information systems from NDSU.

Further, Simley is the first in her family to pursue any form of higher education.

“My mom is probably crying right now, because I just called to tell her that I successfully defended my thesis,” Simley said.

Teaching her mother how to use technology provided Simley with part of the inspiration to pursue a further degree.

“I was in a social job, but it wasn’t intellectually fulfilling,” Simley said. “When I saw my mom’s eyes light up as I taught her, I knew I wanted to do more in the field of technology.”

Simley works full time for Tech Mahindra, which provides software services and telecommunications consulting, in addition to pursuing her studies, raising her children, aged ten, eight and two and occasionally helping her husband, who works in construction management.

“So I have four jobs,” Simley commented with a laugh. “I’m just graduating from one of them now.”

Simley has been recognized in the past for her accomplishments, and received acknowledgement as a student of the year in the Masters of Success program.

Simley attributes her success to her drive to succeed.

“I’m willing to be a path creator, not a path follower,” Simley said.

“I’ve always been the outlier,” Simley noted in regards to her studies. “Even when I applied to college, nobody I knew had done it, and so I had to be self-starting to figure it out and to pursue my studies.”

Simley recognizes the significance of her accomplishments and her status as a pioneer of sorts.

“I want to be an inspiration to my children, and to members of my tribe, to lead by example and show them what they can do,” Simley said.

Simley will wear a hawk feather attached to her tassel in recognition of her heritage when she graduates.

“I wanted to wear my traditional regalia along with a hood and cap to graduate, but Registration and Records told me I needed to wear a gown on top,” Simley said. “Which seems a bit ridiculous since members of the clergy and military can graduate without a gown over their regalia, even though their degrees are unrelated to their status as members of the clergy or military.”

While policies currently don’t allow Simley to graduate in her traditional regalia even though they allow for members of the clergy and military, after being made aware of the situation and its historic nature, it seems the university will take the issue under consideration.

“It’s not like I’m an average student who wants to wear a costume,” Simley said. “I am the first Native American woman to graduate from NDSU with this honor, and I want to recognize that with my dress when I walk across the platform.”

NDSU media spokesperson Sadie Rudolph said the university was looking further into the matter.