Student Spotlight: Passion Sparked by Personal Story

As published in Pigeon605.com

Ariana Edwards sees a small piece of herself every day she goes to work in the field she’s convinced is where she’s meant to be.

“My own childhood was very unsteady. It wasn’t an easy task,” said Edwards, who grew up in foster care and moved around eastern South Dakota before graduating from Jefferson High School.

“But now, I get to help kiddos as they’re growing up. I can be a supporter, especially for kids who don’t have that kind of support. I can be a caregiver who cares about them as a human.”

When Edwards graduated high school in 2024, she planned to attend Southeast Technical College for nursing. The road there had started the summer after her junior year, when she met her mentor — Sioux Falls School District board member Dawn Marie Johnson — through Tamien Dysart and his Leaders of Tomorrow program.

“My junior year, I was just going through a lot, and he changed my life forever. He helped me become who I became as an adult and really shaped me, and then I met with Dawn Marie, and she got me involved in things,” Edwards said.

“I was this kid who was in a bad place. I was grieving a lot of people, and I was a kid who didn’t know if she deserved to have an education. I didn’t even think I was going to make it to graduation. But with their guidance, I really honed in on studying. I knew I had to focus on being there for me.”

Through her mentor’s encouragement, she not only applied at Southeast Tech but also was awarded a full-ride Build Dakota Scholarship.

“I was always put last. If you didn’t have good-enough grades and didn’t want to stand up for yourself or have a voice, you were put last. I was so stressed out, and my life was so broken I didn’t have good grades and I didn’t talk to a ton of people,” Edwards said.

“Dawn Marie got me into a positive mindset, but I still didn’t think there was any way I’d get a Build Dakota Scholarship. I probably bawled for two hours when I did because it was the huge for me. That’s more than a full ride. I got picked first for once. I got to use my own voice and navigate a new, different kind of chapter.”

As she started college, though, her first path proved not exactly the right fit.

“I originally went for nursing, and in January when I did my test for it, I was off by a point,” she said. “But it switched in me to where I wanted to do early childhood education. It’s always been in my heart, so I said let’s give it a whirl.”

At Southeast Tech’s early childhood education program, “I love it,” she said.

“I love the professors and how they teach the program. It’s so fascinating to learn about kids — brain development and where they’re at socially and what we can do to help them. It’s a really cool field to be in, and I’ve absolutely adored my first semester. I love all my classmates. We all get along and are really close.”

The program prepares students to work with children from birth to age 8, overseeing their emotional, physical, cognitive and social development. A full-time or part-time degree program allows for earning an associate degree while balancing work, family and education, including with flexible evening classes.

Students enjoy hands-on training and industry-relevant coursework to prepare them for high-demand roles in child care centers, preschools and other early learning environments.

For Edwards, her full-ride Build Dakota Scholarship was sponsored by Gimme-A-Break in Sioux Falls, where she’s already working part time and will join the team full time for at least a three-year commitment.

“It’s a great program,” she said. “It’s smaller, and I adore the staff there. They’re so great, and the kids are so fun to be around,” she said.

“I’ve learned that when life gets tough, good things will happen later on and you’ve got to keep pushing. It’s like: ‘You can do this, Ariana. You are made to be here in this moment.'”

Her exposure to the field already has her thinking bigger.

“I would like to be an owner of a center or an early childhood advocate on the policy side of things because we need people who will speak up, including for the people who work endlessly hard for kids and understand what we need,” she said.

She also encourages others considering the field to be open to the opportunity.

“In early childhood, we’re a community. If you want a community and want to work with kids and maybe don’t want to do elementary or middle school, early childhood is a good place to start,” she said. “So far, I love it. If you have a heart to help kids and make an impact or you have a little kid inside you who wants to be a mentor or support, it’s a great program. I’m inspired and learn something new every day.”

Learn More: Early Childhood Program   Learn More: Build Dakota Scholarship