Will Newkirk is the director of the American Indian Catholic Schools Network at Alliance for Catholic Education at the University of Notre Dame.
Will’s work with the American Indian Catholic Schools Network is rooted each day in working to support Native American Catholic school educators and students. He prioritizes this especially through formation, college access/undergraduate engagement, and research—and that the intersection of these priorities can elevate the educational experience in Indigenous Catholic schools.
Will was looking for an opportunity to grow professionally in a mission-aligned program, and LMU's Ed.D. program was an ideal fit right away. Further, he was also really drawn to work with Dr. Ernesto Colin, an LMU School of Education faculty member whose research and teaching focuses on Indigenous education.
Will’s dissertation, Resurgent Education in Native American Catholic Schools: The Stories of Indigenous Educators Who Attended Boarding Schools, explored elevating the stories of Indigenous educators in Native American Catholic schools who had attended boarding schools as students. Their stories are evidence of educational resurgence currently taking place in today's Native American Catholic schools. Further, he hopes to continue this project in some manner that elevates more stories in the further to celebrate the heroic people and work in today's Indigenous Catholic schools.
Will believes that the community formed in the Ed.D. program has been one of the many gifts to support his personal/professional impact and growth. Reflecting back, it's so clear that the faculty and fellow students helped to push him in his learning and vision for transformative education. He was also diagnosed with cancer midway through his time in the program, and cannot say enough about the support he felt from both faculty and his cohort. It continues to mean so much to him.