File Photo by Hunter Fore/Cronkite News: The Arizona State University Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation is located on Fillmore and Third Streets. ASU is planning to build a new medical school in downtown Phoenix.
Arizona State University student Jonah Holiday is on a mission to bring quality pediatric care home to the Navajo Nation. A member of the Navajo tribe himself, Holiday grew up in Tuba City, Arizona, and developed a passion for medicine and serving his community from a young age. Now a junior at ASU majoring in medical studies, he aspires to become a pediatrician caring for Navajo children – carrying on his family’s legacy of service and promoting health at the intersection of Western and traditional medicine.
Jonah Holiday is pursuing one of the highest paid nursing career paths – pediatrics – with dreams of serving children in the Navajo Nation. Following his family’s footsteps of service and drawing from his experiences in the community, Holiday aims to address healthcare gaps and promote wellness through his studies, research, and future pediatric practice.
Holiday’s commitment to his goals shines through his academics, extracurriculars, and early medical experiences. As he progresses on the path to medical school, he remains grounded in his cultural roots while expanding his perspectives and opportunities.
Following in Giant Footsteps
Holiday traces his inspiration to help his community partly to his late grandmother, who worked for years as a nurse specializing in diabetes education for Navajo patients. “Her stories of how she would bring hope to completely lost patients were always something that captivated me as a child,” said Holiday. His parents, ASU alums, also set an example of serving the Navajo Nation through their public health and administration careers.
Beyond his family, Holiday finds inspiration in the physician shortage within the Navajo tribe and other indigenous communities. He aims to provide medical care and bridge cultural gaps between Western medicine and traditional Native healing practices. “With my background on the reservation, I can bridge the gap between the Navajo culture and Western medicine,” Holiday explained. He believes his insider perspective allows him to build trust and implement effective interventions.
Getting a Head Start on Hands-On Experience
In addition to his coursework, Holiday is gaining relevant experience through healthcare research opportunities. As part of the Native American Summer Research Internship program, Holiday contributed to a University of Utah study on pediatric burn treatment in low-income nations. He examined risk factors and complications facing under-resourced healthcare systems through literature reviews and data analysis.
Holiday connected the research directly back to his goal of serving indigenous communities. “I feel like this kind of study about middle- to poor-income communities could be translational and applicable to figuring out how I can implement what I learn in projects and programs in the Navajo community,” he said. The internship also allowed Holiday to present his work at the 2022 Society for Advancing Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) conference.
Serving as a Student Leader
Alongside his academics, Holiday holds leadership roles that allow him to promote cultural awareness and educational access. As Mr. Indigenous ASU for 2022-2023, he attends community events as a university representative focused on empowering other Native American youth. “It’s cool to be able to represent my community and ASU and promote advocacy and education for Native American students,” said Holiday. With experience in leadership, he can also drive healthcare to a positive side in his native town.
Additionally, Holiday works as a teaching assistant with ASU’s American Indian Student Support Services office. He helps develop resources for Native students and plans professional events to support their career readiness. The holiday gives back to the community that shaped him through these initiatives while exemplifying ASU’s commitment to educational equity.
Envisioning His Homecoming
With plans to attend medical school in Arizona or Utah after earning his undergraduate degree, Holiday keeps his eyes on the prize – returning home as a pediatrician to care for Navajo children. He combines his ancestral roots with the knowledge he gains at ASU to envision a career promoting family health, preventative care, and cross-cultural understanding.
Just as his late grandmother and ASU-alum parents showed him the spirit of service, Holiday aims to uplift future generations through healthcare leadership. By pursuing his dreams with purpose and pride in his heritage, Holiday brings this vision into more explicit focus daily. Moreover, he aims to ensure the reach of pediatric nursing care to every needy person in his hometown and revolutionize healthcare conditions for good.
