N4WPP Water Symposium

Four Corners area high school students are invited to help solve some of the most important water challenges in New Mexico and across the Navajo Nation.

November 15, 2024

Diné College, Shiprock Campus
1228 Yucca Dr, Shiprock, NM 87420

register your team

Compete as a team to win fun prizes.
Create a name for your school among other competing schools.
Collect swag from government agencies and industry leaders.

Present your college research to high school students.
Bring your families to participate in fun activities.
Learn how you can become a leader in water resources.

What is the N4WPP Water Symposium?

Thank you for participating in our third N⁴WPP Water Challenge. N⁴WPP is the Navajo Tech - New Mexico Tech - Navajo Nation Water Purification Project. Navajo Technical University (NTU) and New Mexico Tech (NMT) have partnered to bring education and research opportunities for NTU and NMT students in a project with a long term goal of providing clean drinking water to the Navajo Nation. This partnership also strives to bring STEM projects to high school students to foster the growth of the next generation of hydrologists, water resource and civil engineers, and community planners and leaders. If you are interested in learning more about the N⁴WPP research project, please see our website (https://www.nmt.edu/restore/).

9/1/24 - Registration opens. Pre-challenge and study materials are available on the symposium website.

10/1/24 - Last day to register your teams. Please give us time to plan for shirts, lunches and awesome prizes by registering by this deadline.

11/1/24 - Last day to submit pre-challenge materials. Our judges will need time to grade and award points.

11/15/24 - Symposium at Diné College in Shiprock.

AGENDA

8:30am - 9:15am	Registation, shirts
9:15am - 9:30am	Welcome
9:30am - 11:30am	Filter Building Contest
11:30am - noon	Hydrology Quiz (Kahoot)
12:00pm - 1:00pm	Lunch, Booths, Posters
1:00pm - 1:30pm	Keynote
1:30pm - 2:00pm	Prize Ceremony

School Water Challenge

Challenge Details

This symposium consists of five different activities that the students can complete to earn points. The students will need to form teams of four or less and stay with that team for all five events (so they should pick a team name they will remember). Each activity is optional, but the team with the highest overall points will get to select prizes first, the second place team next, etc.

Click on the challenges below (in red text) to download the activity.

Pre-Challenge Activity	Collect a Sample	70 points
	Measure Water Quality	130 points
	Online Aquifer Model	100 points
Symposium Activity	Filter Contest	200 points
Symposium Activity	Hydrology Quiz	100 points
Total possible		600 points

School/Team Registration

Team Registration Deadline: October 1, 2024

If you plan on attending as a spectator, please sign up in advance so that we can estimate the number of lunches and handouts to have ready.

Spectator Registration

Keynote

Dwight Witherspoon

We are pleased to announce that Dwight Witherspoon will be our keynote speaker. Mr. Witherspoon is a water rights attorney for the Navajo Nation Department of Justice.

I am a member of the Navajo Nation. I am of the Ta’chiinii (Red Running into the Water) Clan and born for the Bilagana people (England and Northern European). My maternal grandfather is of the Bit’ah’nii (Leaf) Clan and my paternal grandfather is of the Scottish people.
I graduated from Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law in May of 2022 with a Certificate in Indian Law after serving 2 terms or 8 years on the Navajo Nation Council. This public service led to my interest in water rights. After passing the State Bar and the Navajo Bar, I started working for the Navajo Nation Department of Justice in November of 2022 in the Human Services Government Unit. After working in HSGU for ten months, I was able to transfer to the Water Rights Unit in October of 2023.

Vendors

We are looking for industry partners to join our symposium and share their work with college and high school students. Please join us by signing up below. The event is free for vendors.

VENDOR REGISTRATION

College Poster Session

Students attending universities from around New Mexico and the Navajo Nation will present posters describing their work in the research field of water resources.

If you are a student interested in presenting a poster, please fill out the following form below to submit an abstract.

Submit an abstract

Prizes Available

Prizes such as keyboards, headphones, hoodies, etc will be available to participants of the Water Challenge. The team with the highest overall score will be allowed to select their prizes first, then the second place team will be allowed to select their prize, and so on until we run out of prizes.

The winners in each category will be announced during our Reception and Awards Ceremony. Sponsors, industry partners, and colleges will have booths to share opportunities for students as well as provide information.

Event Flyer

Contact Info

Laila Sturgis - laila.sturgis@nmt.edu New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources. Aquifer Mapping Program Manager