San Juan College High student earns top Navajo language honor

Amber Bizardie left San Juan College High School with more than a diploma. She became the campus’s first Navajo bilingual seal recipient at the Superior Level and finished her senior year with an Associate Degree in Business Administration through San Juan College’s dual credit program.

Her recognition matters because the Navajo Nation Seal of Bilingual Proficiency is built around measurable language skill, not symbolism alone. The Department of Diné Education says the assessment is for graduating high school seniors who can fluently read, write and speak Diné, and it is offered each spring through the Office of Standards, Curriculum, and Assessment Development at no fee to participating schools.

Bizardie’s fluency grew from a family expectation that Navajo would remain part of everyday life. San Juan College said her parents encouraged her from a young age to keep speaking the language, and she came to see those conversations as a reminder that Diné can fade if younger generations do not use it regularly. That support helped her move from speaking in fragments to speaking in full sentences, a level of confidence that carried into the seal assessment.

The honor also places her among a larger class of students across the Navajo Nation. The 2026 ceremony was held April 17 at Fire Rock Navajo Casino in Gallup, where 39 students from 16 high schools earned the seal. Bizardie was one of 11 students listed in the Superior category, and recipients received a plaque, a shawl or robe and a tablet.

For San Juan County, the value reaches beyond a single campus award. San Juan College said bilingual proficiency can strengthen college applications and professional opportunities, while helping preserve cultural identity for future generations. Bizardie said the language helped her stand out to universities, and she has encouraged other Native students to take the test.

Her profile, published June 24 by San Juan College and listed in the college’s June-July 2026 communicator archive as a June 22 item, tied that achievement to a second milestone: a college credential earned before she fully left high school. In a region where schools, families and tribal institutions all shape educational access, Bizardie’s record shows how language learning and college readiness can advance together.