At the tender young age of three, Elizabeth Bird set some life goals for herself.  Two of those goals were related to education to graduate high school with honors and to graduate from college.

She attained these goals and became the first female student from Tahlequah, Oklahoma not only to attend but to also graduate from the University of Notre Dame.  She is also the first Keetoowah Cherokee to attend this prestigious university.

She graduated with a BA degree in American Studies from Notre Dame and later continued her education by getting a BA degree in Christian Studies from Oklahoma Baptist University and a Master of Divinity degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

Founded in 1842, Notre Dame is one of the few universities to regularly rank in the top 25 in the U.S. News & World Report survey of America's best colleges and the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings of the best overall athletics programs.  Notre Dame boasts a graduation rate of 96 % of its students.  The college is located in Notre Dame, Indiana.

Notre Dame is a community rich in diversity and committed to inclusion. Students travel from around the country and the world, seeking the academic excellence for which Notre Dame is known. What they find is a place where they can learn about other cultures, beliefs, and perspectives. They find a place where they can engage with peers, be supported by mentors, and conduct research with some of the foremost scholars in the world. Students are welcomed into a community where they can come together in large group activities or find the friends and space to call their own.

Elizabeth had no trouble navigating through the student body to emerge a leader, and as a student, she served as President of the Native American Student Association of Notre Dame for two years. NASAND is a student organization devoted to promoting the awareness of the Native American presence and native issues on the Notre Dame campus, as well as providing a supportive environment for Native American students at the university.

Ms. Bird graduated as one of four Native Americans in a graduating class of 1,800 students.  She was awarded the 1991 J. Sinnot Meyers Award for Outstanding Community Service, American Studies Department, College of Arts and Letters.  She was also named a 1991 Outstanding Student of Notre Dame.

Her name is part of a permanent display naming the Outstanding Students at the LaFortune Student Center on the Notre Dame campus.  She was also named the recipient of the 2001 William D. Reynolds Award for Outstanding Work with Youth, awarded by the Notre Dame Alumni Association.

Ms. Bird continues to contribute to Native American students at her Alma Mater.  As only the fourth person to hold the position of Native American Director for the Alumni Association Board of Directors, Bird will serve a three year term.  This is a prominent position, and no one is allowed to serve but one term in their lifetime.  She represents all Native American Alumni in this position, meets with current Native students and strives to engage Native American alumni in Notre Dame clubs, and to develop Notre Dame clubs’ awareness of Native Americans and their contributions.

As a member of the NDAA Board of Directors, Bird is also a member of several committees, including the Board of Directors’ Academic Committee, the Board of Directors’ International Committee, NDAA Diversity Council, and also serves as the Chair of the NDAA Native American Alumni Diversity Board.

Some of the first year projects Bird has accomplished include implementing a new NDAA structure for diversity, reconnecting the diversity board with Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, and developing a national resource for Notre Dame clubs by creating a calendar of recurring cultural events and a list of places with Native significance for each of the 18 NDAA regions.  The unveiling of the first draft of this calendar is June 30, 2014, which significantly is the 10th anniversary of the Native American Alumni Diversity Board.

In addition to these volunteer duties, Bird works as the Self-Governance Coordinator for the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma, volunteers with the Tahlequah Area Chamber of Commerce, the City of Tahlequah Citizen Advisory Committee, the Foundation for a Fit Future for Tahlequah and Elm Tree Baptist Church.

“Having employees serve on boards such as these gives us national exposure.  It is very important to the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma that people have the opportunity to learn about our tribe, history, culture and traditions.  We have a very rich history and Elizabeth Bird does a great job promoting the Keetoowah Cherokee people in the lives of the people she comes in contact with,” said Chief George Wickliffe.

“We are so blessed to have Elizabeth serve on our Board of Directors, not only because she provides an important voice for our Native American alumni, but also for her unwavering commitment to and love for the University. Her years of work improving the lives of young people and on behalf of her tribe serve as an inspiration to her fellow Board members and all of us on staff at the Alumni Association. We could not ask for a better representative of Notre Dame’s core values,” said Dolly Duffy ’84, Executive Director, Notre Dame Alumni Association.