Living in her truth
Graduating senior Ariella Gaughan is learning and leading by example
By Jonathan Riggs | June 13, 2023
Ariella Gaughan (Chickasaw Nation) was so unsure what she wanted to do or even why she was going to school in the first place that she dropped out of junior college after her first semester.
To help her gain job skills and time to think, her father suggested she go to a trade school. And so Gaughan enrolled in a paralegal certificate program that changed her life.
“In less than a month I knew I wanted to go into law because I found all aspects of it fascinating—I felt like I could enter this profession where I could continue to learn forever,” said Gaughan, who went on to work as a paralegal for nearly a year in her hometown of Sonora, Calif. “I also liked meeting clients, learning about their experiences and helping them. It is a very rewarding feeling to help people accomplish their goals or navigate the complex legal system.”
Returning to junior college and completing it with renewed purpose, Gaughan next set her sights on transferring to UCLA. Majoring in political science major and minoring in community engagement, she was able to discover the academic focus most personally meaningful to her: tribal law.
“My major has helped me understand how to navigate the power dynamics and structures that govern our world, while my minor has allowed me to work closely with the people and organizations I care most about,” she said. “That includes gaining experience working with Native American community organizations and advocates in Los Angeles, which has allowed me to make a positive impact now instead of waiting until I complete law school.”
Her impact has been felt on and off campus alike. In addition to interning at the Chickasaw Nation Department of Culture and Humanities as well as the Tribal Law and Policy Institute, Gaughan has served as the director of sustainability for the UCLA Undergraduate Students Association Council’s community service commission, a program coordinator for the nonprofit Commission on Voluntary Service and Action and a student speaker for Bruin Day.
She was also accepted into the UCLA Law Fellows Program, an academic and professional pipeline for high-potential undergraduate and graduate students to gain mentorship, opportunities and experience as they move toward careers in law. Before she goes to law school, however, Gaughan is planning to earn her master’s in American Indian studies at UCLA.
“I want to help my community in a greater capacity as well as continue the work I am doing with my L.A. Native community, whom I have come to love as family,” she said. “My UCLA College experience has taught me that I can do anything I set my mind to, especially when surrounded by a supportive community.”
As she looks ahead to graduation, Gaughan feels more connected than ever to her overarching mission to focus on protecting two of the things she is most passionate about.
“What inspires me the most about my field is to be fighting for Native American and environmental rights, which is what all of my ancestors have done before me,” she said. “I am proud to pursue a career that honors the warriors’, protectors’ and leaders’ sacrifices to get me here. To uplift their stories while celebrating their work and integrating it into my own for my descendants is the true meaning of sustainability.
“At times it feels daunting to address generations of trauma and a handful of some of the most powerful companies who cause so much environmental harm, and my academic pursuits can seem overwhelming,” Gaughan concludes. “But I always remember the words a special mentor, Gary Farmer from ‘Reservation Dogs,’ once asked me, ‘Are you living in your truth, young lady?’ And to that, I can proudly say that I am today.”
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