UNCP Senior Elected to National Indian Education Association Board of Directors

When Lydia Mansfield heard her name announced at the National Indian Education Association’s (NIEA) annual conference in Spokane, Washington, she wasn’t thinking about the national platform she had just earned —or even about the historic responsibility now in her hands.

She was thinking about home.

“I immediately thought about the people who shaped me,” Mansfield said. “Dr. Connie Locklear, Alaina Hunt, Richard Jones with the Indian Education program in the public school system and Dr. Leslie Locklear through NCNAYO (North Carolina Native American Youth Organization) — everyone who invested in me as a Native student. Before I even thought about what this meant for my future, I was thinking about them.”

Mansfield, a senior at UNC Pembroke majoring in American Indian Studies with a minor in Theatre Arts, was recently elected to serve as the student representative on the NIEA’s Board of Directors. The role places her among national leaders in Indigenous education and gives her a seat at the table where decisions affecting Native students across the country are made.

Mansfield is the first UNCP student in recent memory to serve on NIEA’s Board of Directors.

“Lydia will be a voice and an advocate for all tribes,” said Connie Locklear, a former NIEA board member. “She will be a voice for the Lumbee people, for college students, for Native education and for UNCP.”

For Mansfield, who grew up in Pembroke and whose family has deep roots at UNCP, the recognition is both an honor and a calling.

As the only student voice on the NIEA board, Mansfield sees her role clearly.

“A lot of people I’ll be serving with can speak from the perspective of a Native educator,” she said. “But once you’ve been away from the student experience for a long time, it’s easy to lose sight of what students are going through. I want to make sure those voices — our voices — are equally heard.”

Her connection to Native student advocacy is long-standing. In high school, she attended NCNAYO conferences and later represented the organization as Miss NCNAYO 2021–2022. At UNCP, she has continued that momentum, serving as:

• President, Hok Nosai Council
• President, All-Greek Council
• Treasurer, Native American Student Organization
• Sister, Alpha Pi Omega Sorority, Inc.
• Marketing Intern, Southeast American Indian Studies

Her work as an intern — supporting the American Indian Studies Department, the Museum of the Southeast American Indian and the Curt and Catherine Locklear American Indian Heritage Center — keeps her grounded in the legacy of Indigenous education at UNCP.

Mansfield began her college career at UNC-Chapel Hill but transferred back to UNCP after her freshman year.

“Nothing beats home,” she said. “UNCP feels like home. It’s where I was raised. It’s where I learned who I am.”

Growing up as a product of Indian Education programs, cultural classes and youth leadership organizations, she always knew she wanted to help Native students navigate their own paths.

At UNCP, Mansfield has become a central figure in the Native student community, particularly through her leadership in Alpha Pi Omega Sorority and Hok Nosai Council.

“Lydia is the epitome of a student leader,” said Francine Cummings, program coordinator with the Curt and Catherine Locklear American Indian Heritage Center.

“Her work ethic, compassion and passion for Native students shine through everything she does.

"Lydia understands the barriers our Native students face, and she is driven to be part of the change that helps more of them reach graduation.”

After graduating in May 2026, Mansfield plans to pursue a master’s degree in Indigenous education and hopes to one day serve in higher education — supporting Native students the way others supported her.

“I want to be in a position where I can help Native students succeed,” she said. “Because we deserve to be here. People sometimes assume we’re accepted just because we’re Native, but that’s not the truth. Our education is important. For so long, our education was dictated to us. Being at a place like UNCP, a university created by and for Native people, means something.”