On May 1, 2025, Hesperus, in partnership with Dell Technologies, Girls Who Game, and Freeport-McMoRan, hosted the 2nd Annual Tribal Girls Who Game Celebration at the Apache Gold Casino on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation.
This inspiring event showcased the creativity, innovation, and leadership of students from six Girls Who Game clubs across the San Carlos Apache and White Mountain Apache communities—the first such chapters ever established on Native American reservations in the United States. Participating schools included Dishchii’bikoh Community School, St. Charles Mission School, and the San Carlos Middle, Intermediate, and High Schools.
Girls Who Game, a collaborative initiative by Dell Technologies, Intel, and Microsoft, engages underserved students—especially girls—in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) through gaming. By combining digital literacy, teamwork, and creativity, the program helps students build confidence, develop technical skills, and explore STEM careers through hands-on learning experiences.
At the heart of the celebration, students presented their Minecraft worlds—digital creations that blended culture and technology while addressing real-world challenges through problem-solving and storytelling.
“The students build…in the Minecraft video game, but they add some of our culture into the game as a learning tool to educate others while they are learning themselves. I was proud of all the children on what they all accomplished.”
— Ibigail Chatlin, San Carlos Apache Intermediate School parent
Students and educators were recognized for demonstrating the program’s global competencies—Citizenship, Creativity, and Critical Thinking and Problem Solving—and were honored with awards for excellence. San Carlos High Schoolreceived the inaugural Roberta Patten Award for Innovation for its outstanding water conservation project.
“We are incredibly proud of these students and the amazing work they’ve accomplished. Girls Who Game is more than just a club; it’s a movement that empowers these young Native minds to see themselves as builders, innovators, and leaders.”
— Matt Brogdon, Executive Director of Hesperus
