Stephanie Little never expected to be where she is today. After a turbulent upbringing, Little turned to drugs, causing strife with her peers and teachers. She ended up dropping out of high school, not expecting much of herself.

“When I was 17, it got to the point where my high school told me to leave. I ended up dropping out and attending an alternative high school, where I eventually graduated from and got my start,” Little said.

After receiving her associate’s degree from Bismarck State College, she continued on to Minot State University, enrolling in the social work program. Upon graduating, she completed her master’s degree from Minnesota State University. Little is currently a doctoral student at the University of South Dakota in a customized doctorate in health sciences and Master of Public Health degree program.

She is to be awarded two youth alumni achievement awards in the fall – the 2023 Bismarck State College Alumni Foundation’s Alumni Rising Star (class of 2012) award and the 2023 Minot State University Golden Award: Young Achievement Award (class of 2014).

Little now dedicates her life to academia, community service and social justice.

Of the catalyst that made her want to change her situation and decide to pursue higher education, Little said meeting her husband at 18 was a major grounding experience for her.

“After getting married, I was able to reflect and look at what I would have benefitted from and what I didn’t have when I was younger. So, I got into social work to help others in that way,” Little said.

Employed through Minot State University as an assistant professor of social work, Little has been licensed master social worker through the North Dakota Board of Social Work Examiners since 2015. After working in a hospital during the pandemic, she began volunteering as a mental health practitioner through the Emotional PPE Project to support healthcare workers impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.

“I was working at the hospital when COVID hit and we had several patients that were struggling. I was struggling a lot myself during that time. I ended up getting diagnosed with a sleep disorder and was trying to find resources for myself, and I stumbled across the ‘Emotional PPE project.’ I had a wonderful experience and a couple months later decided I wanted to help,” said Little.

Upon graduating with her master’s degree in social work, tragedy would strike her family. But Little took it as an opportunity to further help her community.

“My sister-in-law ended up getting cancer and needing a transplant. So, when I graduated, I started looking into the transplant field to see if there was anything I could do. After being in the field for a couple years, I decided to go back and get my Ph.D. so I could make more of an impact through research and higher education,” Little said.

Little’s doctorate dissertation focuses on organ transplants and the social work implications, specifically the ethics and disparities of them.

“Personally, I’m focusing on the tribal population in North Dakota. There are several committees and organizations for organ transplants, but none of them focus on Native Americans,” Little said.

In her own history, she is loosely related to Native Americans from North Dakota, and she realized it is something that needs to be researched and worked on.

She also believes North Dakota to be a remarkable place and is grateful for all it has given back to her.

“I could not ask for a better community,” she said.