Gardipe first attended the University of Connecticut, with a field semester at the University of Wyoming, Laramie. She earned her BA in Geology from University of Connecticut., She taught for a time at Colby College. Gardipe attended graduate school at the University of New Mexico studying geography and natural resources.[2]
After earning her BA, she worked in Newport News, VA and then Washington DC, and on field mapping teams in the Southwest for the USGS.[2] After completing her graduate work, Gardipe and Bob Whitman launched and directed the Native American Program at the College of Engineering (NAPCOE) for two years,[5][6] the first program in the country for American Indian Engineers at University of New Mexico.[4] During the same time she worked with the National Research Council Committee on Minorities in Engineering.[2] In 1976, Gardipe with Al Qöyawayma, and Arnold Anderson formed the American Indian Engineering Council (AIEC).[3][4] She worked as a marine geologist at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.[7]
In 1981, she was guest speaker and was a member of the screening committee for the Science and Self-Determination program at University Colorado Boulder.[8] The aim of the program was to acquaint American Indian high school students with first hand information about careers in science and to provide academic support that would improve performance on college entrance tests so these students would be able to access to careers in science and/or math at the university level.[8]
^ abcdeWakim, Yvonne (2016). Native American Almanac: More Than 50,000 Years of the Cultures and Histories of Indigenous Peoples. UAA/UAP Consortium Library: Visible Ink Press. ISBN9781578595075.
^ abc"Our History". AISES. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
^"Native Americans Benefit from Special Math Courses". Engineering Education News. 3 (9). American Society for Engineering Education: 5. March 1977. JSTOR43885813.
