Transition program prepares Northern youth for college

Northern youth from the Fort Providence cohort participate in virtual learning sessions

Over the spring and summer, 20 Indigenous students in Canada’s North have been taking part in a unique 4-month transition program designed to prepare them for further education this fall at Camosun College in Victoria. Camosun’s program started in March and runs for 16 weeks until the end of this month.

“We’re working with our partners to create a pathway for our learners to prepare themselves for face to face learning at Camosun College in Victoria, and to provide support for their transition that meets their educational and cultural needs,” explains Richard Stride, Dean of Camosun’s Centre for Sport and Exercise Education. “Our aim is to realise the shared goals of our partners and that’s about creating opportunities for students as they pursue their educational goals.”

The partnership is led by Northern Compass and is a collaboration between Camosun College, Northern Youth Aboard and Northern Loco—a local organization in Fort Providence, Northwest Territories. The aim is to prepare Indigenous students from the North who have graduated high school to pursue educational opportunities in other parts of Canada. The program was designed with a focus on supporting learners to pursue exercise and wellness studies, with courses delivered virtually including lectures, science labs, and fitness classes across a range of subjects such as math, biology, exercise science and English.

“I think working academically is pretty important so that you can change your life, and eventually change other people’s lives.  And this leads to more opportunities once you achieve the academic work,” explains William, a student in the program, on what interested him in joining. In the future, William aims to: “go to school academically, join an intramural sport and return to the North to start a program in soccer.”

Individual students are participating from many different communities throughout the North, with a small cohort of students participating as a group from the community of Fort Providence. Online classes have been scheduled to address multiple time zones and other remote learning challenges. Onsite resources in Fort Providence are available to support educational, social and cultural needs.

Upon completion, students will have the option to transition to on-campus learning in Camosun’s new kinesiology diploma program in September 2021.  A few students in the program have now applied to start the kinesiology diploma program in Fall 2021, with approximately 10 students finding other programs at Camosun that have engaged their interest – including applications to Trades programming, Engineering, Criminal Justice, Indigenous Studies and Sport Management – with goals to start their studies in Fall 2021.

Camosun College is committed to delivering on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 calls to action. This program is part of the commitment to advance educational opportunities for Indigenous youth and support their success in ways that are culturally appropriate and supportive.