Each student’s experience of post-secondary is unique, but there is one vital tool that everyone needs to navigate the education system and truly thrive: support.
For Selkirk College Nursing Program student Melissa Markin, one of this year’s recipients of the Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) Bird Construction/Paul and Gerri Charrette Bursary, that pivotal helping hand was extended when she met Leah Lychowyd, Selkirk College’s counsellor for Indigenous students.
Markin is Métis on her father’s side, but due to her family’s history of assimilation—her paternal grandmother was adopted into a non-Indigenous family—she grew up detached from her Métis heritage. That changed when she came to Selkirk College and was encouraged to connect with Indigenous Services for some practical help with her schedule.