UNBC has received $200,000 in funding from the Aboriginal Service Plan this year.
The money will be split between five programs through the First Nations Centre.
One such program is ‘Spring into Transitions’, which launched last spring.
Interim assistant director Beverly Isaac says it’s targeted at students in Grade 11 and 12 from across Northern BC…
“We bring them to the university and immerse them in uni life, so they take Art 101, they stay in residence, they get to talk to faculty, staff, and students. By the end, it’s not so far fetched for them to say ‘Hey, I do want to go to post secondary.”
40 students participated, but the program was popular enough to garner a growing wait list.
Focus groups held last winter let the centre know what people thought current programs were missing.
“One of those things was elder presence,” says Isaac, “It was conversations like those that led to creating the programs that the students and community need.”
The government provided a total of $3.7 million through the Plan this year, and Isaac says it truly makes a difference.
“It creates a holistic and authentic learning opportunity for students. It creates identity and belonging. It helps in student success, and if we can be a part of that journey for them, then I think we are very fortunate.”
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