Achi news desk-
A group of Cree students are graduating from a special program at John Abbott College in Saint-Anne-de-Bellevue, the third and largest cohort to complete the year-long course.
The Iyeskuwiiu to DCS Kickstarter program is a collaboration between the Cree School Board (CSB) and John Abbott College and is designed for Cree students to prepare them for post-secondary education.
“This is what we call the transition program or the DEC Springboard,” explained Kim Tekakwitha Martin, dean of Indigenous education at the college. “It’s a one-year program that helps students acquire prerequisites that they might not have had the opportunity to get in high school” due to a lack of resources, such as teachers.
This course is mainly done online in the students’ home communities in the north, so students can stay with their family and follow courses to learn more about their cultures.
“At the same time they also learn to keep up with the pace of what they will face, if they decide to continue their education at John Abbott or another CEGEP,” Tekakwitha Martin told Global News .
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The course started with 20 students and some who graduated say it was not easy. One who managed to do it was Katie Gilpin, 18 years old from Wemindji, who gave birth while taking the course.
“I would cry all the time,” she recalled. “So overwhelming. It was frustrating, too, because I had to watch the child during my classes and sometimes I couldn’t listen, and I couldn’t stay on track.”
She has not decided what she will do yet or what her next steps will be. It was difficult, too, for Christina Pachano, 25 years old from Chisasibi, who said she was thinking about giving up.
Now she has plans to continue her education, perhaps at John Abbott.
“But, I have to save some money first because it’s expensive down here,” she laughed, referring to Montreal.
One CSB official said steps are being taken to start post-secondary options for students in the communities, though.
“So there will be options for students who want to stay home to pursue a nursing program, to pursue a bachelor’s in social sciences,” he said.
Meanwhile, Pachano, the valedictorian, is very proud to have managed to complete this programme, which she believes has boosted her confidence.
& copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
