INUVIK
The Children's First Centre has reached deep into the Far North for its newest member.

Maggie Alanak is the new infant and toddler program team leader at the Children's First Centre. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo

Maggie Alanak has signed on with the centre as its new infant and toddler program team leader, a position that's gone unfilled since the facility opened almost one year ago.

Patricia Davison, the executive director of the centre, said she was very pleased to finally fill the position with someone as qualified as Alanak.

“We are delighted to have Maggie finally filling this position,” she said. “We hadn't been able to hire someone.”

Born and raised in Ulukhaktok, Alanak has worked for years with the hamlet's child development program, putting down some strong, deep roots in the process.

“I've always been interested in working with children,” the soft-spoken Alanak said April 28 as she settled in for her first day on the job.

She said she applied for the position at the Children's First Centre in Inuvik seven months ago, but needed some time to contemplate making such a radical change in her life.

“It was a big step for me to leave my community and come here,” she said. “It was very emotional, but I had to follow my heart.”

That's because of strong family and community ties to the hamlet, where she had worked for 12 years with the child development program.

Even when she left the field for a while to take a break and pursue traditional crafting, it drew her back. Alanak, it seems, can't do without the challenge and rewards of working with children.

Luckily, she has some familiarity with Inuvik, having travelled here fairly often, and has a strong support system in the friends and family of Ulukhaktok residents who also have relocated here over the years.

“I'm really liking Inuvik,” Alanak said.

Alanak is now planning on bringing her family here to Inuvik to live, as the opportunity presents itself, and she finds housing with enough room.

She has left her husband and four sons behind, she said, but is planning on starting to move some of them here by next month to join her.

All of her children are grown now, ranging from 18 to 27 years old.

She also called it a “blessing” to work at a new, cutting-edge facility like the Children's First Centre.

“I'll be smiling all day long,” Alanak said.

Her specialty is working with children up to five years of age, which is the role she will fill with the Children's First Centre. Alanak has a certificate in Early Childhood Education to go with her years of experience.