Sanikiluaq/Toronto (July 24/06) - At the tender age of 16, Sanikiluaq native Jesse Fraser already has a wealth of television experience, none more difficult than reporting live from the middle of a hurricane.

Fraser was in a school in Cozumel, Mexico filming a segment for the Aboriginal Peoples' Television Network show Road Scholar when Hurricane Emily slammed into the Yucatan Peninsula in July 2005.

Jesse Fraser, left, of Sanikiluaq and Matt Bernard of Toronto will co-host The Link on APTN starting in October. At 16, The Link is Fraser's second TV show. - photo courtesy of Rob Waymen

After doing a live "hit" for APTN, Fraser, along with 120 students and staff, were put into a "bunker" to wait out the storm.

That made her return to Sanikiluaq last summer all the more emotional.

"I called my dad and I just started bawling," Fraser said from Toronto. The tears flowed again when she got off the plane in Sanikiluaq.

Fraser is now getting ready for her second television show on APTN, to be filmed from the much safer environment of a Toronto television studio.

Fresh from shooting a segment on the inuksuk in front of Ontario Place, Fraser's soft voice is at times barely audible over a scratchy line.

The Link attempts to connect aboriginal youth across the country to one another and their culture. Each show carries a theme linked though music videos by aboriginal artists, plus content submitted by viewers. And prizes, naturally. "I know a lot of cultures are starting to die off and that's not good for future generations," Fraser said.

The Link explores cultural issues through its two hosts. Matt Bernard, who's from Toronto and is of Metis extraction, isn't connected to his culture but learns from other Metis, constantly firing off jokes in the process, says the show's producer, broadcast veteran Jane Hawtin.

"Matt talks a blue streak," she says, while Fraser plays the proverbial straight man.

Fraser applied to be on Road Scholar by mail, and was at first overwhelmed by the sheer size of Toronto, but found television a natural fit. She loves to tell the rest of Canada about Nunavut and Inuit. "I just feel confident in front of the camera," she said.

Fraser will film 65 episodes of The Link before returning home to Sanikiluaq to go to school in the fall.

The Link debuts Oct. 2 on APTN.