YELLOWKNIFE - At graduation, many high school students are still figuring out what path to take in life.

For Brenda Stevenson, an 18-year-old graduate from St. Patrick's high school, the answer presented itself in posters around her school for a program called Katimavik.

Brenda Stevenson of Yellowknife is volunteering at a school in Rouyn-Noranda, Que., as part of the Katimavik program. - photo courtesy of Brenda Stevenson

After travelling with her family to California, Florida and Mexico, Stevenson was keen to discover her own country. The Katimavik program, which arranges volunteer work in three different regions of Canada, was just what she was looking for.

Stevenson joined a small group which will travel together for nine months, volunteering in three locations. Her group started out in Vermilion, Alta., where she volunteered at Lakeland College doing various jobs such as maintenance and office work.

Stevenson has learned the value of volunteer work. She says it is rewarding in that "you're helping people that really, really need it."

The group is now in Rouyn-Noranda, Que., and will move on to Nova Scotia in a few weeks. Stevenson is working at Ecole Noranda School, a job she enjoys much more than she thought she would.

"I love it so much. I've asked my project leader over and over - I don't want to leave," she said.

Aside from volunteer work, Stevenson has had chances to visit nearby communities with her group mates, whom she says are like siblings. The group also takes part in workshops, one of the more recent ones being about tolerating differences.

She says the program helps people gain different perspectives and learn about "all the different types of cultures that are brought into Canada." She says it gives people a chance to "try and become bilingual, meet new people and try a new lifestyle."

Though she misses her family and friends in Yellowknife, Stevenson is considering options for school in other parts of Canada. Her volunteer job at the school made a big impression on her.

"Working at Ecole Noranda School, I've really thought of wanting to become a teacher," she said. "That's one of my goals in my life."