ARVIAT - One of the things Jordan Konek remembers about his first year at Humber College in Toronto was finding a way to explain to his grandparents exactly what he was doing there.

Theatre production doesn't easily translate into Inuktitut.

Jordan Konek takes a break from his theatre production program at Humber College in Toronto. - photo courtesy of Jordan Konek

"I really had to find a way to tell them what it really is and I started sending pictures to my cousin and he would show them what I was doing," Konek said. "They thought it was cool and I could be the first person in the family as a technician."

He returned to Arviat in May after completing his first year of the program, which teaches students about theatre production, including carpentry for making props and scenery and learning about lighting and sound equipment.

Konek said learning carpentry was his favourite part of the program.

"Carpentry was the best thing," he said. "I'm used to working with my grandpa doing carpentry when I'm at home, and I used to work with him every day after school when I was in high school."

Leaving his community was the biggest decision he had ever made, he added.

"It was a big change because I grew up in a small community and I never really left home because I was with my grandparents, basically," he said. "Going there was the biggest challenge I had to face in my whole life."

He said his grandparents were very concerned about him when he arrived in Toronto, where close to 5.5 million people live.

"The first few months my grandparents were like, 'Jordan, are you OK? If you're not we can pay your way back,'" he said. "I kept telling them that I should be fine and I have to face this challenge that not a lot of youth get to take."

Konek staved off homesickness by chatting with friends back home on the phone and using MSN to keep in touch.

"At first there were a lot of times where I got homesick and felt like giving up, but one thing that kept me going was the people that I chatted with on MSN (online) and the people that I called," he said.

He also said one of his former teachers in Arviat kept in contact with him and gave him confidence.

"There was one teacher, Gord Billard, who really encouraged me to keep going," he said. "He kept telling me that I could be the first person as a technician in Nunavut, so that kept me going."

Konek said he will be returning to Toronto in the fall to begin the second year of his program.