SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
For the first time in a number of years, Behchoko students sat among a sea of Aurora College graduates, waiting to receive a certificate for completing the personal support worker program in their own community.
Sheyla Shae-Cook, 7, sits with Annette Cook during Aurora College's spring convocation ceremony May 4 at the explorer hotel. Cook, who is from Fort Good Hope, graduated from the personal support worker program. - Miranda Scotland/NNSL photo
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The 10-month course, offered at the Behchoko Community Learning Centre, was introduced recently to fill a need in the area. However, according to college president Jane Arychuk, it's only a one-time deal.
"They are the expanding the elders home out in Behchoko and the Tlicho Community Services Agency and Tlicho Government were very aware that they wanted their own people working in their own facility," Arychuk said. "So they came to us and said, 'We want to make sure we train our people.'"
The 19 graduates of the program joined other Aurora College students May 4 at the Explorer Hotel in Yellowknife to celebrate their accomplishment. With a total of 84 students participating, the spring convocation featured the largest classes to graduate from the Yellowknife North Slave Campus to date.
The numbers were higher this year, Arychuk said, partly due to the addition of the personal support worker program in Behchoko.
The increase in students forced the college to do a bit of shuffling, she added, but class sizes were still smaller than those in universities down south. Plus, Arychuk said, she doesn't expect the same instance to occur next school year.
“This is a one-off year. I think it will grow in different areas. It just depends what programs are offered.”
The batch of students featured at the convocation graduated with either a master of nursing, a bachelor of science, a social work diploma, a personal support work certificate, a business administration certificate or diploma, or a early childhood development certificate.
Representing all the classes was valedictorian Anne Mackenzie of Behchoko. To prepare for her speech, Mackenzie spoke to students in each program. Everyone had something positive to say or a funny story to tell, she said.
The nursing class was so fun and lively, a teacher once had to whistle just to get them in order, Mackenzie said. Meanwhile, the personal support worker students, she added, showed their dedication by waking up bright and early to catch a 5 a.m. bus to Yellowknife so they could get to their practicum.
For Mackenzie, the best memory of her time in the social work program was attending a week-long culture camp at the Weledeh cultural site at the Yellowknife River. At first, she was apprehensive about leaving her son, who was two years old at the time, but it turned out to be a blast, she said.
"You just get to know your instructors, your classmates and the elders in a different way and you bond," Mackenzie said, adding they went boating, fishing and trapping, among other activities."Everyone did what they could and with so much respect."
The other highlight of being at the college, Mackenzie continued, was the support she received from everyone at the institution. Her classmates would band together to help each other while the teachers were very accommodating.
The next steps for Mackenzie, who was born and raised in Behchoko but now lives in Yellowknife, will be to find a job in the city and start classes for her bachelor of social work. Unfortunately, she said she will have to finish her schooling online.
"I would really like the college to get more funding and the social work program to get more funding because I'm really passionate about getting my degree and right now there is only the diploma program so I have to go down south to finish my degree," she said. "All my family, all my friends are here. My son is here and he's going into kindergarten."
