THEBACHA/FORT SMITH
Brittanie Gladue says her decision to pursue a career in early childhood education came suddenly.

Fort Smith's Brittanie Gladue is taking an early childhood education program at Seneca College in Toronto. - photo courtesy of Brittanie Gladue

She was sitting at her dining room table at her home in Fort Smith surrounded by her nephew and little cousins and a mountain of arts and crafts supplies.

"I think it was probably that moment where I was like, 'I think this is it,'" she said. "What you feel in your heart, you can't really put that into words. That's how I knew."

Gladue had been pursuing a career in computer science after getting accepted to a program in Seattle, Washington.

"I was going to get a degree in computer science," she said. "But the more that I took different classes in the IT (information technology) industry, I was like, 'I can't imagine waking up every day doing this for the rest of my life.'"

Gladue finished the program with a certificate in web foundations and returned to Fort Smith where she applied for the early childhood education program at Seneca College in Toronto. She moved to the city earlier this month.

To help finance her studies, she received $5,000 through the Right From the Start Early Childhood Development Scholarship Program through the Department of Education, Culture and Employment.

The two-year program at Seneca teaches participants to care for infants up to school-aged children and includes field placements.

Gladue said she already knows she made the right decision.

"A lot of people always tell me, 'you're lucky,'" she said. "A lot of people, they change their career two to four times in their lifetime."

When she finishes the program, Gladue said she hopes to return to Fort Smith and open her own early childcare program, similar to the existing NihKanis Aboriginal Head Start Program currently operating in the community.

Because childcare space is always limited, Gladue said she believes another early childcare program would be welcomed.

Her plan is ambitious, but achievable, she added.

"I want to have one that has a teacher for each room," she said. "I want four classrooms and I want a gym and a cafeteria. I want it all."

But for now, Gladue said she's just happy to be settling into her new routine in Toronto and is grateful to those who helped her get there.

"I'm so thankful for a lot of people that helped me get here," she said. "I literally just appreciate absolutely everything that everyone did to get me here."