Hi, my name is Branden Hardisty and I am 17 years old. I completed the Canadian phase of NYA back in 2016 and this year I am in the Next program. In the Next Program we stay at Algonquin Collage in Ottawa where we learn all sorts of things including construction and building. During the construction class I learned how to use tool and machines and built a dog house. We also got to learn about healthy living, nutrition and physical activity. Also in a few weeks we’ll be going to Montreal for sigh seeing before we head back to re-orientation. We have engaged as volunteer doing a service learning project, participated in fun activates around Ottawa, and competed a personal learning project which is based on our career interests. I’m really excited for my personal learning project as I am going to take Spanish lesson as it has always been a goal for me to learn another language. We also went camping which I had a great time at. The program has really helped me prepare for the next steps after high school. I am glad I got the chance to be apart of the NYA program again this year and I hope the rest of my summer goes well.