Hey y’all!!

 My name is Kayden Mercer, I am 17 years old and have lived in my community of Rankin Inlet, Nunavut my whole life. I will be going into grade 12, but have taken some grade 12 courses during grade 11. My territory of Nunavut is the territory found furthest east. It was established as of April 1, 1999 through negotiation, and negotiation alone. I personally found it pretty remarkable when I heard that my elders fought for, and won the right to own the worlds largest jurisdiction against the Canadian government, and did it without shedding a single ounce of blood throughout the process of negotiation! I decided to participate in Northern Youth Abroad because I feel this program will help me gain the attributes and traits that will guide me to become a better, more well-rounded human being, such as being more verbally and socially involved/engaged, as well as being more persistent and morally motivated when I am faced with a difficult task or duty that I do not want to do or feel reluctant to complete.

This summer, I have been placed in New Hamburg, Ontario with my placement buddy Preston. Preston is a really great, lovable character who is always filled with joy and enthusiasm. He is the type of guy you want around when you are in a bad mood as he always finds ways to lighten up your day. All good reviews in terms of my placement buddy!

When Preston and I first got onto the train leaving Ottawa, we both came to the conclusion that this was going to be our first time travelling on a train. We were both pretty nervous the whole ride through and a little (really!!) sad about leaving the other participants behind but I think we did a pretty good job comforting each other. When we got on our second train going from Toronto to Kitchener (our first time travelling alone on train), one of the conductors welcomed us with open arms and made us feel a lot more comfortable about the situation we were in. He was a really nice man and was really interested in where we were from.

When we arrived in Kitchener, we had no trouble locating Barb, Alan and William. They took us under their wing and made us feel like one of their blood related sons. It was honestly one of the most comfortable feelings when they gave us a bike tour around the town of New Hamburg, that was the exact moment I knew I was going to have one of the best summers I possibly could have; not to mention, if their house was a hotel, I would also give 5 stars!! I can’t say enough great things about my host family, they will always hold a special place in my heart long after I wrap up this program.

Overall, I am very happy with my stay in New Hamburg, and I am really enjoying my work placement as well. All the people I’ve met so far at my work placement have been really curious and have been asking a lot of questions about my culture and background, which I really enjoy. In terms of culture, I would say that I haven’t felt too much of a culture shock yet, everything’s been a little different but the same concept applies as in if you get what you give to other people.

Everything is going great for me this summer! I am really thankful I have had the chance to participate in this program. See y’all soon   

Hi, my name is Blaire Nakoolak. I am 21 years old and I am from Coral Harbour, Nunavut. This summer, I travelled to Ottawa to participate in Northern Youth Abroad to gain more experience

I have been in Stittsville with my placement buddy named Verna Kalluk and my host family Christine and Jon Maxwell with their kids Sadie, Everlee and Poppy. I am glad I was able to be with them while staying in Ottawa for orientation. I got to go to Flying Squirrel Trampoline Park and Funhaven to play games, which was fun

This is my first time away from home without any of my family members and this is the furthest I travelled far away from home. I am so homesick and I am starting to feel the effects of it but I am trying to keep myself busy so I won’t be in my room all day. I wish I was home right now to be with my family and my grandma. I am missing my parents, nephew, siblings and grandma so much.

I work at a place called Pottery Playhouse. I assist the supervisor by working with the kids, helping them with anything they need. I also go to the park with the kids and supervisor. There is another staff, her name is Rebecca. She also helps with the kids in the afternoon

Hello everyone,

My name is Preston Manuel and I’m a participant with Northern Youth Abroad. I am from Norman Wells, Northwest Territories, which is near a part of the Mackenzie River, one of the largest rivers in Canada. I was accepted in 2021-2022 and was an alternative until June 3, when I got an email from NYA that they had a position for me, which I accepted. This is a great possibility for my future and it’s teaching me what it’s like in the south, to both work and live there. Although it was hard for me to leave my family, I know that Norman Wells is still the same place with the same people, but this was new for me.

When I was travelling through Yellowknife I met an old friend, which it made me feel a little better. I also met Sunshine and Shavonna, who were great people and made me feel better. But at the hotel, when I was alone, I wanted to go back home. I missed everyone, so I kept watching stuff on my phone and only got a little amount of sleep that day and the day before. I had a great time with my brothers and parents and grandparents but I needed this, so I can be a better person in the future.

So, I focused on the present and after that we got to meet the other participants in Ottawa, including Kayden, my placement buddy, he is a great man if I do say so myself. The four days at orientation were the best time of my life, having fun with the others. In the boys’ cabins the last night we watched some movie, which I fell asleep during because of how boring the movie was, it was still a good movie though. The next day we stayed at a hotel and I took a shower there (because I didn’t want to take a shower in the cabins). It was a great shower.

Kayden and I met our host family after getting off the train in London. I was nervous when I saw them but we met them and it went great. They were nice and kind for me and Kayden and it was a good car ride – I saw McDonald’s. We got home and we met the dog Morgan, who was a hyper dog. But now, after two weeks she’s happy with me and Kayden and now she has calmed down a bit.

There is lots of stuff and I needed to get used to, and I will need to get used to the roads again when I get back home, but this place is awesome. I loved to stay but I can’t. It was a great time watching William’s game of baseball, he lost but it was a great game. On the weekend we went to a farmers market and had breakfast at a restaurant called Jack’s. Everything was great on my birthday, July 10. We went to Niagara Falls, which was the best thing that ever happened on my birthday and everything was great.

That’s all I have, but everything is great. Thank you for listening to me talk about experiences at Northern Youth Abroad.

July 19, 2022

Hi, my name is Verna Kalluk.

I am from Baker Lake, Nunavut. I am 20 years old and this summer, I have been away from my hometown without any of my friends or family members. I travelled for Northern Youth Abroad which is education through work and travel.

 I enjoyed every minute of this trip with my host family, Jon and Christine Maxwell with their kids Sadie, Owen, Everlee and Poppy, and with my placement buddy, Blaire Nakoolak, who is from Coral Harbour.

I have been having a lot of fun with my host family and my placement buddy, Blaire. They took us to Flying Squirrel which is a “trampoline playground”, and we also went to FunHaven where there is a lot of different games, like laser tag that we went and there was a lot of people that joined it as well, I went to a Dark Ride where we sit on a chair and you choose a game of your choice and I chose zombies, it felt real and fun to play.

On Nunavut Day, we had a BBQ with their neighbors. We had around 30 people over and had lots of conversations. Blaire and I did our presentation on that day. Everyone asked questions about my hometown and I was able to answer their questions very well.

I have made a few friends at work and I have been loving Ritual On Main Coffee House. My coworkers have taught me new things like Uber Eats, making cold drinks, heating food and prepping things. I never thought I would experience uber eats and those fancy stuff in my life.

I am looking forward to see the other Canadian and Next participants. I am thankful for the staff for giving me this experience, and I would love to say a big thank you to my host parents Jon and Christine Maxwell for having Blaire and I here in Stittsville and showing us Ottawa.

Hi, my name is Sunshine.

I’m from Gameti NWT and this summer I am living in Halifax, Nova Scotia with my host mom Michelle and her 4 cats Kula, Mango, Gracie, Mollie, and I am volunteering at the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre here. At the centre, I help with kids and the programs that the centre has. Since my arrival, I have gone to The Royal Nova Scotia Tattoo. I had an amazing experience there, I took pictures with the performers. On Canada Day, I went to Truro and spent time swimming in the pool, relaxing in the hot tub, watched the fireworks and made smores on the fire. I have also visited Peggy’s Cove and took great pictures there and I met with a local artist who showed me how to paint clouds on a piece she was working on, it was a great experience.

With my volunteer placement I visited one of the local museums, which was such a fun time. We did lots of activities with the kids and I also got to help make meals for the kids during program. I also had the chance to have a spa day at Remedy Facial Bar & Spa. We had self-serve facials, manicures and pedicures, and had such great service, and after we went for a walk at public gardens. I went to my first concert where we went to see Classified, I am such a huge fan of them now. I attended my first Pow Wow in Sipekne’katik First Nation and I wanted to cry seeing the dancers. It was such great experience and I loved it. I also went to my first Pride Parade where I got to walk in the parade with PSAC Atlantic, which was so prideful, and I loved the energy and experience. I attended my first boxing match and took pictures with the fighters, and it was so fun to watch and gain some knowledge. I have also been to the beach, and it was my first-time swimming in the ocean. I do not like the taste of salt water but I had great experiences there and found some seashells to bring back home. At night, I went on motorcycle ride and had so much fun.

It has been a busy summer and I am so thankful to have this opportunity and experience though NYA.

Hello everyone,

My name is Shana Ulayuk from Clyde River, Nunavut.

I am a Participant in the 2022 NYA Next. I love construction class as I’m learning how to use the different kinds of tools and about the measurements. Right now, we’re making dog houses that we’re going to donate. After making dog houses we are going to make picture frames to bring home.

My Personal Learning Project was sewing class. Assela taught us from her home. I chose this for a project as I was interested in a sewing program. I made a small bag with a sewing machine, and it was so complicated. It was more complicated than I thought! I had to have patience even though I really wanted to finish my project.

Thank you for reading,

Shana

Hi, my name is Sienna Aitaok. I am from Cambridge bay Nunavut, I’ve been a participant since 2019 and finally got to travel with NYA in 2022.

I am enjoying it here in Ottawa, here in Algonquin college campus. My favourite thing about the program is carpentry, as I would like to be an electrician some day. During our trades workshop we are making dog houses and donating them to animal shelters.

On our free time here in Ottawa we can explore Algonquin college around campus. So far I am enjoying my time here in Ottawa, someday I hope I can attend this school here at Algonquin College.

Thanks for listening! Quana,

Sienna Aitaok

Hi, my name is Kimberly Ukpatiku.

I live in Baker Lake, Nunavut. I am 18 years old and this summer I travelled down south to Kingston, Ontario! It’s been about three weeks I’ve been down here and I have had so much fun! I enjoy swimming in the lakes my host family takes me to. This summer I found out that I have a deep love to all kinds of animals and I have even carried a frog and fed a donkey! My host mom pet a bumble bee and I haven’t got the courage to pet one just yet. I think the only animal I’m scared of here is the wasp.

This is my first time away from home without any of my family members and this is also the furthest I travelled away from home. I do get homesick and I am just starting to feel the effects of it but I try to keep myself busy so I don’t be in my room all the time. My buddy also decided to go back home early so it’s also been a little lonely. I don’t know too many people here so I’m looking to make new friends soon.

A lot of things are a little nerve racking but that’s because they’re all new to me. I rode a bus for the first time this summer and I went to the mall by myself too. I also got my own debit card this summer! I never thought I’d get one this soon.

My host family is super nice and very eco-friendly. Their names are Carolyn and Michael (like my little brother’s name). They compost what they can and also recycle a lot of their things. I’m not used to that because at home all we have is a garbage can, so I have to keep reminding myself to recycle and compost instead. They bike or walk to wherever they are able and only use the car when they have to. They have two pet turtles named Pinky and Samson and two fish that I got to name. I named the fish Orange and Blue.

I work at a place called Martha’s Table. They prepare and serve hot meals to people who have financial troubles and don’t have enough food to feed themselves. They also have some other necessities such as toilet paper, clothing, and hand-sanitizer to give out if the person asks for it. Everyone there is so nice and I love it there. I found out today that it is named after Mary in the bible who opened up her home to people who came by, so that’s pretty interesting.

I love Kingston and the first week I was here, I already wanted to move here! A lot of people are very friendly and there are tons of places to go swimming. I’m very glad that I got this opportunity to travel here this summer and learn about new things! Honestly though, I can’t wait to go home to family.

Thank you for reading about my experiences here so far!

Kimberly

On March 15th, twenty students from across Nunavut and the Northwest Territories began a 16-week bridging program with Camosun College. The students formed two groups – one with students joining remotely from their home communities, while ten gathered in Fort Providence, NWT to learn together from there.

Students are taking foundation courses in English, Math, Biology and Exercise Science while also having the opportunity to form a community of learners from the North. This program is an initiative of Northern Compass, in partnership with Northern Loco, Camosun College and NYA and basically came to be from the opportunities available to develop remote programming during the Covid 19 pandemic.

Over the past 3 weeks, the students have been working hard, learning lots, and getting to know each other. They have been doing virtual science labs, online lectures, fitness classes, and are taking part in social activities. Students in Fort Providence have also gone out on the land for a weekend, gone skating and skiing, and played sports together.

What some of our students have said so far about the program

This program has helped me getting closer to get to my goals to civil engineering, this program has helped me upgrade my school curriculum. It has been wonderful meeting new people.

Nathan, Pangnirtung, NU

All these opportunities I’m taking in, is making me feel very confident about my future!

William, Fort Liard, NWT

I am really enjoying this program. This is a gateway to going into college and a great way to meet new friends.

Shannel, Fort Providence, NWT

I’m learning a lot. Starting to understand my needs and what I have to do

Brandon, Naujaat, NU

I chose this program to gain more experience and encouragement. I hope to learn more during this course. I’m also having fun learning, this is a really good program and I’d like to thank everyone for being supportive.

Shannon, Kugaaruk, NU

Join us in celebrating their great start in the program and in wishing them success in the rest of their studies!