My name is Faith Nitsiza, I’m from Whati, NWT, and I am participating in NYA’s Canadian Program. I am placed in Powell River, British Columbia, volunteering at the qathet Museum and Archives.
So far, everything is amazing! I love my host community, my host family is great, and my placement buddy, Kylar, is amazing! I honestly don’t regret joining the program and coming here.
I learned so much and did so much in just a span of weeks! Working at a museum is fun in its own way, though I mostly do office work, like filing records, properly handling artifacts, etc. I find it a great experience to work at and I enjoy the people I am working with.
Aside from my volunteer work, my host family took us to do many different things, like going shopping at shops or vendors, attending community events, and going sightseeing!
Overall, my experience so far has been amazing! It feels as if no time has passed, yet everything is going by fast. I am forever grateful for this experience and am happy that I got the opportunity to be here.
My name is Randy Angilirq and I am from Igloolik Nunavut. During the summer with the NYA, I am staying in Chilliwack, British Columbia. I was told about the NYA program by a teacher from the Igloolik high school. When I applied, I was working at the high school as a substitute teacher. I applied to the program thinking I wouldn’t get accepted, after a few months, I got word that I got accepted. The binder came in late, so I had to rush through the workbook. It was hard to do because I had 2 jobs and a bad sleep schedule, but I managed to be fairly on time with the projects.
My volunteer job during the summer is at Kirkpatrick Auto, it is a place where they work on vehicles that need to be fixed. The first few weeks were hard, I didn’t like working with vehicles because they were dirty and I don’t like getting my hands dirty, I also didn’t like just watching the other workers doing the work. After a few days I got to help around the shop more, I learned how to change tires on a car and do oil changes. My favorite part of the job was either watering the plants or doing paperwork.
Everyone at work always greets me every time I come in which is nice. My daily schedule while working is simple, I have to water the plants every day, I have to keep the garbage bins clean, and help the mechanics if they every require assistance.
My host family is nice, I am staying with Sheldon. He works as special constable, and he makes us lunch every day. He has 3 daughters, and I went to the park with them a few times. He works late shifts so he comes home later than my buddy and I. My sleep schedule has changed a lot while in British Columbia due to the time change, it is 3 hours behind from my town. I go to work by taking a bike, I ride about 14 Km a day to and from my host place, so my legs are always sore, it is at least a 30 min bike ride, I am careful on the streets and with the traffic.
Chilliwack is home to the indigenous people called the Sto: lo people. I watched some of them perform during the Canada Day festival, their beliefs are interconnectedness between people and the natural world. They also believe that all life forces are connected to the earth, as well as connecting the present with the generations past and the future.
My challenges during my time in BC were minimal, I only missed my family a little bit, but I missed my friends a lot. I mostly missed playing video games with my friends, I am missing out on new game content and feel like I am behind my friends in the game challenges. I also couldn’t go to sleep some nights because of the heat, the temperature at night is usually between 15 to 20 degrees Celsius, which is super warm compared to my hometown. When I couldn’t sleep, I wrote in my journal. I also miss the midnight sun; I wasn’t used to the darkness during the night.
When I am not working, I play games on my Nintendo Switch, I like playing The Legend of Zelda and sometimes Fortnite Festival. I went to the Cheam Leisure Center and I worked out while I was there, there is also a public pool, sports center, a sauna and a hot tub. I also liked to bike the Vedder trail, it’s a trail along the Vedder River. It’s about 16 km and a lot of other people always walk or bike the trail too. There are other places to do some stuff while having free time. I went to a place where they played card games and other things, such as a videogames. Most of the time, I hang around the house and go for short walks. Robert and I went to watch movies on the weekends – we watched Inside Out 2, Despicable Me 4, and we will watch Deadpool 3 later this month.
I am thankful for everyone who helped me get into the program, I am lucky to get into the program and very thankful for the staff for everything. I have met a lot of nice people such as all the other participants, and I have made lots of new memories with everyone. I am thankful for Sheldon for keeping me at his house and feeding me. I hope everyone also had a nice summer and never forget all the memories with all the other participants.
Hey my name is Jordon Arrowmaker, I’m one of the 2024 NYA Canadian participants, I’m from Gameti NT. I’m about to be 17 as I’m writing this!
This is my first year with NYA Officially, because I applied for NYA in 2023 but was accepted as a alternate at that time, but I finished all my winter assignments at that time. So now I’m a part of the 2024 Nya canadian participants!
It’s really nice to be able to see new places & to have new experiences here, I work with two businesses. The first one is called Brad’s place addictions treatment, and the second one is called Blue Mountain Manor, it’s a retirement home filled with tons of really sweet elders!
I love exploring the town & the neighboring one too, there’s so many shops, cafés & restaurants. I love seeing small businesses here, it makes me want to open one up back home!
I loved when I got to go paintballing here & when I got to go swimming as well, there’s so much stuff I’m going to do throughout the summer and I can’t wait!
I do feel homesick, but the community here is really welcoming & they try there best to make me feel like I’m at home 🙂
I can’t wait till re-orientation to be able to see all the friends I made, I’ll miss it here when I leave. I’m so thankful for all of the NYA staff, my host parents & my mentor, I wouldn’t be a here without them <3
Hi, My name is Anikan and I am from Gjoa Haven, Nunavut. I applied for Northern Youth Abroad in 2023 but was accepted as an alternate, I decided to do all my winter assignments in 2023 and I’m so happy about my decision and now in 2024 I’m a part of the Canadian program with NYA.
I love meeting new people, but I can be very awkward at first but I’ll instantly warm up to people I meet. I am placed in Kentville Nova Scotia, I love the east side of Canada and I’m very happy that I was placed here in Nova Scotia! My work placement is at the Open Secrets Bookstore and Wheelhouse Coffee Shop. My supervisor and my coworkers are amazing, I get to learn from them every time I walk into work which I love so much. Both stores I’m volunteering at are small local businesses and I’m so happy that I get to work here because I get to experience and learn about how it’s like to open and own a business because that’s what I want to do at home in the future which I think we need at home.
Over the past couple weeks my hosts have been really supportive and great, they have been taking me and my buddy Madison to amazing places like the lake, to the neighbour’s house with a farm, the spa, the mall, Cape Breton, the city and so much more. I’m pretty sure my hosts have more things planned which I’m excited about.
I instantly felt welcomed and at home once I arrived at my host family and I’ve never once been homesick since I’ve been here. I’m excited for reorientation to see all the other participants and staff, but I know I’ll miss it here so much. I’ll never regret my decision choosing NYA, I’m very grateful for my mentor, the NYA staff and my host family. One of my best summers yet!
NYA NEXT is based on you preparing towards your career and what you want to achieve and we are living in the Algonquin Residence. First week of the NEXT Program we went to the kitchen made homemade tortilla chips and sauce that chef Katie taught us and it was delicious! We were also in construction class making picture frames, dog house, step stool and carve our name(s) on wood. We donated the dog houses to who ever wanted it and I am happy that we did give them out. There was a workshop called Inspire workshop it is an indigenous people who are working on their business.
I am looking forward for my future, I want to be able to open up a cafe in my home community which we don’t have any, I was inspired by a local in Stittsville that I worked for last summer for the Canadian phase, I absolutely loved everything about the coffee house, the beverages, light snacks, meals and the settings! I really hope I get to where I want to be in the next few years!
For my group cultural activity we did our Inuit tradition which is square dance, back in my home community every does a get together and make 8 man way 4 men and 4 women and they use a routine for the square. Dene did their part of cultural activity which were hand games, drum dancing (two step) and singing.
Fun events in Ottawa. I LOVED the Ottawa Asian Fest in downtown Ottawa, we got to see dancers who were dancing to K-POP and my most favourite part at the Fest was when Stray Kids songs went on lol. I was hesitant to on the main “floor” to dance to their songs when they were doing a K-POP random dance. A random K-POP dance is they play a random K-POP song for 15-20 seconds and the audience can join the floor to dance, if I can remember I think there was about 30 songs playing during that time. Later after that they were playing a game called pop the balloon with different parts of your body with your partner and Sunshine and I nearly played the game but the guy who held it said that we looked too bougie to play LOL.
You can do anything that you put your mind to, don’t give up on your dreams and I hope you will achieve your goals.
Hello, my name is Quinten Ross and I’m one of the 2023 NYA Next Participants. I’m from Hay River NWT which is located on the southern shore of the Great Slave Lake. I’m 19 years old and identify as Metis.
NYA Next is a Program designed to help youth from Northern Canada adjust to post-secondary life in the southern regions of Canada, here on the Algonquin College Campus in the Ottawa area. I am a Northern Youth Abroad Alumni as I participated in the 2022 Canadian program, where I stayed in Squamish BC with a host family and volunteered at the Squamish Public Library. That program helped me adjust to living abroad, I feel that it prepared me for the Next program by giving me skills and teaching me how to cope with living away from home.
I’ve been here in Ottawa a few times already, but I still found myself nervous at first not knowing what to expect during this month-long program, but I knew I would regret not going so I chose to go through with my plan of completing this program. It also took a lot of support and encouragement, I think that without close friends and mentors cheering me on I wouldn’t have come, but I’m glad I decided to come to Ottawa.
Another thought that motivated me was this idea that there’s so many opportunities to learn and grow, and I have. Here in Ottawa, we stay at the Algonquin College Campus where me and the other participants take a constructions/shop type of class – so far, we’ve made small step stools and doghouses; the dog houses are going to be donated in Ottawa. This class has made me comfortable with the different machines used to cut the wood, I’m also proud of myself knowing that the work is going to a good cause which is helping dogs.
On Monday’s we’ve been on two university tours which were at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University and we also went on a tour of Nunavut Sivuniksavut which is a school focused on Nunavut land claims and culture; later in the afternoon we would take a cooking class with a chef at Algonquin College, the first class we made chips and dip, the next class we made cookies, and our last class we made mini fluffy pancakes from scratch.
Our weekly schedule is very busy, aside from the classes we take we also do volunteer work in the area, so far I’ve volunteered at the Ottawa Mission where I helped with dishes and I also got to Volunteer at the H.O.P.E volleyball charity event taking down the volleyball nets at Mooney’s Bay Beach. I enjoyed volunteering at the mission and talking with the staff and dedicated volunteers who were very polite, it’s nice getting to know people and their motivation for doing the amazing work and very inspirational. The beach here is very warm so I didn’t enjoy that as much, I prefer the cold driftwood beaches back home.
Another good thing about this program is getting to learn about other cultures, I got to go with the group to the Lebanese Festival where they had a stage with performers kind of like a normal Music festival but with a focus on the Lebanese culture – we also went to the Asian Night Market near Parliament Hill, I liked this because I got to eat some Onigiri and dumplings, later I went to lay in front of parliament hill in the grass which was nice because the views were beautiful.
Getting to learn more about Nunavut and the cultures there has been cool, the participants from there have been very friendly and good company always sharing new words in Inuktitut with me – I’ve also had many opportunities to share what I know about the Metis people, I made sure to include lots of information in a presentation I did with the boys and girls club and I also enjoyed teaching the other participants the Red River Jig and sharing the history.
I enjoy taking the bus because it gives me time to reflect on the program, I’m glad that we mainly used buses to get around because it was also a great opportunity to see the city – also to get used to long commutes. I think my favorite memories from this program will be the hike I led through Pinheys forest trail and laughing with the other participants every day. I’m going to miss everyone; this program has really helped me find myself again and to just grow.
This program has been fun, as chaotic as it can get at the end of the day, I was very proud for challenging myself despite my want to go home. I know that whatever the future brings this experience will be something that I can look back on as a reminder of my strength and resilience. Huge thanks to my supporters and the NYA staff for always listening to my rants and for your kindness.
My name is Layla Pewatualuk and I am from Pond Inlet. I was placed in Campbell River, BC for the summer. It was very different to arrive in Campbell River. The major differences were the weather and the people. People were very friendly in Campbell River.
I stayed with Debbie and her nephew Josh. He’s a really smart kid and we got along well. I could relate to him a lot. I loved their dog Buddy as well. I gave him lots of scratches on his tummy and his head, and he would be so happy to see me. He would plop on the floor and let me give him belly scratches.
I worked at Perk’s Donuts. They make donuts, sandwiches, soups, breakfast, burgers, hot dogs, bread, and bagels. Debbie would drop me off at work and pick me up. A few times I walked home for 2 hours because I didn’t want to take the bus by myself. It was nice to walk and get used to Campbell River. My coworkers were really nice. Even though I had a rough start, I started enjoying it and warming up more as I got used to it. I decorated donuts, served the customers, rinsed and dried the dishes, cleaned the washrooms, cleared the tables and took the dishes to the dishwasher, and swept the floors. My supervisor, Dwayne, showed me how to make donut base and bread base and lemon icing. And I made muffins. I got to use a large stand mixer, which was really cool. I wanted to bake donuts with Dwayne but he makes them at 4am and I didn’t want to get up that early!
I loved going to the mall in Victoria. I enjoyed going by myself and being able to buy whatever I wanted. I bought clothing, gifts, snacks. Going swimming in the lake was really fun and I really enjoyed it. I also went to the movie theatres a couple of times. Our host mom Debbie drove us around Vancouver island. We got to go to Tofino, Long Beach, and I visited my mentor Aileen on Salt Spring Island. I was there for one night and I had a really good time with her, her parents and her nieces and nephews. She took me around Salt Spring Island. We went to a few stores and an art gallery. I bought stuff made from local artists.
I’m glad that I came on Northern Youth Abroad. I really liked the different experiences I had away from home. I learned that there are more options in Canada. The workers said that if I ever stop by Campbell River in the future, to go to Perk’s and say hi!
Helloo ! My name is Sesade Quitte-Wellin in Tlicho it means (Sunshine) in English, I am 18 years old and I am from an isolated community in the NWT called Gameti NT in the Tlicho region!
All the hard work in the NYA Next Program is a really long lasting experience. I’ll forever cherish living life on campus and being independent away from home.
So the first week of orientation I was very excited to meet everyone there. As I took part of the NYA Canadian Program last year and I fell in-love with the NYA program and experienced so many new places did so many things, I loved the idea that I can go travel and experience so many opportunities while I can, and see my options about college or even in the beauty industry as I want to become a Esthetician related (Skin Care) field, I’m realizing a lot about myself, is that I’m pretty up beat and go with the flow and have that Sunshine attitude “energy” haha !
Day to day life on Algonquin campus is really hectic, working on our summer assignments and currently writing my blog about my experience here in Ottawa, we have no time for unnecessary distractions as we have to work towards our high school credits to graduate school in being on the NYA Program during our summer break, which I enjoy.
We do daily construction classes on weekdays where we built picture frames, foot stools and dog houses. Lastly we have a cooking/baking class every Monday. We also had another workshop with INSPIRE, where we learned many different topics about business/entrepreneurship. It was a learning experience for everyone on the program!
We volunteered at many places like the HOPE volleyball fest, the Glebe seniors place where we fixed the gardening outside. And probably a few more but I forgot already.
My favourite part about being on the program is everyone’s personality and humour and all the fun places we went together like the Mooney’s bay beach, Lebanese festival, parliament, fun haven, we went Rock climbing where I gotten anxious by climbing the wall then me and Marisa met our residence friend who wanted us to go try Zoomba.
Once the program is over, I’m going to miss every single one of the NYA Next participants for sure.
And of course the people I’ve bonded with. Truly a lifetime experience, all amazing people and have such a good heart.
A huge thank you to NYA for the hectic, fun summer giving us all the experience for life in college and all kinds of options to live and grow by.
Hello all, my name is Tonya Kenalogak and i’m from Baker Lake, Nu. I did my Canadian phase in 2019, i was placed in Alma, NB. I loved where I was placed and right now it’s my second year participating in NYA, right now i’m participating in NYA NEXT program. My favourite part of this program is meeting new people from different places, and when NYA NEXT volunteered with HOPE Volleyball not because it’s my favourite sports but because I’ve made a new friend from out of this program, heading to the malls, to the beach, and going to the festivals here in Ottawa. I love it, I love it and I love it!
Living in the city without your parents is kinda scary but actually pretty cool when you get used to the area. There will be times where you’ll be homesick and stuff but YOLO ( you only live once ), you’ll get it over in no time!
During this program it has been a roller coaster, but because of the participants in NYA NEXT i’ll be fine<3. NYA brought myself and others to places we never been before and it was beautiful, we went on tours with the colleges and universities here in Ottawa. I loved it and it was amazing!
