Applications and recruitment materials are on their way to schools, hamlets, and recreation coordinators across the North! We will be opening applications to our 2025 programs on October 2nd.

On October 2nd we will open our online application and will start accepting applications by email and fax. Any youth living in Nunavut or the NWT who will be 15-20 years old on July 1, 2025 can apply. There will be one application for the NYA Canadian and NYA Next program, which will be due November 13th.

Hi my name is Mackenzie porter, I am 17 and I am from Gjoa Haven, Nunavut.

So far it has been more than 2 weeks in Ottawa with 14 other participants. Everyday NYA next gives us the chance to experience things we seen only on the tv, and challenge us to gain more knowledge about the city and real world. But from my own experience and how I feel, I have been loving it a lot! People say that Ottawa is very boring but I personally think it has a lot more than my whole territory. And a whole lot of opportunities, and places to explore. Being able to finally fly out this far from Gjoa Haven has been incredibly rewarding after the work me, my mentor and family had to do in order to be many miles out of my comfort zone, I appreciate them a lot.

This program has been teaching me from scholarships, how to build a dog house in trades, leadership, responsibilities, self love, expressing myself, using the bus and door dashing lol including the importance of my roots and culture, also learning the challenges and stress of post secondary life can be. But truthfully, the true lesson of all is how connected you are to yourself & your community can really uplift you.

I have never been able to work myself this hard until I had the support of my funny, beautiful friends here, especially the leaders here I truly appreciate Hayley, Mahasi and Shantel(etc). Community and helping one another is beneficial for everyone to grow. But still at the end of the day it’s who you want to be, the choices you make that can shape you. The path you choose for yourself, and how far your welling to work in order to get somewhere you want to be ,and who you let in your circle. But yeah, my time here has been so exiting, I love the big trees but the heat can get so intense sometimes.

Also I went paddle boating one hour out of Ottawa with this one family owned company referred as ‘mad river paddle company’ they made me feel very welcomed and I had such a great time. I went to a festival for the first time and tried the rides so many times to the point were I got very sick with my friends. We have been to the Garlic farm for volunteering at least 5 times with Haileigh and Lekesha, we now call it our second home now, as a joke. Many more places in such a short period time I can’t even count everything on my fingers.

I also want to mention that I met this one crazy girl, she taught and motivate me to have self love, make money, and obviously have fun. This friendship is one of a kind, and she is literally the best, she has the ability to make me laugh until I grow abs, and has the most entertaining stories and energy, she truly is beautiful. And I consider us to be two peas in a pod, I am beyond grateful for her and everyone in this program.

That being said NYA has been such a well rewarding educational program, I could never replace this for anything, I will continue to improve and grow as a women. NYA helped me open my eyes, and proved to me that I’m capable of working towards anything I desire.

Hello! I am Tristana Daniels-Nitsiza and I am from Behchoko NWT. I am 18 years old and freshly graduated from high school. I was fortunate enough to be chosen for Northern Youth Abroad and travel to Ottawa. Coming here will help me grow comfortable in a city environment and being on my own being an independent individual. 

Coming here was very hard as at first I was very hesitant about leaving home, but as the days came closer I was getting even more excited to leave and explore. I knew this was important for me to grow. Being here has given me even more reason to continue in post secondary and adventure into my new university years that will be happening this fall. 

But of course I have been homesick and it made me want to quit and go home, the small breakdowns were tough and it was hard to call home. Though for the past few days I’ve been well and even though I am missing home, I know it’s waiting for me along with my family and friends. (And my computer).

These few weeks have been jam packed though fun and exciting. For the first time I have volunteered in a garlic farm and have gone back to the residence smelling of garlic. It’s been intriguing to work at a farm and clean the garlic for sale, it’s a long process but other participants along with me have been going pretty fast cleaning them. We are basically pros at this stuff now. 

I have even worked in a trades class for woodshop/carpentry, it’s been real fun as we are building dog houses and we will be donating them for dogs to use. The building and assembly has been really fun because I don’t build at all and seeing me along with my other two group mates making this from scratch make me know that we can do anything as long as we try. I was scared to attempt this afraid I would mess up but the instructor/teacher has been helpful along with small accidents that we all do. Some of us have broke a few stuff for the tools but he is understanding and says everyone can be replaced which is nice and stress relieving.

(By the time this is posted we should have already have built and painted them) 

Ottawa has been great so far even if the air is very humid and hot, I will sort of miss this when I go home though I will continue living in a city for my post secondary in Calgary. And whilst being here my favourite trip we have done so far was going to the nature museum 

The friends I have made here I will miss them too, we all are different and that is nice because we are from different communities within NWT and Nunavut. 

Can’t wait to go home and enjoy my community and family. 

Hello, My name is Troy Tutcho and I am 18. I am from a small community in the NWT called Colville Lake. I am one of the 15 participants that got to go to Ottawa this summer. The reason why I am here at NYA Next program is that I wanted to experience what college/university life is like. I also wanted to see what it would be like leaving my family for four weeks. I knew it would be a good experience to see how living in the city and also make more connections to others who were going to the program since some might also be going to the same university I am aiming for. So far two others are going to MRU at the same time as me and for that, it was worth going to the program since I will not be as alone when leaving for university.

While waiting for the program’s start date, I felt excited and somewhat nervous about going so far away from home. Nonetheless, I did feel prepared to travel when I left my hometown and when I landed in Yellowknife I met one of the group leaders, Shantel. When we started to head to the other airport I met the other leader, Heyley. At first, I was nervous since I did not know the other there but as time went on I talked to some of them but it was not as bad as I thought it might be.  The only thing that I would say that I disliked about flying was the wait since that day I was on the plane for over 9.30 hours and in the airport for the rest of the day. 

During my time at NYA, it was an amazing experience since I learned so many different skills and even improved the ones I had. The skills I got during the NYA were carpentry, using the bus, and serving food. I am building a dog house in the trades class I am doing. While in the class I am learning how to use tools better and learn different ways to make myself safer doing them.

As for the bus, the reason I know how to use them is that NYA gives each group a challenge to do and they are doing fun activities, making food for all the participants and group leaders, and a learning activity. My group activity is a fun one and we have to plan the transport, and the date within a budget. During this, I learnt how to use the bus system and do something fun with a group of people and also learned how to make a reservation.

The reason why I put serving food is because I and three other precipitants went to volunteer for something called Ottawa Mission. The Ottawa Mission is an organization that focuses on helping the homeless by giving them food, clothes and other such things. When we were there I and one other participant were serving food, also one of the leaders was helping us, her name was Hayley. While we were doing this the other two were helping put the butter in some little containers for more ease of use. For me, it was quite a good experience since it showed me how to be more empathetic towards others.

Overall the experience that NYA has given me will last a lifetime and will help me throughout my life going forward. I can’t say that this program is the easiest but it is certainly one of the more helpful ones that the youth can go to. The reason why it is one of the more helpful ones is because this program gives you many opportunities to learn new skills. They also give you help with school, college and also making an resume. I learnt that NYA will try to help you with anything as long as it is within their ability.

Hi, my Name is Rick Aningaat and I am from Baker Lake, Nunavut.  I am placed in Quispamsis, Which is near Saint John Newbrunswick. From what I experienced is there’s trees everywhere you go, with an endless sight of ocean. There is also a river called the Kennabacasis river which there is beautiful mountains in the background along with sunsets. My favourite view of Saint John is the sunsets in KV (Kennabacasis Valley).

My work placement is at the Hammond River Nature camp and I work with kids every week with different activities each week. Every summer, the HRAA has a summer camp for the children of Saint John, along with the youth who is a Councillor in Training (volunteering to become a staff member of the HRAA) This camp has exciting activities such as Kayaking, Paddle Boarding, Fishing, and so much more!

The things I find difficult in the south is having to pack up lunches for work as back home we just head home on lunch break. What I also find different back home is the time zones, how dark it gets after dinner, and the speedometer (where here In Saint John they use KMH, where as back home we use MPH). Another thing I find different is that there are so many job opportunities in the south where as back home in Nunavut, there’s not much job opportunities.

My story to you is, I’ve never been to a carnival before in my life. And here in Saint John, the weekend we landed, was a carnival happening. My host family has taken their kids, my placement buddy and myself to the carnival, and the very first ride I went on, I fainted for a few seconds. Where as the second ride I went on, I also fainted but I also nearly puked which was not fun. Other than that, I had a blast at the carnival!!

Also Beginning of July, my host family drove us up to Federicton and we got to go to the arts and crafts museum. I found so many amazing arts and sculptures. Also my host family drove us up to Moncton to take us to the Zoo and it was also my first time to be at a Zoo. I really enjoyed those moments.

The things I’ll miss is my host family. They have been so generous with my placement buddy and I these 5 weeks of our experience. I really appreciate their help and I hope to see them again later on in the future. I’ll also miss my Coworkers. We all became family from strangers. I’ll miss saying good mornings and have a great day in the mornings and after work. I’ll forever cherish every single moment with them, I’ll definitely miss my coworkers who are like a family to me once I get sent back home.

I am really enjoying my time adventuring places in Canada. I have been trying to apply for the Northern youth Abroad Canadian program for 5 years and I have finally made it into the Canadian program. So things are possible if you keep trying. 

Hello Everyone, my name is Ts’ahlekea. I am sixteen years-old as of right now. I live in Fort Simpson, NWT. I am in the NYA Canadian Program. My buddy is Sarah Lee-Ci Gon. She is from Behchoko. We are placed in Ottawa. I have been enjoying Ottawa a lot. Like when I tried the bus; that’s something I never got to try before and now I have the hang of it; plus there is more varieties of food. It is nice and different kind of foods they provide in Ottawa.

We went to the Japanase Festival where I got to wear a Yukata and have my name written in Japanese. When the festival was ending my host Mom bought us a typical Japanese snack for us to eat and I bought an unsweetened Japanese green tea.

We went to the Parliament on Canada Day. I remember that day there were so much people. There I heard different kinds of music playing as I was walking. I got to see the snowbirds fly by and on top of us. When they announced the snowbirds, I thought they were talking about real birds.  We went to watch the fireworks.

Where I am volunteering is called Ottawa Health Service Network Inc. (OHSNI). They connect residents of Baffin Island, Nunavut to the health and wellness services they need in Ottawa. 

I went to the St. Laurent Shopping Centre and to the Rideau SC. I went to the Parliament, the museum, the pool and my work place.

The hard things I had to face was the get up early and keeping my room tidy.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Hi my name is Enosi Nashalik I’m 17 years old and I’m from Pangnirtung NU , and this is my first week in the south and it’s hot but so far I’ve been loving this place.

Today I got the learn a little bit about CPR things like if someone were to have a stroke and what to do or if someone was choking or in a cardiac arrest all those kinds of things helped me know what it actually feels if that were to happen in real life.

Back home where I live the temperature doesn’t get as hot like in Ottawa. I had to adjust to weather and the humidity. If was back it would only be like 7° or 10°, but here in Ottawa it goes up to 20° to 30° so it is very hot for me the first few days here, but I think I’ve adjusted to the heat. Also the day lights were different. There is 24/7 day light in the north where I live, and it felt weird being in the dark in the summer down south.

We had swimming lessons called “swim to survive”. It was my first time swimming and I think it went well. Today me and my group came close finishing our dog house, I’m really proud of my getting close to finishing the dog house.

A couple days ago we went to a obstacle course in 20° weather it was good to take a shower after the obstacle course. Today  I’m going to see my sister for the first time in months maybe or even a year and that’s pretty exciting for me, and to her as well even though I don’t talk to her much I hope she misses me.

I had lots to see at the Bayshore mall, and the other day we went to the museum with my group. It had some amazing art and insects, and I held a stick bug but just for a bit.

Before I was going to Ottawa I met Jayko. At first I didn’t know him that well, but it was really nice of his dad to invite me to go have supper before we had to leave back in Iqaluit.

As the days went on here at the college residence and the trips we went on together, I’ve got to know him better and now he is a great friend of mine. I’ve made some new friends since I went here for NYA. Terrence is really good at construction in my group in trades class, he is really good at measuring. All the instructors are also really nice people.

Hi my name is Aliyah Komak, I’m from Cambridge Bay Nunavut. This is my first time being this far away from home for a long period of time. I’m loving it here so much. I have had the opportunities  to learn about construction, swimming to survive and many more. I have made so much friends here, I learnt how to get out my comfort zone and letting my shyness hold me back was tough at first, but it opened in a whole new world of opportunities. Whether it was engaging with trying new activities, or simply striking up conversations with people I didn’t know, every moment pushed me to grow and learn. It’s incredible how breaking out of that shell can lead to unforgettable experiences and personal growth.

So, let me tell you about how I met this fun-loving, pretty friend who got me out of my comfort zone. It all started at a local event where we both happened to be. We just clicked instantly! Her vibrant personality and infectious laughter made it so easy to connect. In less than a week, we were hanging out almost every day, sharing stories, and creating new memories. She had this incredible way of encouraging me to try new things and step out of my comfort zone. Whether it was attending social gatherings, trying out new hobbies, she showed me the joy of embracing new experiences. It’s amazing how quickly we became close, and now I can’t imagine not having her in my life.

Let me share my experience with learning how to build in construction, figuring out how to use busses, and dealing with the heat all at once. It was a mix of excitement and nerves. The smell of sawdust and the sound of the tools coming to life in the shop created creativity and craftsmanship. As for the navigation busses, it was a whole new world for me. Understanding schedules and stops was a bit overwhelming at first, but with practice it became second nature. The heat can be so hot at times but I’m glad I chosen to come here.

Embracing the unknown, taking risk, and being open to new adventures. Trust me, it’s all worth it! 

Hi, my name is Karla Qavavau and this is my second year with Northern Youth Abroad! I’m from Taloyoak, Nunavut and I’m was so excited to come back to ottawa for the second time.

I love this program, but I am so not used to constantly being on the move and practicing adulthood. On the brightest side, it helps you a lot with getting around campus and the city.

The program teaches you to budget, how to use the bus, your needs before starting college, and how to get around Algonquin College. I love staying at Algonquin, it’s nice and convenient, open 24/7 in case your door can’t open, friendly and helpful staff.

My most favorite part about this trip so far was when we went to the Marked Adventure park for an obstacle course, and the free time because I went to spend it at Hot Topic.

The most challenging part is always being on the move and trying to process what’s going on all at once. You will eventually get a hang of always being busy, cause obviously that’s what it’ll look like in reality.

I’m so happy NYA gives you this opportunity to face and practice adulthood and teach you how to be on your own away from your friends and family.

I’ve had a couple lows from missing home, but it didn’t stop me from trying my best to show up everyday, so I just kept trying. For those that are graduating, or just graduated, I really recommend taking this program to help you prepare for university or college and experience what that life is like. It’s very helpful and something to keep in mind before attending real university or college.

I love it here in ottawa, I wouldn’t leave, but I have to. But I’ll leave forever thankful for NYA and their staff. I look forward to my future after experiencing both NYA Canadian and NEXT program.