Hello, my name is Jazzlynn Tetlichi, and I am from Inuvik, Northwest Territories. I had been waiting for this moment ever since I was accepted back in January. When I received the email, I was super nervous to open it, but I was filled with excitement and joy once I saw “Congratulations!”
I recently graduated on June 14th, 2025. The graduation week was really busy for me, as I had just completed my exams and was hopping on a plane the day after my graduation! I was stressed that week, but I got everything done. The day after my graduation, I was hesitant for an hour before leaving, but my family told me it was too late to back out; they were super happy that I had been given this amazing opportunity. I am genuinely happy that I didn’t back out, even though I probably cried six times before stepping onto the plane, haha. Plus, I knew I wouldn’t have any way.
The Canadian program focuses on volunteer work, tiny homework packages and gaining tons of experience and in return, everyone gets credits for all this! I also find it very cool that they will be covering our application fees for colleges and universities. I have two careers lined up for this lifetime, and NYA covering the application fees is so motivating and very helpful. Thank you, NYA. 🙂
I was encouraged by a close friend to apply. I applied for the Canadian program a day before the application date closed. I am really lucky to have been accepted. My placement buddy and host family are super amazing, we have been so busy doing something new every day, which I absolutely love. My favourite activities we have done so far are Parc Omega, Kayaking, and glow-in-the-dark mini golf (pic above). We still have more activities on our checklist that we have not crossed out yet, so I am definitely looking forward to that! I strongly encourage those interested in this program to apply. I have been having so much fun, and I did not get homesick (yet?) because everyone makes it feel like home, and I have met lifelong friends. I feel so blessed and happy. NYA is such an amazing start to my life after high school.
Northern Youth Abroad brings so many benefits to the youth, but most importantly, lifelong friends, family and happiness. The program helps you become the best version of yourself and overcome what you were hesitant about or negative about. Showing up and chasing your dream is tough some days, but in the end, it is 100% worth it, and that’s what Northern Youth Abroad taught me.
Today was a tough day, although I finally had a decent amount of sleep. As soon as we got to the airport, I already felt physically tired, but the bus ride wasn’t so bad, though, because the bus driver was playing some good music. It was my first time flying on a regional aircraft today, which was pretty cool, and the flight wasn’t too long. Cadence and I did a pretty good job of keeping the group together. When we arrived in Halifax, our host mom picked all four of us up from the airport and brought Rebecca and Cadence to their host mom, Michelle. After that, we had a delicious supper at Eastside. After that, we were pretty much settled in. Ready for what the new day has to offer tomorrow.
Day 2:
Today was an awesome day. I want to start with my host buddy, Joey. We had has some challenges on the first day, but I’m glad it’s over now. We had a really good talk and we opened up to each other, which is really nice and I’m glad there’s no tension between us. Other than that, we started our day shopping at Costco, which was really cool for me because I had my very first Costco hot dog, and it was my first time there. After that, we did a little bit more shopping at Walmart. We also checked out the waterfront because that was actually the first thing we did today, and then we went shopping. The things we did at the oval were some little tours and some little tourist shopping. I got to see the Bluenose 2, the ship that’s on the dime, which was really cool. After being at the waterfront and shopping, we had supper with Michelle, Cadence and Rebecca. We had some delicious BBQ hot dogs and burgers. After that, we toured beautiful Peggy’s Cove. It was a very comforting sight to see because the bedrock and the endless ocean looked a lot like home. After that, all of us went back to Natalie’s for some dessert, lemon cake and chocolate cake, with some very nice conversations along the way. After that, everyone went home and settled in. This is the part where Joey and I got along very well. I want to say that Joey inspires me so much to become a strong person. Anyways, probably the best day 2 in the whole history of NYA day 2s. Because of how it started off and ended. Once again, I’m excited about what tomorrow holds.
Day 3:
Before supper today, I went for a walk to the convenience store alone, and it was nice. I managed my entire way back, which is cool for a Nunavut boy. After supper, Natalie, Joey, and I went to have dessert at Natalie’s parents’ house, and we had some good conversations at the dinner table. After that, we went home and pretty much settled in. It’s almost midnight as I write this, so I’ll get some rest. New day tomorrow.
Day 4:
Blogs are almost becoming my thing now. I’ve never written a blog before in my life. So today was a productive day. Natalie dropped us off at her workplace, and she showed us around a bit. After that, Joey and I managed to walk to our work placement. We made one wrong turn, but it wasn’t much of a hassle. It was a nice walk and we got a sense of direction and the area of the place. When we arrived at our destination, we waited for Melinda, our workplace supervisor. She’s very nice, just like all the people in Nova Scotia. Anyways, we started our job, I was sorting letters for the kids, and Joey did a real good job cutting over 200 pieces of paper. It was stressful for both of us, but in the end, we felt a sense of accomplishment. After our day at work, Natalie picked us up and we headed home for supper. Natalie cooked ground beef stir fry, which was delicious because it tasted a bit like home. After supper, Natalie brought her son to hockey. Joey and I chilled around for a bit and so I finally got to play video games. Then, we got to watch another episode of North of North. After some down time, I did the dishes then I went for a smoke and thought of my blog, and so here I am now I’m working on it. I can’t write anything else because I don’t know what will happen after this. I know I’m tired, so I’d better get ready for tomorrow. As always, a new day tomorrow.
Day 5:
Today’s a bit different than the rest of the days because it’s usually night when I write these, right now it’s earlier in the evening. Today was a good day overall. It was a slow workday for me, as I went to sleep very late. I was tired the whole day, but after work, we visited the oval. I finally got to hang out with friends from back home, Mack and Anikan, which was honestly unexpected and fun. I also finally got to be active, which felt good. I think I enjoyed the oval a little bit too much. After the oval, we went to McDonald’s. I enjoyed my meal, which was a Big Mac, fries, and chicken nuggets. After McDonald’s, we went for a walk back to the oval and settled in the driveway back home. When we got home, I was ready to write this, but I got distracted watching “North of North” and now I’m back here, finishing off my Day 5 blog. New day tomorrow.
Day 6:
Today feels different because I feel like I’m getting used to living down here. Third day on the job, and it still feels a bit slow at work. I hope I can pick things up tomorrow. Starting off with the morning, it was a very typical morning, except this time we took an Uber to work because Natalie’s car was dropped off at the mechanic. We didn’t need my phone this time because we can now rely entirely on memory. Typical day at work, I did the same thing as yesterday, which was inventory. At lunch break, Joey and I checked out the mall. I didn’t buy anything, I just wanted to hang out with Joey. After the lunch break, we did our usual thing. Natalie picked us up after work, and then we went home. Once we got home, we hung out for a while, then I went for a walk around the block. When I got back home, we intended to watch more of North of North, but the internet wasn’t cooperating, so we chilled a while longer. For dinner tonight, we had tacos. Anyways, I look forward to more good days ahead.
Day 7:
Another day, another blog. One week in today! I’m getting used to living in the south. Not much to say today, as it feels a lot like the rest of the other days. Went to work on something in the past couple of days, doing inventory. Today’s a bit different because I finally got to hang out with Elliot, we did a couple of laps around the oval, and that was right after work. After the oval, we all went home, including Natalie’s adoptive daughter, who’s originally from China. When we got home, we did the basics and watched “North of North.” I then went for another solo walk, I got home and thought of doing my blog, and now here I am.
Hello my name is Millie-Anna Aaruaq. I am from Baker Lake Nunavut, Baker Lakes population is just under 2,500 people. I am here in Windsor Ontario with a population of 422, 630 people, that is a lot of people but I am here because of the the Northern Youth Abroad program, I was lucky enough to get selected as an alternate last year and got a chance to go this year.
I was placed in Windsor Ontario for this summer and oh boy do I love it. Windsor is by the border to the US, so I got to see Detroit that is across the river. What I love most about Windsor is where my host parents live, they live near a golf course so when the sunset comes I just sit in the backyard and watch it. There are many places to see here in Windsor and I’m not done exploring the city.
My job placement is at the downtown Windsor Community collaborative (DWCC) and I love it! I work in the Good Hood kitchen for 3 hours then I work with the summer camp with kids for 4 hours. I love this placement because I am indoors and outdoors, my co-workers from both the kitchen and the camp are awesome, my favourite part of the job is working with the kids.
My placement buddies name is Edie and she is from Behchoko NT. Edie and I get along very well, we joke around a lot and tease each other. I realize when she not around that I get bored and miss her, We have some things in common.
My host parents are amazing!!! They would do anything for Edie and I. They have taken us to Niagara Falls the first weekend with them, I loved every moment there. They provide so many wonderful things for us and I love them so very much, it’s home away from home when I am with them.
This experience is beyond words! I am so grateful to be here, there are so many things that are available to me here in Windsor. I’ve been swimming, I’ve been to point Pelee which is the most southern part of Canada, I’ve been to many new restaurants, tried a lot of new foods and many more to explore while I’m here.
If you are looking for a life changing experience then I would highly recommend this program! NYA is all about what you can see and do in your life, I was so nervous to come and be away from home for this long but there are wonderful staff and great people to help you get through this. It may seem like a long time but trust me it’s not long enough for me, NYA helped me find the person I want to be in the future. NYA has helped me step out of my comfort zone and live my life without being nervous or scared about anything.
We have just finished our 2025 Canadian Program Orientation! 20 young people from across Nunavut and the NWT came together to get ready for their summer placements. We learned about what to expect from the summer placement, how to deal with homesickness and adjusting to new places, First Aid and Workplace Safety, culture, leadership, and much more!
The Participants have now travelled out to their Host Families in Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Manitoba, where they will volunteer and experience being in a new place.
Wish them luck! Check back in on the blog throughout the summer to hear more about their adventures.
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.
