I enjoyed experiencing the full circle of Northern Youth Abroad from being a participant to being on staff in person. Watching the youth grow to their potential in such a short period of time was a very heartwarming experience because not too long ago I was in the same shoes.

NYA has significantly prepared me for living in the South and adapting to being away from family for extended periods. Since participating in NYA in 2014 and 2017, I have grown immensely and developed a love for traveling the world. The experience taught me to remain focused on my goals.

I will be able to come back to community in a few years and bring back my knowledge and experience to contribute to my people.

Overall this trip has helped me grow and learn in so many ways. I became more confident, independent and willing to step out of my comfort zone.

I encourage you to apply because there are so many things you can do with NYA such as volunteering, shopping, go to other places if you are lucky, and much more. You may feel homesick at first but I tell you it will be worth it!

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.

I didn’t realize that my culture was unique. Before I went for the NYA Canadian Phase I didn’t really think my culture mattered – I wasn’t proud of being an Inuk. It took time for me to understand how important my culture is…[now] I am proud to say that I am an Inuk

I feel that I can be more confident after completing the Canadian Program. I learned how to be away from home and respect people for who they are.

My summer with NYA has been the most exciting yet challenging summer ever. I’m so thankful that I was chosen to be a Northern Youth Abroad participant because it has done so much to help me prepare for adulthood.

This program isn’t just about learning skills, it’s about learning who you are. It’s helped me understand that I can learn to be more and become more confident, independent, and open to learning new things.

If it wasn’t for NYA, I wouldn’t have been interested in trades, now I’m thinking of becoming a Demolitionist and Restorationist.

At first, I was really scared to travel away from home, and had the urge to cancel a few times. However, I reminded myself over and over again that I was more excited than nervous, and went through with my plan. I’m really glad that I didn’t cancel, because so far my experience has been a blast!

I’ve made memories that’ll last me a lifetime and bonds that I hope will last. I’ve done so much here that I wouldn’t have dreamt of just a year ago, let alone a few years ago. I feel so much pride in myself for doing this and trying.

I became more mature and I am a better leader now. … I am now confident in what I want and in myself.

Living in residence has been great! It gives you a real sense of what it’s actually like to live in a college residence and prepares you for the future.

The best thing about working with NYA is that they help you decide on what you want to work as a career and helps you build up your leadership skills, and Next is geared towards getting used to the life of a college student.

The best of it all I got to see myself in different places far from home, and see my future self.

I learned that there are more opportunities than we think there is

This gave me the reassurance and confidence to apply and reach for my dream schools knowing that my safety school application fees are covered.

I also learned to stay calm when things are difficult and not give up when something doesn’t go as planned

Paddling was really hard but I learned how to push through. I got used to being with the bugs and not being so scared.

To see the cultural comparisons between Northern Canada and the San people of Botswana made me realize that our cultural identity is our strongest gift we can offer

My experience with the international phase helped me to better understand our connectedness in the world. That we can learn many things from intercultural exchange and that this can be used to hopefully move our society forward.

After assisting the Botshelo Trust Association, my goals back home changed. I want to create a youth council for Chesterfield Inlet so the youth can have daily activities.