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.