Bedford Road’s BIRM group out on a trip to Forestry Farm. (BIRM Usask/Facebook)

By Dallas Dahlseide/ CKOM News

USask providing mentorship to Indigenous high school students

Dec 15, 2021 | 1:23 PM

There’s a new program that helps provide Indigenous high school students with mentors at the University of Saskatchewan.

The Building Intercultural Resilience Mentorship program (BIRM) connects volunteer mentors from USask to work with different students in grades 9 through 12 from both Bedford Road Collegiate and Mount Royal Collegiate.

In the program’s first year, 17 mentors from the university and more than 50 high school students are in the program that focuses on building a better connection.

Nahanni Olson, BIRM’S program co-ordinator, says the program has grown into a big success for both the mentors and students.

“We have new applications coming in every day. We’re really so excited to be able to work in person and have our group meetings,” Olson said.

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“We’ve really devoted our time to getting to know each other and building relationships. The biggest complaint we get from our participants is that our meetings are too short.”

The group meets just once a week for one hour. Within that time, the mentors help guide the students with anything they may be confused about regarding the future.

“It’s really critical to the success that our students are having not just in high school, but of course we’re thinking about beyond and the pathways that are open to them,” Olson said.

Hannah Tremblay is one of the mentors and says she has learned so much about herself since joining the program.

“Being able to work with these kids and watching them just get more comfortable, start asking more questions (and) grow, I think it has been one of the coolest things that I got to see,” Tremblay said.

Tremblay says the program would have worked wonders for her if it was available when she was still a high school student.

“Even thinking back to myself, if I would have had this information in high school, I probably would have gotten a kickstart to my education,” she said. “Maybe (I wouldn’t have been) so doubtful, especially at that age where things are kind of tough and you’re figuring out a lot about yourself.”

Brenan Smith is another mentor in the program and says going forward it will be a huge game-changer.

“When I was in high school, I always felt safe and supported but there was never that chance to be around mentors that had different perspectives and different experiences,” Smith said.

“(It’s important) just to have that chance once a week to go and that’s what you’re doing, thinking about what your options are, what your opportunities are, who you are and what you want to do.”

Students and mentors separate into groups where they can form the best possible connections with one another.

Zoey Fisher is a student at Bedford Road Collegiate and says she has felt an immediate connection with the mentors.

“It’s mainly just getting to know them, and then having specific traits that you share with them,” Fisher said. “(BIRM) definitely tells me a lot more about who I am than I thought I would know. I’m very thankful for that.”