Winnie earns degree after ‘healing journey’

July 9, 2014
Proud graduate Winnie Wassegijig holds her diploma, surrounded by family members, back row, from left, daughter Peggy, son Donald, and daughter-in-law Wanda, and front, from left, grandchildren Bria, Davin, Bray and Damara.
Proud graduate Winnie Wassegijig holds her degree, surrounded by family members, back row, from left, daughter Peggy, son Donald, and daughter-in-law Wanda, and front, from left, grandchildren Bria, Davin, Bray and Damara.

By Darrel Manitowabi

M’CHIGEENG FN – Winnie Wassegijig is a mother, grandmother, and now a university graduate.

The 60-year-old was among the first 19 students graduating from the four-year Honours Bachelor of Indigenous Social Work program offered by Kenjgewin Teg Educational Institute (KTEI) in partnership with Laurentian University.

Following the June 26th graduation ceremony, Winnie said she had considered quitting the program this past Christmas. She found balancing work and part-time studies difficult, class presentations extremely difficult, and needed to consult with a tutor for her academic writing.

“But I decided to stick with it since the end was in sight,” says Winnie, for whom the most rewarding part of earning her degree was “learning how to be more open about myself ” and seeing the connection to “my own healing journey.”

That journey began 27 years ago, when Winnie says she decided to make life changes to address unresolved personal issues.  She began post-secondary studies at Cambrian College in Sudbury, completing the Native Child and Family Worker program in 1990.  In 1992 she enrolled in the Honours Bachelor of Social Work-Native Human Services program at Laurentian University, and her education was interrupted in 1993 when she accepted employment at a child welfare agency in Sioux Lookout, where she worked for 13 years.

In 2006, Winnie accepted employment with the Kina Gbezhgomi Child and Family Services in Wikwemikong when a KTEI recruiter invited her to consider completing the Laurentian social work program, which was going to be offered part-time to First Nations and non-Aboriginal learners at the KTEI campus in M’Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin  Island.

“It seemed like to right thing to do,” she says about her decision to return to her studies.

Once the paperwork is complete, Winnie will be a registered social worker, and will continue on her journey, sharing her lifelong knowledge for the betterment of the Anishinabek Nation.

Darrel Manitowabi, PhD, is a citizen of Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve and former Director of the Indigenous Social Work Program at Laurentian University.