Alumni Native Access Program at Lakehead brings people together

By Rick Garrick

Fort William Councillor Michele Solomon and her sister Rachelle Johnson shared their education paths at the Lakehead University Native Access Program Alumni Day gathering on March 3.

“I didn’t think I was good enough, I didn’t think I was smart enough,” Solomon says. “And (now) I’m in my second year of a general Bachelor of Arts program. It’s been really hard but I’ve had a lot of personal growth in challenging myself.”

Solomon credited Lakehead University for providing her with information about the history of First Nations people.

“I can’t tell you how grateful I am to finally be taking that step in my personal life to know my own history and the history of our people,” Solomon says. “It’s a pleasure to be here, I am grateful to be here and I am humbled by our young Aboriginal women who are not allowing barriers to stand in their way any more.”

Johnson says she doubted herself as well when she first joined the Native Access Program.

“I’m a single mom with three kids, how the heck am I going to go to university and be successful,” Johnson says. “But I went and I had lots of support from people around me. I met lots of people that supported me and encouraged me to come to school. And I did, and I completed it.”

Johnson says her success in the Native Access Program encouraged her to continue on in the university’s Business program.

“It gave me that confidence,” Johnson says. “I felt like I can actually do this, I belong here.”

Johnson says the Native Access Program is a “great program.”

“I miss all my old classmates,” Johnson says. “We had this closeness last year. It’s not the same, but you grow from that. And you always have your friends from the Native Access Program.”
Fort William’s Tannis Kastern was recently elected to Lakehead University Student Union’s Thunder Bay board of directors.

“The support I got from fellow students and staff members was outstanding and overwhelming — the belief that people have in me,” Kastern says.

“LU is cool. We have a cool community, we have ages from 17 to 60 in the classrooms. I’m in my second year of Indigenous Learning, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Kastern, a mother of four teenagers, joined the Native Access Program with two high school credits after working in administrative-office clerical positions and minimum wage jobs throughout her life.

“There’s nothing wrong with that at all,” Kastern says. “But I wanted more.”

Kastern initially changed her life around about 10 years ago when she quit drinking.

“I’m going into my tenth year sober,” Kastern says. “I did it for my kids — I wanted to break the cycle. And I did it for my community as well.”

Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux, vice provost (Aboriginal Initiatives) at Lakehead University, says many Native Access Program students are now high school graduates.

“Some of you just want that transition year,” Wesley-Esquimaux says. “You just want to be able to get your feet wet and get some confidence built that you actually can compete in this environment. And most of you have shown that you absolutely can.”

Lakehead’s Native Access Program is designed for First Nation, Metis or Inuit students who are recent high school graduates or mature students. The nine-month preparatory program features courses in English, Math, Science, Indigenous Learning and University Transitions.