Pathways Conference to Introduce Indigenous High School Students to Postsecondary Experience

Conference being held at Trent November 4-8, 2013

Tuesday, October 22, 2013, Peterborough

First Peoples House of Learning and Trent University will host a unique Pathways Conference November 4-8, 2013, which will bring 25 Indigenous students to the Peterborough area to give them the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in life as a postsecondary student.

Organized in conjunction with Loyalist College, Fleming College, First Nations Technical Institute (FNTI), and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), the conference will allow participating students to attend lectures, seminars, labs, and trades demonstrations, as well as, literally, take to the skies with flight instructors from FNTI.

The Pathways Conference is the culmination of several strategic partnerships with Indigenous communities across the province. As part of a larger recruitment strategy, First Peoples House of Learning at Trent is working to engage Indigenous youth early enough to ensure they are streamed into the correct curriculum.

“Regular recruitment visits with students and stakeholders over the course of their primary and high school career help ensure that they know what to expect when they attend Pathways,” said Emerance Baker, director of the First Peoples House of Learning. “This conference will lead students directly into their program of choice upon graduation from high school, and help solidify their decision for postsecondary education.”
 
After attending Pathways, students will be encouraged to apply to the Foundations of Indigenous Learning Program at Trent. The foundations program admits Indigenous students who have followed a non-traditional academic path, after which they can graduate with a diploma and degree in as little as four years. For more information on the foundations program, visit: www.trentu.ca/indigenous 

The Pathways Conference at Trent was recently promoted to a number of under-serviced Indigenous populations in communities in the Kenora/Sioux Narrows. Ms. Baker conducted the visits as part of a trip to develop a new partnership between Trent and the Mikinaak Onigaming School, just outside of Nestor Falls, Ontario.

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For more information, please contact:  

Adam Hopkins, Student Success Coordinator, Trent University, 705-748-1011 x7905 or adamhopkins@trentu.ca

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