Autumn Gilroy is loving life in Regina, but wants to give back to her hometown of Norman Wells in a classroom someday.
Entering her fourth year of an education degree at the University of Regina, she is planning to return to the Sahtu with her coveted professional skills.
"I'm in secondary education, so when I finish I'll be able to teach high school in all of Canada," she said. "But in the North, they're not selective in how their degrees are named so I can teach any grade.
"Ideally, I'll be teaching high school when I finish. I'm majoring in social studies SA国际影视传媒� I really enjoy history."
She contemplated making Indigenous studies her major, but decided on social studies because it provides more opportunities for employment in the education sector.
For her minor, she's focusing on inclusive education SA国际影视传媒� learning how to shape her lessons to suit all students, regardless of their circumstances.
"It covers all subjects," she said. "Helping people learn to read and write regardless of their differences."
Growing up in Norman Wells, Gilroy said she was inspired to pursue education as a vocation by her teachers at Mackenzie Mountain School.
The sense of community in a small school helped inspire her to learn, and she said she would like to give back.
"I really loved a lot of my teachers," she said. "Seeing the difference they made, there's been times where I felt I needed an advocate and they stepped up for me.
"So now I want to do that for youth."
Life at the University of Regina has been eye-opening for Gilroy, who admitted that the transition from a community of roughly 700 people to a campus of 16,000 students was a major change. But the connected structure of the campus helped minimize the culture shock, she said.
"You just do laps until you figure out where you're going," she joked. "Regina's smaller [than many universities] and the layout is simpler."
She added that the faculty's supports for education have also been very helpful by introducing her to new peers, allowing her to find veteran teachers as mentors and encouraging her to develop her own teaching method.
Many of her professors were also graduates from the same faculty, which added to the community aspect of the campus, she said.
While she's fond of where she is, her heart is still in the North. She's eager to return and give back to Norman Wells and the Sahtu.
"I really loved growing up in the North," she said. "Having a school where you start and continue to Grade 12, I feel that sense of community is really important.
"Mackenzie Mountain School is awesome, their staff is really awesome. I think it's really cool a lot of my teachers are still there and they could become my co-workers."
