Pick Your Path, Indigenous
Pick Your Path for Indigenous CEGEP students (PYP-I) is a six-month (fall/winter terms), two-module, in-person learning experience for Indigenous CEGEP students in the Montreal area. In line with the Branches鈥� mandate, PYP-I offers participants a unique opportunity to take part in a series of workshops focusing on academic & career exploration and professional development opportunities, with an emphasis on Indigenous knowledges.听听
During the PYP-I program, students will attend primarily in-person sessions facilitated by members of the 海角社区 community, including graduate students, alumni, and other professionals. These sessions allow them to explore different academic and career pathways designed to equip students with the necessary skills, tools, and knowledge needed to map their future trajectories with confidence and success. Students will participate in a series of community and cultural engagement activities throughout the program, designed to enhance their experience by fostering a sense of community and building connections within the PYP Network (supporting Call 15 from 海角社区鈥檚 52 Calls to Action).听听
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The program includes:听听
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Workshops, activities, and events aimed at developing relevant academic, professional, and cultural skill sets and knowledge听
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Culturally relevant mentorship opportunities to receive additional support and guidance throughout the program听
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Bi-weekly mentor and mentee meetings听
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Access to a PYP-I toolkit for students to highlight key takeaways and other relevant information from each session听
Interested in Supporting Pick Your Path, Indigenous?
PYP-I equips and empowers students to make decisions about their educational and career paths. Learning about the academic and personal journeys of faculty, students, and staff is an important source of encouragement and guidance for students.鈥� Our staff and faculty volunteers facilitate in-person sessions and discuss their experiences of working and studying in post-secondary institutions, as well as their topics of research if applicable.
If you're a 海角社区 faculty or staff, or a workshop facilitator from the community and are interested in facilitating a workshop to PYP Indigenous students, please feel free to鈥�Veronica.amberg [at] mcgill.ca (reach out听with your ideas). 海角社区 students are also invited to share their student experiences with our PYP participants.鈥�
Read an insider's story
A violist and master鈥檚 student in music at 海角社区, Justin Almazan spent part of his summer in a mentoring role with the Pick your Path program. Find out what his experience in the program was like.
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鈥淚 was drawn to PYP because it was an opportunity to work directly with youth in our community. In the post-secondary 鈥渂ubble鈥� this personal connection is rare, and I think that it is what makes PYP so successful. Especially for first-generation post-secondary students, educational pathways can be extremely overwhelming. Being able to demystify the process and hear directly from students has been instantly gratifying. I got to witness my mentee arrive at a place where she could verbalize her educational goals and get excited about them once she was given the tools and the space to explore and reflect on her potential pathways. I hope accessible outreach programs like PYP continue to expand in our community.鈥�
-听Camila Franco, PYP Mentor (March Break 鈥�21)
Become a PYP Indigenous mentor
Student mentors get to share what it鈥檚 like to be a university student. Mentors also support PYP participants as they explore their interests and research next steps in their educational and career paths. Interested in volunteering with us?
Our application for PYP Indigenous mentor is now closed.听
