Indigenous youth camp running this week

By Lethbridge Herald on August 1, 2024.

Herald photo by ALEXANDRA NOAD Participants in the Outland Youth Employment Program listen at the University of Lethbridge this week.

Alexandra Noad
LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

Outland Youth Employment Program (OYEP) has made a stop in Lethbridge for one week of their six-week camp for Indigenous youth ages 16-18.

This week the participants of OYEP will be focusing on the STEM programs at both the University and the Polytechnic as they are in their science week.

Craig Voisin, supervisor and teacher for OYEP, says they try to foster an environment of learning to the youth, but also stress that it’s ok to not have everything figured out.

“One big thing I want to like kind of stress to them, too, is like it’s okay to not know what you’re going to do. I didn’t know what I was going to do until I was 27. So, you know, it’s a big step for them, right? So I think what a really good thing is to get them into it, just get them to take programs they’re interested in and then they can kind of decide from there,” said Voissin

This is OYEP second year and both years they have made stops at the University and former college, now Polytechnic.

Deserae Yellow Horn, Education Navigator for the Blackfoot Confederacy, says the University and Polytechnic had lots of good feedback from the youth which participated last year, but with more students enrolled in the camp they will get to explore both schools simultaneously.

“This year we decided to do a more immersive program into both of both post-secondaries..where the students will actually just go back and forth. Last year we had a lot of really positive feedback from the students and a lot of positive feedback from OYEP as well about the immersive programs,” said Yellow Horn.

While they University will focus more on the Liberal Arts and animation the college will introduce the kids to the trades such as engineering.

Joelle Reynolds, director of youth initiatives for Lethbridge Polytechnic, says the youth will get a chance to walk through the coullees behind the polytechnic as well as check out the various programs the college has to offer.

“We’ll be introducing them to to programs such as criminal justice and forensics, our health care programs, our trades programs as well as the variety of instructional spaces that we have around campus,” said Reynolds.

Reynolds added its really cool to see the youth explore their options for post secondary.

“We try to show the full breadth of what there is to offer because young people at this age are still exploring themselves and what they want to do. So, we might have someone who thinks they want to go go into heavy equipment technician and they leave the doors wanting to go into welding,” said Reynolds.

Most of the OYEP youth are in grades 10-11, but Yellow Horn hopes next year, with it being OYEP’s third year, there will be students interested in going to either the university or polytechnic.

“We’re hoping within by the third year we will be able to see a lot of those students that have more interest in coming either to the university or to the polytechnic.”