At 16, Chance Mannik had never been out of her home territory of Nunavut before coming to Brock University last month to volunteer with Aboriginal Student Services.

Mannik, of Baker Lake, Nunavut, is here as part of the Northern Youth Abroad (NYA) program, which provides 42 high school students from the Northwest Territories and Nunavut with the opportunity to gain work experience in southern Canada.

“Before I applied to the NYA program, I had only travelled within Nunavut. I’m the only student who was chosen from my community this year for the Canadian Phase (first year), and when I found out I had been picked, I couldn’t wait to experience the south and meet new people,” says Mannik.

Even though Mannik found out she was accepted into the program last December, it wasn’t until June that she learned she would be coming to Brock University for her placement.

“The first thing I did was to go online and look on a map to see where St. Catharines was. When I realized it wasn’t far from Niagara Falls, I started preparing to come south. I had to think about packing light weight and light colour clothing because I knew the weather was going to be very different from what I was used to, but I had no idea just how hot it was going to be here,” she says.

Google Map showing Baker Lake in the north and St. Catharines in the south.

The mission of NYA is to foster leadership, cross-cultural awareness, individual career goals, and international citizenship amongst the youth they serve. The NYA program promotes success in education by providing life-changing experiences through volunteer work and travel.

Beginning in January, Mannik started working on a series of assignments to help prepare for this opportunity and guide what type of work placement she should be enrolled in.

“I was interested in understanding how an office environment operated and stayed organized. Being able to volunteer for Aboriginal Student Services has taught me how to work with different types of paperwork,” explains Mannik.

NYA Program Officer and Brock alumnus, Nick Pelletier (BA ’06) explains that the program is very similar to a high school co-op.

“NYA can deliver up to 18 per cent of the high school curriculum required for graduation through our two programs. The 42 youth like Chance will earn up to nine high school credits for their participation this summer. This is why we try to tailor the placement to the interests of the individual,” says Pelletier.

Mannik is the second student from NYA to have a placement at Brock.

“As an alumnus, I am extremely proud that NYA has been able to foster this relationship with Brock. The staff at Aboriginal Student Services have gone out of their way to welcome and support our participants and we hope that we can continue this relationship for years to come,” says Pelletier.

Later this week, Mannik will travel to Ottawa where she will meet up with the other 41 NYA youth participants to learn about their experiences working in communities in Southern British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia.

Reflecting on her experience here, Mannik encourages everyone to visit the North.

“Springtime is a great time to come and visit Nunavut, we can take people out on the land and go fishing or hunting. We are all really friendly and enjoy outdoor activities.”

Mannik is among 14 youth who are staying in communities across Southern Ontario.