'I could focus on helping Indigenous students with post-secondary aspirations': YXE UG and Nahanni Olson

Saskatoon -

Nahanni Olson wants Indigenous students to feel they can dream big during their years of high school.

Since 2008, Olson has worked as an educator with the Saskatoon Public School Division, and in 2017, she became Bedford Road Collegiate’s first Indigenous Student Advocate.

This year she embraced a new challenge. Olson is coordinating a new University of Saskatchewan mentorship program called BIRM. It stands for the Building Intercultural Resilience Mentorship program, and pairs Indigenous high school students with University of Saskatchewan students.

“When I saw the opportunity, I thought I could really focus on helping Indigenous students with their post-secondary aspirations,” explains Olson in the latest episode of the YXE Underground podcast.

“I thought of how we could help Indigenous students not just transition to post-secondary, but see themselves somewhere beyond high school. That’s really what drew me to the position.”

The BIRM program launched this past spring with Indigenous students from Mount Royal Collegiate and Bedford Road Collegiate being paired with students currently enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan.

Olson notes the university student mentors are in a unique position to learn from their mentees.

“When I think about resiliency in our high school Indigenous students, that is something they all come with in spades. We’re really learning from them and are so humbled to be sharing spaces with them.”

Jocelyne Chief is an Indigenous student who graduated from Bedford Road Collegiate and is now a mentor in the BIRM program. She is excited for the chance to give back to her former high school community.

“What I noticed when I went there was a lot of Indigenous students didn’t have anyone their age or a few years older to really look up to for a healthy support system. I feel like I can be a role model for them.”

To listen to this episode of the podcast, and all previous episodes, head to yxeunderground.com