The University Of Saskatchewan’s College of Engineering has opened an Indigenous Resource Centre.
“It’s intended to be a place where Indigenous students can meet and where we can hold programs for students and social events to give them a sense that they belong,” says Bruce Sparling, the associate dean at the College of Engineering. “This is new. We have the intention as we move forward to ask the students what they’d like to have in it. Right now, it’s fairly generic. We are going to continue to develop this based on what the students might find to be useful and desirable.”
The centre became a reality with the help of donations to the ALL IN FOR STUDENTS campaign.
“It’s basically from alumni and other donors to the college,” Sparling adds. “We did have some indication as to where people wanted to put their money and this was the top priority that emerged from the past year.”
The ALL IN FOR STUDENTS campaign is a yearly University of Saskatchewan fundraiser and more than $1.19 million was raised for the 2018-2019 school year.
“This is what first-year Indigenous students need,” says Dannielle Brewster, who is a University of Saskatchewan chemical engineering student from La Ronge. “It’s hard coming from a small town. It is a little isolating, but here you can meet students similar to you, who can support you. Seeing other people makes you believe that you can do it and that there is support. The university offers so many resources to students that when I graduate, I will have to give back.”
The University of Saskatchewan also launched the engineering access program in March to help more Indigenous students complete engineering degrees.
(Photo courtesy of the University Of Saskatchewan.)