Advanced degrees sought

Page 5

Tansi!

To my big family of readers, welcome back. I hope your summer is going well and that all those miles you put in going to powwows, rodeos, cultural events and so forth are not taking a toll on your vehicle or personal self. Of course they always take a toll on our pocketbooks, eh? Can't help that. Anyway, here's hoping you always get home safely.

With the return of the school year in September, I thought it might be an idea to touch on education in this issue of our paper, especially at the post-secondary level, since that is the height students need to achieve now to compete in the workforce. So here goes.

Donna Meckleng, the administrative assistant at the University of Calgary, reports that she sees a marked shift in enrollments. "We are noticing a trend for Aboriginal applicants that are younger, right out of high school and they are doing quite well."

Most, she adds, are still going into general studies, then transferring later to specific faculties. As well, more are now finishing their undergraduate degrees and moving on immediately into master's programs. Another noticeable trend is the increased interest in engineering.

As for this year, the Native Centre reports there were 54 Aboriginal graduates. Of those, 38 were in various disciplines at the bachelor level. Four obtained law degrees, two medical degrees, nine master's degrees and one a PhD.

The Maskwachees Cultural College at Hobbema has landed an improved phase in programming, according to Rose Makinaw, dean of administrative services. This fall, they will offer a full four-year bachelor of social work degree in partnership with the University of Alberta.

"We promote our courses and broker them to other communities like Blue Quills, Red Crow, Sturgeon and Yellowhead Tribal Council," she added.

Dr. Peggy Ward, the head of the university studies programming and management team, explains that while many have acquired a bachelor of education diploma, more of those are going on to year three and are teaching at the college. The petroleum industry program is also growing as a joint program through the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. As well, they now have a fourth class power engineering and field operations program.

Looking ahead, they hope to put in place some courses on corrections and justice and also to expand their education degree so that students can put in all four years locally.

The post secondary program at the Siksika reserve recognized its university graduates on Aug. 13 at the annual Siksika Fair 2000.

Amelia Crowfoot-Clark, president of Old Sun College on the reserve, says they had 12 from their reserve who graduated with a bachelor's degree while nine got their master's and one, Gerald McMaster, received his PhD in humanities (arts) from the University of Amsterdam.

All were presented with a special plaque from the Siksika Nation. Interestingly, of the nine in the master's program, seven had gone through all their schooling together at Old Sun, then San Diego and Surrey, B.C.

Hey, all you nose-in-the-book types, guess what? It's that time of year again for those wanting to get in on the deals. Saturday, Sept. 16 is the annual book fair at the Fringe Theatre Arts Barn on the corner of 83 Ave. and 103 St. in Old Strathcona (Edmonton south side). The sale goes from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.