Avoid fear and apathy cautions NAAF founder

Page 12

Baseball caps, baggy pants and hooded sweatshirts were prominent as more than 1,000 Aboriginal high school students from Alberta, the interior of British Columbia, and the Northwest Territories gathered in Calgary on April 9 for a career fair organized by the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation (NAAF).

Called Blueprint For The Future, the event featured 80 workshops designed to expose the students to a variety of careers in a range of industries from the familiar resource industries such as oil and gas, and logging, to less familiar sectors including technology, science, aircraft maintenance and the performing arts.

This last sector has particular relevance to NAAF founder John Kim Bell, a trained symphony conductor. After screening a video extolling his many professional achievements, Bell spoke to the students in the morning, stressing their unlimited potential and how to achieve it.

"Today could be the beginning of the change in your life, when you discover something for which you have a great passion, a great interest," he noted. "The truth is, you can become anything you want, but you have to avoid two things-fear and apathy."

He said the key to conquering these two debilitating forces were to approach tasks with a good attitude and determination.

"Believe in yourself, have a dream, explore the world, and don't be afraid to commit to hard work," Bell urged the students." Find your dream, find your passion, find out what interests you in life and try to make a difference."

With those words the students were sent off to explore the workshops and the booths set up by various government departments, post-secondary institutions and corporations. The area where the booths were set up proved to be a popular destination in no small part because of the goodies-everything from pens to popcorn to Frisbees-being handed out.

Naturally, those staffing the booths were also dispensing some valuable information.

"Some of the booths are interesting," said Jasmine Brertton, student from Wabasca who found the information about nursing she was searching for. "There's lots of stuff to see. It's not what I expected. It's much more."

There was fun to be had in some of the workshops as well. A group of students from the Ktunaxa/Kinbasket Tribal Council in Cranbrook were introduced to the science of cryogenics courtesy of Mad Science and the company's owner, "Scientific" Steve Strachan. Using a thermos filled with liquid nitrogen, Strachan froze marshmallows to a point where they shattered when hit with a hammer. As an encore, he used the liquid nitrogen and a few basic ingredients to make chocolate ice cream.

With his rapid-fire delivery and quick wit, it was obvious Strachan knew how to handle his audience.

"Teenagers are tough to begin with," he noted. "They certainly don't want to get excited about learning about science." By the end of the session, when he was spooning the ice cream into cones, he had the students eating out of his hands and he had taught them a little science as well.

Other speakers had different strategies for capturing students' attention. Judge L.S. Tony Mandamin of the criminal division of the Provincial Court of Alberta spoke to a group of students from Calling Lake about career opportunities in the justice system. He began by sharing his own experiences growing up on a reserve in Ontario and his early struggles at college. Judge Mandamin concluded his straightforward and candid presentation by saying that while high school could be "boring and a long haul," things got better in university.

Just as some of his audience were showing signs of restlessness, he regained their attention by sharing the fact that salaries for provincial court judges start at $172,000 a year.

Other prominent speakers included Dr. Nadine Caron, entrepreneur Leah Nelson-Guay and fancy shawl dancer Shirley Hill. The three women addressed students and teachers during lunch and, despite varied backgrounds, thir messages shared certain themes. Each stressed the need for determination, a good work ethic, mentors and the importance of seizing opportunities.

Caron, Nelson-Guay and Hill each emphasized the importance of having an enthusiasm for their chosen career. At least one student had this requirement covered well before arriving at the career fair. Dwight MacKenzie, 16, travelled from Thunder Bay, Ont. to see some friends in Morley and attend Blueprint For The Future. When asked if he was looking for information on any specific career he cracked a smile and said he had already made that decision.

"I'm going to be a veterinarian, and work with big animals like horses-huge animals."