Native student takes university prize

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This spring, a Saskatchewan Indian Federated College student won the University of Regina's University Prize in Social Work.

Ida (Moore) Brass, from The Pas, Manitoba, won the prestigious award and was honored at the SIFC 16th annual convocation ceremony. Her experience at SIFC, which is federated with the University of Regina, tells a lot about what makes an award-winning student.

The prize in social work is given to the "most distinguished social work student" graduating with their first degree, and is awarded based on academic standing and community involvement.

Brass said one of the things that made the award really special to her was that she is the first person in her father's family to get a university degree. As well as her award, Brass was presented with her Bachelor of Indian Social Work degree.

Brass started taking classes at SIFC's Saskatoon campus, which is home to the social work program, in September of 1983. She had worked as a program co-ordinator at the Flin Flon Friendship Centre and as a life skills coach for a school in Creighton, and her experiences in those roles made her realize that she wanted to get a university degree.

She chose SIFC because she wanted to learn more about herself as an Indian person.

Brass is a single parent with three children and she said that sometimes her children, ages 11, 14 and 16, were frustrated by the fact her university studies took up so much of her time.

One way she was able to spend time with them was to involve them in her school activities, like the SIFC Cultural Camp which her daughter attended with her in the summer of 1991.

Cultural camp, held every summer, is an important part of the social work program. During the three-week camp, students go to a remote location where they spend time with Indian elders and teachers and learn about Indian cultural values, traditions and ceremonies.

Elders also played an important role for Brass and the other students during the regular school year.

"The elders were always there. When life would get so rough that I wanted to quit, they were always there to help me make it over that hurdle."

The other thing that helped was the close community of students in social work.

"They substituted as a family support system that I didn't really have in town. They were always there when I needed emotional support."

Her family also provided a great deal of emotional and financial support. At exam times, her sister helped her look after her children and when her vehicle broke down, her brother gave her another car. It was that kind of support that helped her through her years of study.

Brass is now working with the Saskatoon Community Mediation Services, developing new programs and working in inner-city schools to make sure their programs are culturally relevant to Native students.

She plans to go on to earn a Masters degree in Educational Psychology, starting

in September, and hopes to return to northern Manitoba when she has completed her program.