MRU Indigenous students deepen their roots

How do you know when something is truly a success? When it happens again.

For the second year in a row, TC Energy has funded a back-to-the-land retreat for Mount Royal University students participating in Career Services’ Indigenous Career Mentorship Program. The retreat serves as the annual kickoff event for mentees in the program, bringing students together to connect, reflect and prepare for the year ahead.

From its inception, the goal of the mentorship program has always been to shape and nurture career development inspired by Indigenous ways of knowing. When it was first developed in 2021, creating a retreat for Indigenous students wasn’t viable.

That changed in February 2024, when TC Energy learned about Canada’s first Indigenous career mentorship program and committed $10,000 in funding.

Lori Kearney, MRU’s Indigenous work experience coordinator and program creator, began researching ideas for how to best invest that funding into valuable experiences for Indigenous students. A few months later, MRU’s Back to the Land Mentee Retreat was born, thanks to contributions from colleagues Daniel Santiago, Carlee-Rea Beazely and Vance Koberstein.

The retreat encourages students to walk in two worlds as they move through the mentorship program and their academic and career journeys. Participation offers students an opportunity to honour their roots by connecting with nature, deepening their understanding of Indigenous ways of knowing and engaging with others in the community.

Back to nature

Over three days at the end of the fall reading break, students, staff, knowledge keepers and Elders escape into Alberta’s nature at Heartening Valley Wilderness Retreat. Two hours northwest of Calgary past Waopoarous Village, the retreat is a haven buried deep in the woods at the edge of Alberta’s vast forests and on the doorstep of the Rocky Mountains. Overlooking an unnamed lake, a collection of lodges provides what the organization calls “purposeful sacred spaces to support nonprofit organizations, youth programs and cultural initiatives.”

For many mentees, the weekend was a chance to reset. Robyn Deschamps said she hadn’t expected much when she arrived, but that quickly changed. “As I spent time out here, I grew a connection to everything and everyone. It helped me get back to myself and be ready to go back to school. It was an amazing break.”

That sense of peace resonated with others as well. “It’s definitely healing out here,” said fellow participant Kennedy John. “Your first breath of air is just a surreal moment. It’s different from being in the city.”

TC Energy and MRU have enjoyed a long-standing, mutually beneficial relationship over the decades, from guest speakers in classrooms and community service learning projects to hundreds of student internships and even funding for the University’s outdoor amphitheatre. TC’s continued investment in MRU’s campus and community has created formative work-integrated learning experiences, career development opportunities and soul-enriching spaces.

The Indigenous Career Mentorship Program is the first of its kind in Canada. Now in its fourth year of operation, the program runs annually from January to April. It supports third and fourth-year students in shaping and nurturing their career development, inspired by Indigenous way of knowing.

For mentee Jersey Quewezance, being surrounded by other Indigenous students made the experience especially meaningful. “It’s very welcoming, it’s reassuring, and you just feel all is one.”

Mentors and mentees walk together, weaving the strands of their relationship like the fibres of sweetgrass to complete a beautiful braid of friendship, mentorship and community. Post-secondary Indigenous students can be connected with Indigenous and non-Indigenous industry professionals.

Christine Mooney, another participant, encourages other Indigenous students to take part. “Just go do it, take the opportunity. You won’t regret it. It’s something that will make you feel a lot better about yourself and your roots.”