Emerging Voices

Considering Post-Secondary Options JHR found the vast majority of First Nations youth surveyed would like to attend post-secondary school. Over 75 per cent of students responded that they wanted to go to college or university, 22.4 per cent were not sure and less than 1 per cent said they were not intending to.

The majority hoped to pursue post-secondary education in some form. Yet many students expressed concern their grades were not high enough to be accepted into a program. Many were unsure if they would meet the minimum application requirements as a result of a lack of access to appropriate classes or low marks.

Concurrently, teachers stressed the vital need for transition programs from secondary to post-secondary school to bridge the academic gap and support students who wish to apply to and enter university, college or other post-secondary programs to ensure they are accepted and can find success.

For journalism specifically, 31.3 per cent of engaged youth indicated they were interested in studying journalism and/or media at a post-secondary school level.

Qualitatively, in speaking with youth and many working Indigenous journalists, it became apparent that journalism is not often suggested as a possible career opportunity and, as a result, many do not consider it. Many youth often do not see role models of working Indigenous journalists in their communities or in mainstream news as someone to look up to/aspire to be.

In speaking with working Indigenous journalists who were from or had studied in Ontario, there was an overriding theme of ‘falling’ into the journalism field. 42.8 per cent of those interviewed expressed that they ‘fell’ into journalism. Often writing or story telling was a passion, but the idea of a career in journalism was not at the forefront of their minds.