By Rick Garrick

ANISHINABEK NATION TERRITORY — Anishinabek Nation citizens Chett Monague, Jaden McGregor, Sydney Allison, and Taylor Campbell are looking forward to $15,000 in financial support per year for their education from the 2023 TD Scholarship for Indigenous Peoples. The four post-secondary students were among 25 recipients announced on July 24 for the scholarship, which provides $10,000 per year for up to four years to cover tuition costs and an additional $5,000 per year for up to four years to cover living expenses. Recipients will also be offered summer internship opportunities with TD to gain valuable work experience aligned with their career aspirations.

“It feels pretty incredible — I applied for it in the hopes that it will help me out throughout the year,” says Monague, a Chimnissing (Beausoleil First Nation) citizen going into his third year of doctor of chiropractic medicine studies at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College. “My tuition is quite high so the majority of it is still not covered by the award in full. I’m still going to have to work in some capacity to be able to support myself and I’m just really looking forward to not having to stress as much.”

Monague says he is planning to do a swim from Cedar Point to Christian Island this summer to promote healthy living and activities in his community.

“I just want people to realize there are benefits, there are other ways to live and you’ve just got to start small and build your way up,” Monague says. “That’s sort of what I’ve been doing with my swim and I’ve been documenting that as well to try and get people active and motivated and want to be outside and in nature.”

McGregor, an Aundeck Omni Kaning citizen currently in his third year of geography and aviation studies at University of Waterloo, says it is “really exciting to be recognized for all my hard work.”

“It’s also a big relief as it helps me further my studies as well as my flight training journey, so it’s a really good feeling,” McGregor says. “I’m glad that this opportunity exists for other people who are just starting off on their university journey because I know it can be very challenging to try and navigate the many financial burdens in university.”

McGregor says half of his studies are dedicated to becoming a pilot, noting that he currently has a private pilot licence and is working on his commercial pilot licence.

“My short-term goal is becoming a flight instructor,” McGregor says. “One of the big things I want to do is focus on representation and supporting Indigenous students to become pilots and join the aviation sector.”

Allison, a Curve Lake citizen going into her second year of environmental science studies at Queen’s University and the Queen’s University Accelerated Route to Medical School program, says she is “very excited and very grateful for this opportunity.”

“It’s a really good stepping stone in my future aspirations and career just because not only will it help support my financial aspect of my post-secondary schooling but I also think it’s really important that the scholarship also comes with summer job opportunities as well as future full-time employment after we finish our post-secondary degrees,” Allison says.

Allison says her future goal is to work as a physician with a focus on oncology and pediatrics.

“I love working with kids and I’ve had a lot of good opportunities working with kids so I feel like both of those are kind of my areas of where I find the most passion in becoming a physician,” Allison says.

Campbell, a Wiikwemkoong citizen currently in her third year of criminal justice studies at University of Winnipeg, says she is “super thankful” about receiving the scholarship.

“It’ll be awesome,” Campbell says. “It will definitely free up a lot of time. For my first two years of school, I was working part-time — it took a lot of studying time away from me and then I’d always have to look for summer employment, so maybe that gives me the opportunity to do some classes in the summer as well.”

Campbell says she is now planning to apply to study at a law school next year after completing her three-year criminal justice degree.

“I think that Indigenous law is super interesting,” Campbell says. “Coming from criminal justice, I’ve wanted to be a criminal lawyer, but now I’m seeing all the Indigenous law and it’s super interesting.”

The TD Scholarship for Indigenous Peoples, which was launched last November, is available to students who are citizens of a First Nation, Métis, or Inuit community.

“We are proud to support students on their journey towards achieving their academic goals for their chosen career path,” says Doris Bear, vice president of Indigenous Banking at TD Bank Group. “The TD Scholarship for Indigenous Peoples provides students from Indigenous communities with financial support to explore the benefits of a post-secondary education as well as summer work experience offers.”