Reflections from Youth Elders

Taylor Bottle:

School outreach as a Youth Elder has been an incredible experience, especially spending time in classrooms for Indigenous students. It’s inspiring to see dedicated spaces with supportive staff who want these students to thrive, and it reminds me of how impactful such spaces would have been during my own school years. I’m honored that we, as Youth Elders, are seen as accessible, positive supports for the youth.

Summer Wayner:

‍My experience doing outreach in the schools has been amazing, engaging with the students on their activities and/or work has been a fun experience and just being able to help them with whatever they need. When I first started working as a Youth Elder, the students at Forest Lawn High School in the Indigenous Leadership Program were planning a family night and I was very nervous because I was still new to everything but it was very fun and seeing all the planning and preparing they did was very rewarding.