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GMD's awesome post-secondary tour

Submitted by the school--"Going on the post-secondary tour was probably the best thing I could have done. I am now more interested and excited to attend post-secondary after I graduate from high school," says Tianna Grosse.On December 2, eighteen G.M. Dawson Secondary students departed Masset for a week of touring educational institutions and the sights of the provincial capital, Victoria. Most of the students are in grade ten with a few grade eleven and twelves.Our week of tours started off with a large career and post-secondary institutions fair in Victoria. The students mingled with several hundred secondary students from around Victoria and took in a workshop or two. "There were over thirty different booths of different careers and schools that you could go to. Vancouver Film school pulled me in..." explained Hannah Atwell "I know I want to do Culinary Arts, but after going to the career fair.it has opened my eyes on more things I might want to do," reports Karissa Glendale.Thanks to funding from the Capital program, students visited the Royal Museum of BC, the Imax Theatre, the Law Courts and the Legislature. James Shepherd said, " I had never been in the museum before. I thought it was amazing."School visits included University of Victoria, Camosun College, and Vancouver Island University on the island and in greater Vancouver: University of British Columbia and BC Institute of Technology before splitting into three groups and heading to Simon Fraser, Langara College, and Vancouver Community College.Students were surprised by some of their visits, for instance the huge size of UBC compared to the small size of Simon Fraser, VIU and Langara. "The scenery at UVIC really impressed me," said Kelsey Dorman. Zach Grosse reported, "The thing that impressed me the most about SFU was its sports program and how it is the only school in BC to be in the NCAA." In Vancouver, Dora Bedard was "blown away by how fast paced everything was compared to Victoria." Emily Turner, who is seriously considering criminology, learned that the program was not offered at UVIC but was offered at SFU. "The thing that surprised me was of how nice it was."The visits included a look at dorm rooms, a visit to Aboriginal Student Support Programs and recreation facilities. Chloe Good explained, "The aboriginal help in each school is phenomenal, you can always go there and they will give you a place to study." "All the clubs are what impressed me the most about the University of Victoria," said Melody Williams. " They even have a quidditch team and a cross country runner is the Golden Snitch!""After this post-secondary tour, it's opened my eyes to what I will strive for in my future. I now know what I want," Stephanie Stevens said. Simon Wesley Jones reported his top three possible careers are now firefighting, police and paramedic. For Jonas Prevost, the tour helped him to focus his future on "environmental studies so I can help my community and these lands." Michael Grant would "recommend the experience to any student, decided or not!"Thanks to Gwaii Trust and the Capital program for the funding that made this trip possible. Thanks again to ubersecretary Johanne Young for the logistics management. Thanks to Mr. Paul Cagna and Ms Diana Fleming for driving and chaperoning.