Experience Essay: My First Year at Lakehead University

Any new experience can be quite intimidating. Your first year of university is no different. Especially after being out of school for ten years. I had the privilege of attending the Indigenous Transition Year Program offered at Lakehead University. Throughout this essay I will discuss what brought me to the program, what I think is good and what I think could improve with the program and what I accomplished over this past year at Lakehead University. Authoring this essay, I hope to inspire those who may be intimidated or worried about their first year of university and advise those who are eligible to attend a transition program prior to starting their undergraduate degree.

I graduated high school in 2018 but did not attend post secondary. Certain situations had occurred that ultimately left me having to serve a year and a half in jail at the age of nineteen. When I was released at the age of twenty-one, I had no intensions on getting my life in order, because I felt like I had been wronged by the system. Even though that may be true, I did not realise that I was only hurting my own future by not making a plan and sticking to it. Crime, drugs, and violence are what is offered in prison, and are waiting for you when you are released. I wasted roughly eight more years before I was able to fully understand that I had to take control of my life and make some changes. I was highly intelligent, and hardworking. I worked as a mechanic for five years and was one-third the way through my apprenticeship before I realised, I was unhappy working a trade. I have had many of my closest friends died from drug overdoes in the past 5 years and knew I wanted to work in a field that I could help others, like myself, to make better decisions. A close friend’s wife told me of a program at Lakehead University that was for Indigenous people to transition into university. The program would also enable me to upgrade my grade 12 English credit to a university level. I applied for the Indigenous Transition Year Program and was accepted in 2021. Over the past year this program has given me the tools I need to continue my education. Additionally, the ITYP program educated me as how to take care of my mental, physical, and emotional health while getting an education. Next, I will explain what I found to be positive and what could improve in the Indigenous Transition Year Program.

There are so many positive aspects of this program, but I will only talk of a few that stood out to me. I had not been in school for over ten years and was more than intimidated with the idea of drafting essays or completing assignments without failing. The program started with the basics on time management, studying, notetaking and personal awareness of one’s mental health. This was an amazing start to the program and gave me the basic skills I would need to succeed in the program. Another positive aspect of the program was the commitment my professors had to each student. In the beginning of the program, I was unsure of how much I could ask of a professor but quickly learned that each one genuinely wanted to see me succeed. This reassurance of having people in my corner who wanted to see my succeed gave me the opportunity to focus on my work. Lastly the most significant part of the program is how each class incorporated indigenous content into the course. The content was easily understandable and relatable to my own culture. The content made me feel included in the university and gave me the opportunity to find my voice in Academia, feeling comfortable being who I am. The only thing I would improve is the amount of slack giving to students. It appears no deadlines mattered, or participation in class. This is unfortunate because I am more then sure next year will be different. Over the second semester I held myself accountable for my efforts and focused on my work. During the first semester I played eight hours of video games a day. The time I wasted playing video games directly related to the quality of my work. This became truly evident as I quit playing at the start of the second semester and have managed to produce a noticeable higher quality of work. Additionally, I took the time to compare my earlier works to my more recent work, and the difference was more than evident. I can honestly say that I am embarrassed with most of the work I submitted in the first half of the year and wonder why I received the marks I did. My effort was noticeable in class, but I lacked the effort working on my own. I now value the time I spend working on my schoolwork and have gone as far as to re-write many of my assignments for my own learning purposes. This year has taught me many things that I will take with me throughout my educations as well as the rest of my life. 

This year has been by far the most important year of my life. I am really proud of myself, and I feel as though I did very well. Grades aside I feel as thought I showed leadership skills, as well as commitment to my work. The confidence I have now will serve me well going forward. I have overcome my intimidation of starting something new, and now look forward to starting a new program next year. In the second semester of this year, I have truly put my all into my work, and I am eager to learn new things next year. I genuinely appreciate the opportunity Lakehead has given me to transition into university and believe that anyone would benefit from this program. My only regret is not doing it sooner. The ten years I spent prior to attending Lakehead has taught me skills I would never have learned, and these skills gave me the opportunity to help my fellow students. I led by example, and I hope that I helped others to feel comfortable. I could not be happier with myself, and I look forward to starting my undergraduate program next year. One of the most memorable moments of the year was when I was asked to speak at career day. I truly felt honored to be asked, and I hope I represented the program well. I would have loved to talk in more detail but that was clearly not the time. Prior to this year I have lived quite a life. I am unaware if anyone in my program knows the extent of my addiction prior to treatment. I spent many years battling addiction and going in and out of jail. To think I am where I am now is unbelievable. Not because I was incapable of learning, but most people never come back from where I was. Having lost the majority of my friends to drug overdoses, I truly seen where I was headed, and felt as though I could help others understand that it is never too late to change. This program is more that just a transition program into university. The program is more like a re-entry into society program, allowing those who attend to learn all the skills they need to continue their education and make something of themselves. I genuinely appreciate the opportunities I have been given, and I hope that I reflected that to my professors. I hope that more people like myself find their way to programs similar to this and make the most of life. 

To conclude, the intimidation of starting something new can often be overwhelming but often goes away amazingly fast. I now look at starting something new as an opportunity to learn, share and meet new people. I am confident that I will do amazing things and I am no longer intimidated. I am excited and can not wait to start my new program next year and that is directly the result of the Indigenous Transition Year Program and the outstanding professors involved in the program. Having spent the majority of my twenties thinking that there was no way out of the lifestyle I lived, I would never have thought I would be as confident and excited to start my undergraduate degree. I would almost go as far as to say I am addicted to school. Luckily, the Indigenous Transition Year Program spent the necessary time to prepare me for the upcoming years. The program gave me far more than I would have ever expected, and the tools to be the best I can be!