Jennifer Campeau

Ahneen/Tansi:

Six years ago I was working as an assistant in a library at a university in Texas. I was living paycheck to paycheck and was a single mother to a young daughter. I moved every two years because I was restless. I had an unhealthy on again- off again relationship with my ex-husband. I had turned 30 and realized that I wanted to make some major changes in my life. I came home to Saskatoon and moved in with my mother. This was hard for me, as I had left home when I was 16 years old. I was very independent and moving back home seemed like a failure to me.

Six years later, I am starting a PhD program and am working as a Sessional Lecturer at the Edwards School of Business. My journey for a better life started at SIIT in 2004 when I enrolled in their Management Studies I. This was my first step in making the major changes in my life. The support at SIIT was tremendous; the first thing the new students were told was if they missed more than a few days of school, they would come looking for us. We were actually going to be held accountable as students. I think this is when I realized that this school was different from the others I had been to.

I quickly found out there were some classes I did well in, and in other classes I was mediocre. I had decided to build on my strengths and accept that I was not going to do well at everything. I embraced mediocrity, and if I hadn't I don't think I would have finished the program. Embracing mediocrity had helped me become an exceptional student. The instructors were friendly and made an attempt to get to know their students, this again was different than other programs I had tried.

The other students were another reason I stuck with the program. I had bonded with them because they were like me, aboriginal students who just wanted to have a better life. Once my two years were done and I was ready to move on to a degree, a couple of instructors encouraged me to move on and helped me access resources about other programs.

I transferred to a degree program in another province and I kept in touch with some of my instructors from SIIT. Whenever I would come home and visit, I would always stop in at the SIIT. SIIT was my home as well, and always looked forward to seeing the Elder on campus. Once I finished my degree I decided to go on to the MBA program, I moved home to Saskatoon once again. Imagine my surprise when I found out that there were two SIIT alumni who had gotten their MBA's back to back. I was going to be the third person from SIIT who was going into the MBA program.

SIIT has become my family and I will always be a proud ambassador. I wish I could go back in time and give the person I was six years ago some advice. That starting school over again at 30 is not a failure, and that choosing to go to SIIT is the best thing to do, and that it will be the stepping-stone to higher education. SIIT had instilled a confidence in me that has steadily grown over the last few years, and has given me some roots that I never had before. I needed to develop these roots in order to become successful. Moving every two years without any purpose was not working in my favour.

Factors of Success

One of the main things I attribute to my success in school is my returning to my traditional ways and values I grew up with. I started participating in ceremonies once again, and I feel that it brought me clarity and helped ground me whenever I felt like I wanted to give up and just go back to the workforce.

My daughter was a big influence in why I wanted to succeed, I would tell her how important education was and how it was the pathway to a better life. How could I give her this advice and not be educated myself? I wanted to show her that if I could do it, then she could do it.

Another factor was adopting a healthy lifestyle, eating properly and exercising on a regular basis. My overall health improved and I was able to deal with the stress of school in a healthy way.

Letting go of friends and family who are unhealthy for us, I know nobody ever talks about this, but there are some influences in our lives that are not always positive. Surround yourself with people who want to see you succeed and who will support you through your educational journey.

Sometimes the path to success is a little lonely, but your real friends will realize that you need a little space to do what you have to do to finish school. Going to the library and burying your nose in a book is not always fun, but it needs to be done in order for you to succeed.

Set aside a study schedule and stick to it, and even when you are on a break from school keeping those hours specifically to read will do wonders with your conversational skills. You will find yourself going to events related to business and the more well read you are, the easier it is to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger while you are networking.

Get involved! Either join a student group, or advocate for a cause you believe in, this will introduce you to people you would have not otherwise have talked to. This also increases your profile in the community and will help you make connections. These connections will be useful once you are finished school and out in the workforce. The event management of the student groups is also good experience and can be used on your resume.

Remember failure is not always a reason to give up! I attempted to return to school twice before and I gave up because I felt I didn't belong and wasn't capable. This time was going to be different. I was determined to succeed this time and laid out a plan and broke it out into smaller goals. Each time I reached a goal, I crossed it off and then started on the next step. My biggest educational goal was to achieve a Master's Degree in Business, and once I got that I still wasn't satisfied. I never thought I would be in a Phd program and am thrilled at the thought of being challenged once again.

I highly recommend SIIT to those of you returning to school, it's a great place to transition into your role as a student. The support for students at SIIT is phenomenal. You will establish life long relationships with your peers as well as the staff and faculty. Also it's a great start as you move onto bigger and better things in your life. Thanks for taking the time out to read my story.

Chi-Migwetch,

Jennifer Campeau