Pick Your Path, Indigenous

Pick Your Path for Indigenous CEGEP students (PYP-I) is a six-month (fall/winter terms), two-module, in-person paid learning experience for Indigenous CEGEP students in the Montreal area. In line with the Branches’ mandate, PYP-I offers participants a unique opportunity to take part in a series of workshops focusing on academic & career exploration and professional development opportunities, with an emphasis on Indigenous knowledges.  

During the PYP-I program, students will attend primarily in-person sessions facilitated by members of the McGill community, including graduate students, alumni, and other professionals. These sessions allow them to explore different academic and career pathways designed to equip students with the necessary skills, tools, and knowledge needed to map their future trajectories with confidence and success. Students will participate in a series of community and cultural engagement activities throughout the program, designed to enhance their experience by fostering a sense of community and building connections within the PYP Network (supporting Call 15 from McGill’s 52 Calls to Action).  

The program includes:  

• Workshops, activities, and events aimed at developing relevant academic, professional, and cultural skill sets and knowledge 

• Culturally relevant mentorship opportunities to receive additional support and guidance throughout the program 

• Bi-weekly mentor and mentee meetings 

• Access to a PYP-I toolkit for students to highlight key takeaways and other relevant information from each session 

Interested in Supporting Pick Your Path, Indigenous?

PYP-I equips and empowers students to make decisions about their educational and career paths. Learning about the academic and personal journeys of faculty, students, and staff is an important source of encouragement and guidance for students. Our staff and faculty volunteers facilitate in-person sessions and discuss their experiences of working and studying in post-secondary institutions, as well as their topics of research if applicable.

If you're a McGill faculty or staff, or a workshop facilitator from the community and are interested in facilitating a workshop to PYP Indigenous students, please feel free to reach out to Lynnsey Chartrand, the Indigenous Program Advisor, with your ideas. McGill students are also invited to share their student experiences with our PYP participants. 

“I was drawn to PYP because it was an opportunity to work directly with youth in our community. In the post-secondary “bubble” this personal connection is rare, and I think that it is what makes PYP so successful. Especially for first-generation post-secondary students, educational pathways can be extremely overwhelming. Being able to demystify the process and hear directly from students has been instantly gratifying. I got to witness my mentee arrive at a place where she could verbalize her educational goals and get excited about them once she was given the tools and the space to explore and reflect on her potential pathways. I hope accessible outreach programs like PYP continue to expand in our community.”

- Camila Franco, PYP Mentor (March Break ’21)