Good Roots program aims to grow STEM interest among Indigenous youth

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics, better known as STEM, are fields driving innovation and shaping the future.

However, Indigenous people remain significantly underrepresented in STEM careers, says Kayla Ford, program lead of the Good Roots program, an initiative of Indigenous Futures in Engineering at Queen’s University, which aims to spark interest in STEM among Grade 7 and 8 First Nations students.

“Indigenous people represent only one percent of the STEM career fields right now,” Ford said. “We want to be able to combat that, and this is what this program is — we’re trying to provide more representation of Indigenous people in the STEM fields.”

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Good Roots is a week-long program held at Queen’s University offering hands-on learning experiences in fields such as health care.

“This year we have students coming from Chisasibi, which is a remote community in Quebec,” Ford said. “We have two groups that have come from Wunnumin Lake, which is a northern community in Ontario. We have another northern community from Webequie.”

Students are flown in free of charge thanks to support from donors, including the Sprott Foundation and Imperial, with participants selected based on their interest in STEM.

“I really like geology,” says participant Connor Rabbitskin, adding that one of the highlights was learning to create emergency splints while working with a friend. “I got to learn how to help people,” he said.

The program has grown rapidly, expanding from just 30 participants in its first year to more than 100 students this year. Ford says she’s just happy to see the program continuing to have an impact.

“It’s just really, really great to see kids leaving here and they’re now seeing themselves wanting to come to university and they weren’t even thinking about that before they came to campus.”

For some of these students, future career paths could take root during this week of discovery and opportunity.