School’s in for college hopefuls at Grant MacEwan

Just as summer is getting underway a select group of Edmonton students is heading back to school to learn about going to school.

"I feel very honoured to be here, to do this," said 19-year-old Tayc Greyeyes, one of 22 students enrolled in Grant MacEwan University’s ‘Transition to Post-Secondary Life Program.’

The course is designed to help aboriginal students succeed beyond high school. Greyeyes is currently upgrading his high-school education with plans to move on to a post-secondary institution.

"I’m currently living with my mom right now, so I’m going to learn how to stand on my own two feet," Greyeyes said.

The week-long course is focused on team building, time and money management and the expectations of a student.

"The biggest challenge for our aboriginal students is that first semester," said Eva Stang, manager of the university’s Aboriginal Education Center. "It doesn’t matter if it’s in a two-year diploma program or if it’s a degree program, we lose about 20 per cent because of the fact they can’t make that transition."

Students are fully immersed in the post-secondary lifestyle for the duration of the course, living in residence for the entire week.

With files from Vinesh Pratap.