REGINA – It was a special day for 14 aboriginal people, both young and old, who were honoured for being role models by the Regina Aboriginal Professionals Association Board (RAPAB).
During a ceremony Saturday, Austin Thomson sat anxiously as he waited for his name to be called.
“It’s cool to be Mr. November in the calendar. I like saying that a lot,” said Thomson.
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He’s one of the 14 role models featured in the 2016 edition of the ‘A Proud Generation’ calendar, recognizing each for their accomplishments.
“It’s just the ability to give back to them. Recognize their achievements, their accomplishments in our community and to encourage them to continue on that path to success,” said Brad Bellegarde, communications coordinator for RAPAB.
Though for Thomson, that success meant staying sober, going to school and aiming high for the future.
“I’d like to be an engineer, maybe a power engineer,” said Thomson.
While he’s still deciding his career path, one thing he does know is that life hasn’t been easy especially as a First Nations man.
“Usually other people think that we’re not as good or that we’re always doing bad things and it’s just kind of hard to break free from that,” explained Thomson.
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Instead he chose a different path, finding a role model that inspires him.
“My uncle Mike Dubois is someone I look up to a lot. He’s shown me a lot throughout the years that education is something to strive for,” he added.
It’s those type of decisions why the calendar was created 11 years ago to recognize.
“Part of being a proud generation really what that is, is our community is surrounding those that we’re proud of,” said Tracey George Heese, the calendar’s original founder.
Each recipient receives a $500 bursary and since the calendar’s inception over $60,000 has been handed out.
Thomson, now one of those recipients, has some advice to his younger peers.
“Education is key! Going after education is going to take you places,” he said.
Each calendar will be sold for $20 online, and organizers say all the proceeds will be reinvested back into the program, helping more achievers in the future.
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