Thompson Rivers University hosts its 5th Annual Transitions Day for Aboriginal Students in School District #73 Thursday, November 18th. One hundred and fifty Aboriginal high school students will spend the day ‘experiencing post secondary’ by touring the TRU campus, engaging with academic faculties, participating in student run leadership activities, and hearing from past and current Aboriginal students in a student panel discussion on their experiences with post secondary.

Some of the students attending the 5th Annual Transitions Day for Aboriginal Students in School District #73 on Nov. 18, 2010 gathered in the atrium area of the Campus Activity Centre for a group photo.

The first of it’s kind in British Columbia, this innovative initiative builds upon a strong partnership that exists between TRU, SD 73 and the local Aboriginal community who share the common goals of offering Aboriginal students a space to envision themselves as post secondary students and to set the stage for a long lasting and successful relationship with post secondary education.

“TRU has unique relationships with the local school district and the area’s First Nations,” said Joanne Brown, Coordinator Aboriginal Projects and Communication. “When ever we talk to colleagues throughout the province or the country, they marvel at the relationship we have and the ability to coordinate to give so many Aboriginal students the best start to university.”

According to the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, Canada’s Aboriginal population is growing at three times the national average, yet only 8% had finished a university program by 2006.

Of TRU’s nearly 14,000 on-campus students nearly 11% are Aboriginal. Past and current students will facilitate and support the transitions day by participating as liaisons and volunteers throughout the day’s activities.

Some of the students attending the 5th Annual Transitions Day for Aboriginal Students in School District #73 on Nov. 18, 2010 put some enthusiasm into a group photo in the atrium area of the Campus Activity Centre for a group photo.