Ten reasons a Cree School Board student should be grateful

1. No student loans to pay off after graduation

According to CBC News Online, the average debt on student loans is $25,000, which usually takes 10 years to pay. As CSB students, we graduate debt-free.

2. No moving expenses

We are also very fortunate that our moving expenses are covered. All we have to do is fill out an inventory form, moving request form and pack our things without a thought of how the movers are going to get paid. Non-native and other First Nations (FN) students, in most cases, have to pay their own moving costs.

3. No textbooks and school supplies expenses

The textbooks we need for our studies cost about $100 each. For 10 courses per year, textbook expenses are approximately $1,000. With four years of undergraduate studies, this accumulates to about $4,000. Luckily, many post-secondary institutions have open accounts for CSB students to charge textbooks. Every semester we receive funds to cover school supplies. For the non-native students, these expenses are paid from their own pockets.

4. No real need for part-time jobs to supplement living allowances

The majority of the non-native students I meet are working part-time to cover their living expenses. A fellow classmate was working three part-time jobs to put herself through school and yet she excelled in her studies. Likewise, other FN students need part-time jobs as their living allowances are not enough to cover the basics. I know a full-time university student/mother with five dependents who is a non-beneficiary. She receives half as much as a CSB full-time student with four dependents; this amount only covers her rent and food. So she holds a part-time job and is often on her feet for 12 hours during her work shift. Yet, she feels lucky to qualify for funding from her community where education funds are few and far between. As CSB students, our living allowance affords reasonable funding to cover basic living expenses if one budgets wisely.

5. Receiving movie gift certificates

As a student with dependents I really appreciate the movie coupons we get from our student activity funds. This offsets the expense in going to movies at least twice a year. I know other FN students don’t get these little bonuses.

6. Top CSB officials meeting with us

We get tremendous support from the Council of Commissioners, the Directors and other staff of the CSB. They take time from their busy schedules to meet with post-secondary students and repeatedly offer words of praise and encouragement. I know other FN students’ educational sponsors can rarely afford these visits.

7. Two full-time post-secondary guidance counselors

Many of us students need academic advice. We have two wonderful guidance counselors at our disposal. Again, in most cases, we don’t see this kind of service offered to other FN students. They must use services from their post-secondary institutions, like any other student.

8. Parents don’t have to save for children’s education

Parents of CSB post-secondary students don’t carry the costs of putting their children through college or university. I heard stories from parents of other FN students having to pay part of their children’s living expenses because the students are so under-funded. They spend most of their savings on their children’s future. That’s why the FN academic scholarships are so important for FN students. In order to qualify for these scholarships, they must meet above-average grades since these scholarships are highly competitive.

9. Receiving incentive awards and graduation gifts

Undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students get incentives from the CSB after graduation. Most incentives are not available to other non-beneficiary students, let alone the prospect of a graduation gift. The only incentive they receive is a diploma or degree. We must give them credit for the pride they must feel at the prospect of a future and perhaps a good job for their perseverance.

10. No cut-off year for sponsorship

Most First Nations students are automatically subjected to a cut-off year for sponsorship. One FN student was half-way through his BA honours year when he received word from his sponsors that he had exhausted his sponsorship funds. His Band put a time limit on his education funds regardless of his intention to complete his honours year and possibly go on to graduate school. No amount of pleading helped overturn the decision. I don’t see this happening to a CSB student. The CSB encourages higher levels of schooling.

The moral of this list is that we as CSB students have to make sacrifices; we can’t expect to fulfill all our conveniences and/or wants during our studies. We must be patient, for that can come later when we’ve earned that job to afford such conveniences. We have to take pride in our schooling and work as hard as the next student without forgetting all the benefits we receive from the CSB. Without our James Bay Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA) sponsorship programs, we wouldn’t be where we are now. As a Cree student learning among non-native and other FN students, it’s really opened my eyes as to how fortunate we are in many ways. I know the JBNQA has been a mixed blessing in our communities. But we can’t forget the educational opportunities and advantages available to us from the agreement. It has significantly improved our chances to advance ourselves, education-wise. It’s an opportunity we must respect and be grateful for.

Linda Neacappo-Rodrique