Tamika Rollinmud is celebrating her completion of high school and with it, some exciting news.

"I'm the first person out of our family in a long time to get the chance to go to post-secondary."

She heard from U of C on June 14 that she was accepted, and the first person she called was her mom.

She'll be in the Indigenous Student Access Program which she says has a stronger focus on the student's chosen career path than other programs she's been accepted into.

"I think this year I went through a lot of my own challenges, and I was like, 'Oh, I want to have a career where I help people get through mental challenges.' And I decided I want to go into psychology."

She's very thankful for all the support she's received from the coordinator of the program and her family throughout the process.

"I feel like I've worked really hard to get here. I feel really good about it."

She's graduating from Oilfields High School in Black Diamond after a strange year of going back and forth with online and in-person studies.

It's a long bus ride from home, and back in November buses were shut down from her area to the school because Eden Valley was in lockdown.

"My parents brought me in every day still, and I'm really grateful for that because that helped a lot with graduating."

Rollinmud is exciting to be moving to the city and meeting new people as she embarks on her journey as a university student.

"The independence of it all and going into what I want to pursue in life is what I'm excited about."

Rollinmud is one of two Oilfields graduates from Eden Valley this year.

 

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