It is hard to get ahead by yourself when you don’t know where to start. But thanks to EPCOR and NorQuest College’s Youth in Transition (YIT) program, the lines out of the gate have been clearly drawn.
In late 2015, EPCOR and NorQuest celebrated a $100,000 commitment by the Edmonton-based company that will help YIT students achieve their goals. The Pathways to the Future Presented by EPCOR Mentorship Program is designed to ensure students have role models, mentors, and coaches who support transition into further education and Canadian society.
“It is important to help the youth because we know they are the future,” says YIT student Mekdes Tadesse, 25, who moved to Canada from Kenya in 2014. “With support from EPCOR we get personal encouragement, motivation, and we don’t have to pay bus passes. The only thing you have to do is come to school and get educated.”
Gifts like EPCOR’s are not only paying off in terms of student success, but they are changing attitudes and leaving selfless and conscientious youngsters in their wake. Mekdes is a great example. She plans to use YIT the way it was intended: finish the program, advance to academic upgrading, and then move on to post-secondary studies. She wants to become a social worker.
“I want to help the community,” she says.
About YIT: A full-time program that focuses on increasing academic and personal communication skills. Students are between 18 and 25, and wish to transition into further education; they have been assessed below a Grade 9 level, and have a first language other than English.
It is important to help the youth because we know they are the future. With support from EPCOR we get personal encouragement, motivation, and we don’t have to pay for bus passes.