Nov 4, 2020
Posted in: achievement, Success Story, SUNTEP, Teacher Education
Nicholas Bage is a fourth-year Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program (SUNTEP) student at the University of Regina. Recently in early October, Nicholas’ opinion article was featured by CBC News Saskatchewan titled How to Talk about Racism with Friends and Family.
The article details the importance of having conversations about racism and some key steps to having these conversations without leading conflict. Nicholas addresses the need to address racist incidents and provides an outline for how to respond to common racist phrases. The article is a very informative piece and can be found here https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/how-to-talk-about-racism-1.5753865.
Nicholas was awarded an Order of Gabriel Dumont Bronze Medal this February. This award honours Gabriel Dumont Institute (GDI) students who have distinguished themselves through their perseverance, community involvement, and overall student performance.
SUNTEP faculty, Erin Kramer and Natalie McNabb describe Nicholas’s achievements and accomplishments as outstanding. They explain that over the past four years, Nicholas has been involved in the SUNTEP community through participation in various cultural events such as the traditional Métis Kitchen Table Party, All-Centre meetings, and Métis dances. Last year, Nicholas was awarded the Multicultural Youth Honours Award for outstanding work in the community, hosted by The Multicultural Council of Saskatchewan and presented by the Lieutenant Governor, the Honourable Russell Mirasty. Nicholas has worked with the Multicultural Council and Regina Public high schools to train elementary school students to create inclusive, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive environments within their schools. Education in inclusivity stems from Nicholas’ courage to identify as gender-neutral. Nicholas has persevered through an educational system that has only recently begun to accept and recognize a broader form of gender identity and expression.
Nicholas’ continued commitment to reconciliation is shown through involvement in facilitating a variety of workshops at the University of Regina and for Regina Public Schools. These workshops share cultural knowledge and practices such as storytelling and the importance of working together as a community.
Thank you, Nicholas, for your dedication to volunteering and educating others through inclusivity. Good luck with your final year of SUNTEP!