Tate McDougall
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Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program Graduate Location: Saskatoon Year: 2021 |
“The knowledge SUNTEP provided me will allow me to pass along our culture and ways of knowing to my students, hopefully empowering Métis students.”
SUNTEP Saskatoon Graduate
Tate McDougall graduated from the Saskatoon Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program (SUNTEP) in Spring 2021. He always knew he wanted to pursue a Bachelor of Education Degree to become a teacher. When considering going into Education, Tate had looked at Education programs from all over Canada, but ultimately knew that a Métis cultural education provided by SUNTEP, along with his ability to speak French, would further his connection to his Métis heritage and provide job opportunities in the future. Incorporating Métis heritage and culture into his teaching pedagogy was always one of his values, Tate explains, “This knowledge will allow me to pass along our culture and ways of knowing to my students, hopefully empowering Métis students.”
Tate believes University can be a trying, busy couple of years, yet it also seems to go by way too fast. He credits his success in the program to his attitude towards growth academically and personally. His advice to future students is to, “Make the most of your opportunities, seek growth academically, and exercise academic humility. Do the work and learn everything you can from the professors. The hard work is worth it in the long run.”
Tate says, “I would like to thank the Gabriel Dumont Institute (GDI) greatly, as I strongly believe I would have been in a much worse off situation than I was for the past four years.” With the help of GDI, Tate was able to secure student employment within the Institute that offered the flexibility he needed to work while attending school. He also accessed the Métis Nation University Sponsorship Program which provided him the financial security he needed to focus on school and take on an unpaid internship to further his career.
After graduation in May, Tate accepted a full-time teaching contract in the Prince Albert Catholic School Division, teaching grade 9-10 French Immersion, and is excited to get started. His future goals include gaining valuable teaching experience, applying to the Community-Based Master’s Program through the Gabriel Dumont College, and eventually working in education administration.
