Jasmine spent a year in an Indigenous military program in Ontario. Upon completing her program and getting accepted to the University of Manitoba, an advisor at the Indigenous Student Centre on campus recommended to Jasmine to live in St. John’s Residence in her preparation for first year.

“The Residence welcomed me with open arms, and it has given me the space and support to realize and evolve into the person I want to become while also letting me focus on my studies in a way I wouldn’t be able to if I lived off-campus.”

St John’s Residence became a home to Jasmine, and over the course of her undergraduate degree she has stayed.

“The staff and community have allowed me to feel safe and secure with a sense of home away from home. I have gained a lot of self-confidence and learned a lot about myself in my time living in St. John’s Residence.”

Now in her fifth year as an Indigenous Studies major, Jasmine looks to graduate next spring with aspirations of making a difference with contributions to Indigenous voices, rights, and education. 

“I want to use my studies to help boost Indigenous people up, create more opportunities, and make a difference for Indigenous success. I know I’m an ambitious person who wants many things, but I can’t help but want to achieve them all with the education I’m learning.”

Jasmine looks forward to seeing her aspirations realized with her post-secondary education. She hopes that with all her endeavors and efforts that she will be able to meaningfully give back to the communities that she has been a part of, including but not limited to the youth, students coming into St. John’s Residence, and her community up north.

To learn more about the residence and its benefits, visit our website. 

Director of Indigenous Student Recruitment and Community Relations Desiree Morrisseau-Keesick (she/her), says the event was a huge success.

“Our goal was to create an event where prospective Indigenous students could have an experience that allowed them to visualize themselves as members of the vibrant Indigenous community that exists here at UM,” says Morrisseau-Keesick.

The University hosts two successful recruitment open house events each year. But with attendance ranging from 1,500 to 3,000 people, those events can be a scary and overwhelming experience for students coming from smaller communities. It was important to the ISRCR team to host something smaller and more intimate for prospective Indigenous students.

“Feedback we’ve received from Indigenous youth that have attended these events in the past is that they feel like they don’t belong and often leave without any plans to apply,” says Morrisseau-Keesick. “This Indigenous-focused event gives students, families and community members the opportunity to explore our campus in a more mindful and thoughtful way and demonstrates our respect for their needs and concerns.”

Funded through the Indigenous Initiatives Fund (IIF), the inaugural New Buffalo Education Gathering welcomed more than 200 prospective UM students. In the future, the ISRCR team hopes to expand the event, but would cap attendance at no more than 500 participants.

Morrisseau-Keesick said initial feedback from the event has been positive.

Desiree Morrisseau-Keesick

“One student approached the welcome table to share the concerns and anxiety they had about post-secondary education,” says Morrisseau-Keesick. “The student also thanked our team and shared that their experience at the event helped convince them to apply to UM.”

The ISRCR team received messages of support from several teachers that attended the event with their students, including one teacher from Cross Lake who emailed Morrisseau-Keesick directly to say that the experience was ‘inspiring and eye-opening’ for students.

Faculties at the Open House were asked to staff their booths with Indigenous scholars and/or Indigenous support staff so prospective students could hear directly from the Indigenous peoples paving the way for them.

On-campus housing tours showed future students where they would be living if they chose that route. There were presentations on how to re-locate to an urban setting for school and the resources in place for support, as well as a presentation on financial literacy and preparing to live on your own.

“This annual event is a place where prospective students can get all their questions answered and concerns addressed, and where they will be surrounded by other Indigenous students from all different nations, ages, and experiences,” says Morrisseau-Keesick.

As for the name of the event, during a planning session Morrisseau-Keesick and her team recalled how they’ve heard many times from Elders, Knowledge Keepers and other family members that “education is the new Buffalo”.

“Growing up my Kookum, Laverne Morrisseau, made sure that all her children and grandchildren knew how important education was and how it would help us in life,” says Morrisseau-Keesick. “Just like how the Buffalo sustained us as a people and community, education was going to do the same for us now. And thus came, ‘the New Buffalo Education Gathering’.”

When asked what she would say to students that are overwhelmed with the idea of pursuing post-secondary education, Morrisseau-Keesick says this:

“For the student that is overwhelmed because they don’t know where to start or have a million questions but don’t know what to ask, we see you and we hear you. You are not alone. Your experience is valid and incredibly common. We want you to come out to this event so that you can slowly begin to acquaint yourself with the University campus, get your questions answered, build connections and learn more about your potential next steps. When you are ready, we (ISRCR) will be here to support you.”

As recruiting students relies heavily on in-person events, presentations and campus tours to create a connection and leave a lasting impact on those thinking about post-secondary education at UM, bridging that gap with virtual solutions became a critical part of planning.

A digital viewbook was launched to engage prospective students on any device and from anywhere around the world. Additionally, live, online campus tours and virtual events became a part of the programming to create and strengthen the connection to the UM and faculties, and to provide important information about student services and supports.

Now, even with the return to in-person operations, new user-friendly digital tools are being introduced to complement recruitment activities and reach prospective students near and far at all times. A virtual 360° campus tour and virtual chat tool are now available, offering a more immersive experience for those interested to learn about UM.

Focusing on international prospective students, the Unibuddy chat tool offers a platform to easily connect users with UM student ambassadors across borders. They can chat directly with current student ambassadors to ask questions, discuss campus living and opportunities, and other important details about the UM student experience.

This peer-to-peer platform uses a chat feature that matches prospective students with ambassadors whose insights relate to questions being asked, helping the decision-making process be more dynamic when it comes to choosing a post-secondary institution. After all, what better way than to hear it from students themselves?

Meanwhile, the Virtual 360° tour has changed the way we offer campus tours. Prospective students can navigate and get a sneak peek of the campus without the immediate need for travel. A simplified-format version of the tool has also been created to provide a fully accessible experience and benefit all users.

Powered by Google technology, users can walk through hallways, get an insider view into buildings and their key areas or rooms, and explore other well-known spots all from your device at your convenience, from anywhere in the world. The tour shows real-life details of each space, photos of the UM community using these spaces and general descriptions relevant to key areas. The tour currently includes seven buildings, with more to be added each year.

Visit Explore UM to access these tools and other resources to learn more about the endless opportunities awaiting you at the University of Manitoba.

These connections helped give prospective students the opportunity to hear about real experiences, allowing them to visualize themselves studying at the University of Manitoba.

The journey of a young, prospective undergraduate student can be both exciting and daunting, and this program allows them to ask their many questions in a casual, personal environment.

While Student Recruitment works to provide these young students with the knowledge and tools they need to help make the transition a little easier, adding enthusiastic personal accounts of experiences at UM helps to support their applicant experience.

“I hope that by sharing my experiences, I can help support the success of new incoming students to the University of Manitoba,” shared Zoe Quill, third year, Faculty of Science student.

When the call went out asking for volunteers for the UM Ambassador program, the response was overwhelming with more than 50 volunteers from Winnipeg and around the world answering and signing up.

UM Ambassadors participate in online session about student experience.

With recruitment events forced to transition to virtual delivery, the additional voices brought a much needed personal touch to the online platforms. What also became clear was that the volunteers enjoyed their involvement too.

“My experience with the UM Ambassador program has been fabulous,” said Elbereth Luo, a fourth-year Bachelor of Arts, international student. “I am glad I am able to be one of the student ambassadors to share immensely remarkable experiences and countless invaluable opportunities I had as an undergraduate student at UM to help the prospective students have a smooth transition from high school to university life.”

If you are a UM student, staff or alumni interested in participating in the UM Ambassador program, the next sign-up period will be announced in Spring 2021.

Future session topics will include opportunities to learn more about transitioning to university, course selection, important information for parents, Indigenous student opportunities and more. Rest assured we will be communicating and providing important information to you throughout the coming months to help you prepare for September!

Sign up for one of our future online Next Steps for New Students sessions!

Upcoming sessions:

Session 2: Transitioning to UM

Monday, May 11^th 10:00am & 2:00pm

Tuesday, May 12^th 8:00am & 9:00pm

Wednesday, May 13^th 10:00am & 5:00pm

Thursday, May 14^th 9:00am & 2:00pm

Friday, May 15^th 10:00am & 2:00pm

A few notes to prepare you for the Next Steps session:

• All sessions will be held on Zoom
• Sessions are approximately 30 minutes
• All attendees will be muted but chat functionality will be available
• Attendees will not be able to see one another, only the Student Recruitment Officer presenting will appear in the screen
• A moderator will be available to answer questions throughout the presentation but there will be a Q&A at the end

To find out more about the Next Steps for New Students, visit our Next Steps page.

Save the date! Check back soon for more details.

Session 3: Parent Presentation

May 25 – 29

Above all, at any time in the next few months, speak out if you need help or advice. The Student Recruitment team is here to support you on your journey to university. Keep up the hard work for the next few months, and you’ll soon be on your way to an exciting new adventure. If you have any questions, please contact us at student_recruitment@umanitoba.ca or indigenous.community@umanitoba.ca.