For the first time, Extended Education’s graduation was held as part of of the University of Manitoba’s convocation celebrations and livestreamed, with David Barnard, President and Vice-Chancellor of the U of M in attendance.

Over 300 graduates were honoured. Family and friends cheered their beaming graduates on as they made their way, in caps and gowns, to be presented with their credentials.

Matt MacRae, Applied Counselling Grad

“I’m overjoyed,” says Matt MacRae, Applied Counselling grad.

“I was in a severe car accident. I did years of rehabilitation. To go from having your legs (and your life) almost taken away from you to graduating. My mom and dad, they remember me in the hospital when I was fighting to live, let alone graduate from a program so they’re absolutely overjoyed to be here in the stands cheering me on so it’s a great day for everybody.”

He recommends going back to school.

“Do it. It’s one of the greatest things you will do in your life. It’s a great community of teachers and students here, and I’ve made friendships that I will cherish my entire life. I use the information I’ve learned every day.”

Gurmehar Kaur, Applied Business Management Grad

Applied Business Management graduate, Gurmehar Kaur, was also happy to celebrate her graduation.

“Yes, for sure, that was an exciting journey,” says Kaur. “It means a lot of things to me because I was looking forward to coming over here to study this program and I have a lot of dreams that I want to accomplish.”

She celebrated her graduation with her family including her aunt and uncle. Coming here from India, she says her aunt was a great support to her as she completed her studies, and her uncle was the one who told her about the program.

“The U of M is a great place and I will for sure go through with my masters here after some time.”

David Mandzuk, Acting Dean, Extended Education opened the celebration. Greetings were provided by President David Barnard, Wanbdi Wakita, Access Program Grandfather-in-Residence, and Lasha Glennie from the U of M’s Alumni Association.

15 programs represented
Fall graduates represented 15 Extended Education programs including classroom, online and intensive options.

Extended Education at the U of M is a leading provider of programs and courses designed for working professionals to keep learning and move forward in their career. Registered numbers of students are up over 70 per cent over the past three years, with over 11,500 students in 2019 and growing.

Over 156 courses this year including online options
With Extended Education, students build on their degrees, diplomas, and experience and earn a university credential. Over 156 courses were offered in 2019. A growing number of online programs serve students from across Canada.

Extended Education Graduation

That’s wise advice from Matt MacRae who has overcome his share of challenges in life to graduate from Applied Counselling.

“I was told I would never be able to graduate, never be able to have a family or anything like that and I proved them all wrong,” MacRae says. “There is something to be said for the human spirit and believing in yourself, you know, even when everybody else is telling you no, you’ll find a way because you are strong.”

In 1996, MacRae was in a serious motor vehicle accident, a head-on collision with a semi. As a result, he suffered a head injury and was paralyzed on his left side. Doctors told him he may never walk again.

“I was doing rehabilitation. When the doctor checked me, he asked if I could walk and I said heck, I can moonwalk for you. And I did.”

Celebrating graduation
For MacRae, graduating from Extended Education is cause for celebration.

“I’m overjoyed. To go from having your legs (and your life) almost taken away from you to graduating. My mom and dad, they remember me in the hospital when I was fighting to live, let alone graduate from a program so they’re absolutely overjoyed to be here in the stands cheering me on so it’s a great day for everybody.”

He also recognized the support of his wife, and his daughter, Grace.

The life-threatening accident was one of two serious motor vehicle accidents he survived in his life, and other challenges too.

He’s lived with schizophrenia since he was 17 and heard voices until his young daughter was born. “Who says recovery is not possible and mental illness will stop you from enjoying a happy, productive life?” he says.

In 2006, MacRae had a brain aneurism. Seventeen days later, he was proud to be living at home again, independently.

He also recently lost 60 lbs.

You can do it
“If there is one thing I have learned in life, it is that God or the Universe or whatever you want to call it is looking out for you and will see you through whatever you are going through. And you can do it. Even if they say you never will. I am living proof.”

MacRae registered for Applied Counselling because he was already volunteering for the Manitoba Schizophrenia Society, and he wanted to get some training “to make myself legit”.

Now he is working at the Manitoba Schizophrenia Society as a peer support worker, using what he learned in the program every day.

“It’s so wonderful to be graduating. It wasn’t enough for me to do well in class. I wanted to excel, just because I was told I couldn’t.” And, he did.

The program had excellent instructors, he says. “They were phenomenal. Class A, top-notch, and with their life experience, they brought so much to the program. This is a great community of teachers and students and I’ve made some friendships here that I will cherish my entire life.”

Be positive
With counselling, it’s important to be unconditionally positive and to realize that so many barriers can be broken when the counsellor is not looking down on the client but rather treating them as an equal human being, he says.

Likewise, he appreciated an instructor speaking to him as a fellow professional, calling on his experience and insight. “I had a prof actually call me and ask my opinion. It’s kind of neat to be looked at as an equal, to be asked for my opinion on a subject. It felt pretty good.”

MacRae recommends everyone go back to school and extend their education.

“If I had one choice in my life, and I had unlimited money, I would just spend my entire life as a student, just learning,” he says.

“Do it. It’s one of the greatest things you’ll ever do in your life.”

Learn more about Extended Education program and courses including several online options.

UM Extended Education

The over 500 graduates of Extended Education’s programs were honoured at a formal graduation ceremony. This was the first formal cap & gown graduation for the division, and the first graduation to include all of the current programs.

Graduates, accompanied by their friends and family, celebrated earning their credentials.

“It was a long journey, working full-time and going to school,” said Bonnie Murray, Certificate in Applied Counselling graduate. “I’m excited to be done. It was a lot of hard work and I’m looking forward to being able to use these skills and experiences I’ve gained in the future.”

Rana Noon, Human Resource Management Grad, is congratulated by Paul Jenkins, Manager, Delivery

Feeling great
“I’m feeling great,” said Rana Muhammad Ahmad Noon, Certificate in Human Resource Management graduate, in anticipation of the ceremony. “My daughter graduated from the U of M with an honours degree in economics last year. Now she will see me graduate.”

With a background in human resources in Pakistan, Noon came to Winnipeg in 2015, and decided he needed some local training. He chose U of M. “It’s one of the oldest universities. It is a good facility. It was my best choice. The program was very professional. The instructors were knowledgeable and had practical experience. I am getting a Canadian certificate. Now I plan to resume an HR profession.”

Gary Hepburn, Dean, Extended Education opened the celebration. Greetings were provided by Todd Mondor, Vice Provost (Graduate Education) & Dean on behalf of the President’s Office, Wanbdi Wakita, Access Program Grandfather-in-Residence, and Jeff Lieberman from the U of M’s Alumni Association.

Paul Jenkins, Manager, Delivery, presented the Ronald Kristjanson Memorial Scholarship 2019, awarded to two students enrolled in a certificate program. This year’s recipients were Belinda Duncan and Bonnie Murray.

19 programs represented
This year’s graduates represented 19 Extended Education programs including classroom, online and intensive options.

Extended Education at the U of M is a leading provider of programs and courses designed for working professionals to keep learning and move forward in their career. Registered numbers of students are up over 70 per cent over the past three years, with over 11,500 students in 2019 and growing.

Over 156 courses this year including online options
With Extended Education, students build on their degrees, diplomas, and experience and earn a university credential. Over 156 courses were offered in 2019. A growing number of online programs serve students from across Canada.

Extended Education Graduation

It was as a Kindergarten student, she first thought of becoming a teacher. “The teacher walked in, and I thought, she’s got beautiful shoes. That’s it. I am going to be a teacher,” says the Anishinaabe grandmother from Sagkeeng First Nation, with a smile.

Recently, McIntosh offered the toast to her fellow Access grads with confidence.

“Keep on learning, in every moment,” she said. “My grandmother was my greatest teacher. She always said watch what’s around you, be kind to people, and pay attention.”

In 2017, McIntosh completed her Bachelor of Arts. Now she has earned her Bachelor of Education degree, and plans to become a high school teacher and pursue a graduate degree.

Victoria McIntosh, Access student and artist

Overcoming stereotypes
Although she knew she was smart, McIntosh always remembered how many people had labelled her with a negative stereotype. “They told me I was never going to amount to anything, and that I would die young with lots of kids. I had to get away from that, to cut the toxic out of my life and get healthy. It’s important to have Indigenous teachers, so kids can connect with someone who is like them and can understand them. When I share my story, students often tell me their relative tells the same stories. If you don’t know who you are, where are you going?” she asks.

“Young people are going to hear my story. I am going to talk about it, how I remember seeing my grandmother on the other side of the river and knowing I could not go home. I am open to share, to the sharing circle, to feeling safe.

“I have a story to tell. I will go for my masters. I said to myself, why not?”

A rough start
McIntosh was the child of a single parent, and spent her early years with her grandmother. There was much poverty in her community. She remembers her grandmother building a porch and Indian Affairs taking it way. “It was the only time I ever really saw her looking defeated. I asked why? It was like we were always being punished.”

From the fall of 1963, she clearly remembers her first day of residential school and, the moment President Kennedy was shot. “I remember looking at the car on our black and white TV and knowing it was a big thing.”

She spent eight years in residential school, where they burned her things and gave her a new name and a new identity. There, she learned English. “I thought what a lot of hard work, and little academics.”

Then she went to public school in Red Lake. “Public school was a culture shock. I had never seen so many white kids in one place. It was so different. They were so loud and talkative.”

She left high school and an abusive situation at home to get away, and became a street kid in Thunder Bay. She married at 18 and had four daughters by the time she divorced at 22.

“One day, I ran into a friend from high school and that was the person I married over 30 years ago. There was something about him.”

The couple lived in Calgary, and Red Lake, and finally came to Winnipeg. One day, she decided to turn her life around. She was going to be a teacher. Her husband encouraged her to do what she needed to do.

Victoria E. McIntosh is an Anishinaabe art educator, with a focus on “healing through the arts.”

What she needed to do
“I had abusive job situations. There was too much stress. It was very overwhelming. I was empty inside. I knew there had to be more than this. I thought that’s it. I am going to do something about it.”

At the University of Manitoba, with the Access Program, McIntosh found her supportive community. “The people at Access were so good and supportive. They allowed me to have confidence in myself, to know that I can do this.”

She was born an artist, she says. “I remember when I started drawing. I had an old board and a carpenter’s pencil. I started drawing. I drew my family. I have been drawing since then, working in various mediums. I do pencil, pen and ink, storyboards, illustrations, fire painting. Anything new, I’ll try.”

Selling her artwork across Canada, she’s also a crafter, sewing and knitting socks, making things. She comes from a family of storytellers, and remembers the best times listening to her granny while making quilts.

“I could see patterns when I heard noises. I would get in the zone. So I started painting.”

Painting our story
McIntosh was commissioned to paint the glass panels on the balcony overlooking the main floor meeting space in Migizii Agamik (Bald Eagle Lodge), home to the Access Program. The project is called Painting Our Stories: Enhancing the Work and Study Environment of Migizii Agamik, and it’s funded by the U of M’s Office of Indigenous Engagement. Her concept is based on the creation story, the idea that we all start as a simple dot and then there are more and more dots.

“We hear lots of stories. The little manitous, the oracles, the little people come and help our imaginations. We go from dots to a cluster of energy with what we are learning.”

What people come into our lives to teach us no one can ever take away, she says. “What’s your story? It’s a universal journey. It starts when we are not born yet, and continues as we go along.”

At its 2019 Spring Convocation, the University of Manitoba will confer degrees, diplomas and certificates on 2,848 graduates. Victoria McIntosh will graduate with 185 of her classmates from the Faculty of Education at the 140^th Spring Convocation session on June 4, 2019.

Learn more about Spring Convocation 2019 here.
Each session of Convocation will be streamed online.
Follow convocation ceremonies and events on #umanitoba2019 on Twitter and Instagram to see more.

“We are absolutely proud of them and thankful to have been a part of their lives,” says Diedre Desmarais, Area Director, Access and Aboriginal Focus Programs. “The students have to do the work. The ideas, the research has to come from them. They have to walk the path and follow their dream. We support them, to realize their greatest potential.”

The celebration is affectionately known as the Access grad, even though students do not officially graduate until convocation. This year, the celebration honoured 16 students of diverse cultures and backgrounds. The majority are Indigenous. They will receive degrees in dentistry, nursing, education, kinesiology, environmental studies, and commerce. Six current Access Program students were also presented with the Extended Education Endowment Award, recognizing academic excellence.

“Our grad is a way to acknowledge all of our graduands, to recognize their hard work, share a meal with them, and give them a gift. This is our way to give back to students, a special way to honour them. We have celebrated our graduands for many years.”

Elizabeth Keeper, Doctor of Dental Medicine

For over 40 years, the Access Program has provided holistic support to students attending the U of M. There are currently 185 students in the Access Program, and over 80 students have applied to start university this fall with Access.

“Access is an important program. We support students holistically and culturally,” says Desmarais. “With us, they have the support of the Access community and a great group of professionals. Students are comfortable here. Together, we laugh and we cry. We advocate for them and we are there for them.”

The Access Program has a strong Indigenous connection. Over 80 per cent of Access students are Indigenous. Half of the Access staff is Indigenous, including the Dakota Unkan (Grandfather)-in-residence. The Extended Education Access Program is located in Migizii Agamik (Bald Eagle Lodge) on the Fort Garry campus.

The celebration included expressions of Indigenous culture like the honour song and a prayer by Unkan Wanbdi Wakita, and entertainment by father and twin sons act Double the Trouble. Guests included representatives from Extended Education, the U of M, Access staff, and students’ family and friends.

Victoria McIntosh and her grandson

Emőke Szathmáry, Past President and Vice Chancellor of the U of M (1996 to 2008), provided the community address. She compared the journeys of Access students to those of trickles of water flowing to streams and the river, where their troubles are washed away.

“I am immensely proud of you,” said Szathmáry. “Your alma mater is very proud of you. Much is expected of you.”

Education graduand, Victoria McIntosh, offered the toast to her fellow graduates.

“Keep on learning, in every moment,” McIntosh said. “My grandmother was my greatest teacher. She always said watch what’s around you, be kind to people, and pay attention.”

Learn more about The Access Program