Finished high school? No idea what comes next? There’s a free talk in St. Albert this week that’s just for you.
The City of St. Albert is offering a free talk Thursday night at The Collective on life after high school.
The Collective is a youth hub that opened in St. Albert earlier this year to act as a place for youth to meet, access social services, and explore business opportunities.
The talk is the first in an ongoing series of monthly, youth-led sessions at The Collective called LIFE (Learn, Inquire, Find, Explore) that’s meant to address youth issues such as addictions, finances, and employment, said Ben Huising, the city’s youth co-ordinator of asset development.
Talk organizer and BAM for Youth member Emma Frieser said she approached Huising about doing a seminar series about life after high school several years ago.
Frieser said no one ever talked to her about her options when she finished high school and started university.
“It wasn’t a question if I was going to university. It was, ‘I was going to university,’ what was I taking, what was I doing after that,” she said.
“Nobody had really talked about whether we wanted to go to university, or trade school, or take a year off.”
Many parents put a lot of pressure on kids to go into post-secondary, which is entirely different from high school, Huising said. The transition can be extremely stressful, and his department sees a marked increase in addictions and mental health issues amongst post-high-schoolers as a result.
Students today may want to travel, work for a year, or attend smaller, specialized universities, but not know where to start, Frieser said.
“It’s a very anxiety-inducing situation when you don’t know anyone who’s gone through what you’d like to experience.”
Frieser said this week’s talk would help youths plan out what they wanted to do post-high school and how to convince their parents to support their decision.
Expect to hear from about five young adults who will talk about post-secondary education, travelling abroad, and starting your own business, Huising said. Audience members will also get to speak one-on-one with speakers afterwards.
This week’s talk runs from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. this Thursday at The Collective at #100, 43 St. Thomas Street.
Email Huising at [email protected] for details.
St. Albert and Sturgeon Catholics have just 12 days to decide if they want to help shape the future of St. Albert’s school system by running for trustee.
The Greater St. Albert Catholic School district is holding a byelection this September to replace Dave Caron, who stepped down in January after some 23 years as a trustee on the board.
The board could have left his seat vacant as the next regular election was so close, but decided to hold a by-election to give someone a taste of the board life, said chair Noreen Radford.
“It’s kind of like being able to get your feet wet.”
Being a trustee is a demanding, but rewarding job where you lobby for new schools and attend meetings, committees and public events, Radford said.
“You get to help decide where education is going.”
The byelection is for the St. Albert ward, which covers St. Albert, the Sturgeon Valley, and a chunk of land northwest of Big Lake and south of Villeneuve, said returning officer Deborah Schlag.
Anyone who’s Catholic and lives in the Greater St. Albert Catholic District (i.e. in or around Legal, Morinville and St. Albert) can run in this byelection provided they get the signatures of at least five Catholics who live in the St. Albert ward.
Candidates must get their nomination papers to the Catholic board’s district office at 6 Vital Avenue on Aug. 22 between 10 a.m. and noon to run in the byelection. The byelection is on Sept. 19, with advance polls on Sept. 7 and 14.
Call Schlag at 780-459-7711 ext. 128 for details.
