Karla Malaiya Evaloakjuk endured trauma in her youth. She turned to alcohol and drugs and she dropped out of school in Iglulik.
SA国际影视传媒淚 struggled with personal stuff,SA国际影视传媒� Evaloakjuk recalled. SA国际影视传媒淚 was like a really bad kid in high schoolSA国际影视传媒� I was troubled.SA国际影视传媒�
She needed a fresh start, so at age 16 she moved in with her grandparents in Pond Inlet.
SA国际影视传媒淭hey expected me to go to school,SA国际影视传媒� she said of her grandmother and grandfather.
She did. Evaloakjuk resumed her education and earned her diploma.
Before she graduated high school, Nunavut Teacher Education Program (NTEP) manager Andrea Burry came to Nasivvik High School and encouraged the graduating class to consider a career as a teacher. Evaloakjuk applied, but she was rejected on account of not meeting academic criteria. She remained determined, continued her studies and eventually was accepted into NTEP.
She took her first year in Pond Inlet and moved to Iqaluit for the second and third years of the program. During the first two years, she helped raise her spouseSA国际影视传媒檚 sons and then she gave birth to their daughter on the first day of classes in the third year, so she took six weeks off. Then she had to bear down on her studies to catch up while also juggling her responsibilities as a mother.
SA国际影视传媒淚t was a pretty hectic time of my life,SA国际影视传媒� Evaloakjuk said, chuckling. SA国际影视传媒淚 still canSA国际影视传媒檛 believe I got through it. I barely ever slept.SA国际影视传媒�
A major financial boost arrived in the form of the $5,000 Jose Amaujaq Kusugak Scholarship, awarded to her by Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated in 2017.
SA国际影视传媒淚t helped me so much,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淭hat really helped me to just basically live.SA国际影视传媒�
She returned to Pond Inlet for her fourth and final year of NTEP and was granted her teaching degree in April.
Evaloakjuk, 23, recently accepted a job to teach Grade 3 at Ulaajuk Elementary School in the hamlet.
SA国际影视传媒淣TEP has prepared me to appreciate my life more,SA国际影视传媒� she said, adding that she particularly looks forward to guiding youth who face difficult circumstances at home. SA国际影视传媒�(TheySA国际影视传媒檒l) have a space where they can feel safe. TheySA国际影视传媒檙e at the school the entire day, every day, five times a week. The school is where they build their foundationSA国际影视传媒� I want to be able to be there for children.SA国际影视传媒�
She also wants to see Inuktitut and lessons on Inuit culture and tradition become more predominant.
SA国际影视传媒淚 want the students to recognize their identity, know who they are and what rights they have,SA国际影视传媒� said Evaloakjuk, who enjoys skinning and sewing and whose husband is a hunter. SA国际影视传媒淭he education system really needs an Inuktitut curriculum that can lead us to more appropriate objectives that we can deliver to the students.SA国际影视传媒�
Evaloakjuk is comfortable speaking Inuktitut, although sheSA国际影视传媒檚 still getting a grasp of the Pond Inlet dialect because she grew up in Iglulik, where pronunciation is noticeably different.
SA国际影视传媒淚 actually have a colleague who is going to teach Inuktitut in the elementary school so ISA国际影视传媒檓 going to try and work closely with her and develop ideas,SA国际影视传媒� she said of her plans to broaden Inuit language instruction.
