Brendan Campbell admits that moving away from home to attend Trent University wasn’t the easiest transition, but it was a decision he is happy he made.

“There was a huge adjustment period moving so far away from home. I am happy to have made the choice to come to Trent University. I have made so many great friends and have had opportunities, which I have never imagined possible. Trent is my home away from home and I look forward to the positive change we can accomplish together. kika-sōhkātisinaw māmawi-wīcihotoyahki. We are strongest working together." 

To celebrate Mr. Campbell’s success story, and those of many other Indigenous learners  like him, the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) recently launched the ‘Let’s Take Our Future Further’ campaign, which aims to celebrate the achievements of Aboriginal learners, along with Aboriginal university graduates, who make a daily difference in their communities.

Trent University is proud of its role as a renowned leader in Indigenous education. For more than 50 years, Trent has incorporated Indigenous knowledge into its curricular and extra-curricular programming. The First Peoples House of Learning (FPHL) at Trent showcases this leadership well. FPHL provides services, support, and a home away from home for Indigenous students from all over the world. For non-Indigenous students, it’s also a place to build awareness and to become immersed in new and traditional cultural experiences.

“We’re not a standalone organization,” explains Adam Hopkins, director of the FPHL. “All of the work we do to support Indigenous learners here at Trent and in the community is through strong partnerships. We work closely with local First Nation communities both through our Aboriginal Education Council and through local community services agencies. We also work with all Trent University student supports, administrative and academic departments.”

As part of the Let’s Take Our Future Further campaign, COU has launched the website www.futurefurther.ca, featuring compelling profiles and videos from 13 role models who are studying at, or have recently graduated from, an Ontario university. Resource kits for Aboriginal learners transitioning into or considering attending an Ontario university will be distributed widely and an online video contest has launched on Twitter and Facebook asking Aboriginal learners currently enrolled in university to tell their story about how university education has taken their future further, and has also enriched the future of their communities.

The COU campaign comes just months after a report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission which put a spotlight on the need to ensure equitable access to post-secondary education for Aboriginal students.

Trent will also be recognizing the Truth and Reconciliation final report released this year through the annual Elders and Traditional People’s Gathering, Rekindling the Fire: Reconciliation and the Way Forward. The gathering will bring together Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities to continue the ongoing conversation of reconciliation.