I was so grateful for the opportunity to work at the NWT Literacy Council. It was my summer dream job! I mean, any job where you get to make play dough has to be good. Just joking!
Making play dough was fun, but I got to do tasks at the Literacy Council that I wouldn’t have done at any other job. I had the opportunity to write the Everyone in the Kitchen resource for NWT Literacy Week 2018. This resource encourages families to cook together and explores the different ways that cooking incorporates literacy skills.
Working at the Literacy Council has helped me sharpen skills that translate well to my school career. I learned to use Excel spread sheets, type faster, and use plain language in my writing. As an English major, that last one is especially useful. I also learned how to sew when I created felt stories for the family literacy program. I’m not quite sure how that will further my career, but it is a great life skill.
My favourite part of the summer was definitely travelling to Hay River for the Talking Books training. Talking Books are texts that read themselves on the computer. To create a Talking Book, you make a PowerPoint, and record yourself reading the text. The group in our workshop was mostly made up of early childhood educators, so the books will be used with the children at the Aboriginal Head Start program in Kátł’odeeche. One of the coolest experiences of my life was getting to ride on the six-passenger Landa Air jet across the big lake.
I loved everyone at the NWT Literacy Council. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to work with.
— We enjoyed working with Catriona Profit, who returns to study at the University of Calgary.
