August 8, 2025
Royal’s three-week Learn-and-Earn journey strengthened her ties to her cultural roots while equipping her with study skills, career planning tools, and the confidence to navigate high school and pursue higher education.
Royal, a Grade 11 student in Vancouver, was hoping to deepen her connection to her Indigenous culture and community. “I wanted to learn more,” she says. “To be around people who share similar experiences and to be part of something that helps you grow.”
That curiosity led her to Learn-and-Earn, a program from UBC’s Faculty of Education. This summer’s inaugural three-week experience brought Indigenous high school students from across the Vancouver School Board to UBC’s Vancouver campus — located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) — for immersive, land-based learning.
But Learn-and-Earn is far more than a summer program. It’s a year-long initiative that supports Indigenous youth in completing high school, accessing university, and preparing for meaningful careers. At its core is a curriculum rooted in Indigenous knowledge systems, including land-based learning, intergenerational teachings, and Two-Eyed Seeing (Bartlett, Marshall & Marshall, 2012), which integrates Indigenous and Western worldviews. Students earn dual credit through UBC courses in Education, Forestry, and Arts, fulfilling high school graduation requirements while building a pathway to post-secondary opportunities. Throughout the school year, they receive holistic support through academic tutoring, financial literacy training, health and wellness guidance, and mentorship with Indigenous faculty.
“We should all be excited about a program like Learn-and-Earn. It builds a foundation for future opportunities for Indigenous youth by supporting their high school completion and providing access to university education through Indigenous teacher education. The demand was beyond our capacity this year, showing a high desire for these kinds of culturally grounded, academically rich learning experiences.”
— Dr. Jan Hare, Dean, UBC Faculty of Education
Upon completing a set of required courses, students in Learn-and-Earn are eligible to work as Indigenous Education Workers (IEWs), an important entry point into education careers at a time when British Columbia is facing a significant teacher shortage and a growing need for Indigenous educators. These early employment opportunities not only offer financial support but also position students to pursue long-term goals, such as becoming certified teachers through NITEP, UBC’s Indigenous Teacher Education Program.
Students learn how to set up a tarp shelter.
“It’s been an honour to witness (the students’) growth and engagement,” says Dana LaFayette Hunter, a UBC sessional instructor and Learn-and-Earn educator. “They’re already showing up with lots of intelligence, passion, and immense capacity, so my role is to invite them to challenge themselves and to share skills that will help them succeed in university, or whatever path they choose.”
Dana adds, “Wherever they choose to go, they belong — as they are. It’s on us as a community to make spaces accessible and welcoming, and to remind them that they can live their visions and succeed. Not in spite of who they are, but because of it.”
This connection to and pride in Indigeneity is a key objective of Learn-and-Earn. Dr. Hare emphasizes how “…the Faculty of Education seeks to celebrate the identities of Indigenous learners and empower them with choices that will strengthen their families, communities, and Nations.”
That sense of belonging echoed through other students’ experiences. Sadie, also in Grade 11, joined the program to connect with peers and deepen her understanding of Indigenous culture. “I don’t have a strong relationship to my heritage,” she says, “but I found a better connection through this.” The experience, she adds, “felt more freeing than regular school. I learned how to budget, how to get around…things I can use later if I go to UBC or another university.”
The cohort gathers for a sharing circle.
Jericho, another student participant, found meaning in the program’s hands-on approach. He specifically enjoyed opportunities he wouldn’t have found in a typical classroom. “We made a shelter out of string and tarp using knots we’d learned,” he recalls. “That’s not something I would’ve done in regular school.” He also gained a deeper sense of identity during the program, adding: “It helped me take more pride in being Native.”
Kalina Conway-King, a NITEP student and member of the Learn-and-Earn team, saw firsthand how students from different backgrounds and schools built genuine connections and friendships over the course of the program. “They didn’t know each other coming in,” she says. “Now they’ve got group chats, they hang out, they support each other. It’s been amazing to watch that growth and confidence build.”
Malcolm Key, a member of the team from the Vancouver School Board, was similarly moved by the community the students created. “They came together in such a short time,” he says. “Even if someone didn’t feel confident at first, they were encouraged by the group. That kind of camaraderie was inspiring to watch.”
Hands-on practice identifying local species.
Over the three weeks, the Learn-and-Earn team helped guide students through shared experiences — from preparing meals together to learning wilderness survival skills and exploring Indigenous ways of knowing. “They made chili, pasta, cookies… and we’d all sit down and eat together,” Kalina adds. “It felt like family.”
For Royal, the Learn-and-Earn program helped her see those connections more clearly — offering something she hadn’t found in a typical school setting: a chance to connect with her roots and build community with other Indigenous students. “It gives us a connection with other people,” she says. “Even if it’s not the same Nation or the same area, we still share the same experiences. Everyone comes from somewhere.”
