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The recipient of the Myrna (Millard) Ward Entrance Bursary, Hamilton is fulfilling her dream of becoming a nurse, something she couldn’t have done without the support of the ������Ƶ community.

“I had a difficult childhood, bouncing around foster care systems and lacking the necessary support to stay on track,” she says.

“At one point, I was living in my car.”

Later, while working in a long-term care facility in Saskatchewan, Hamilton had an opportunity to train as a continuing care assistant. She immediately knew she found her passion.

“Being able to help people and give their families peace of mind really inspired me to think about what else I could do,” she says.

“I remembered how nurses were always there for my family, so I decided that’s what I wanted to be.”

Fast forward to 2018 when Hamilton along with her husband and child moved to Nova Scotia where she hoped to train as a licenced practical nurse. When she realized she lacked the prerequisites, she turned to the Nova Scotia Native Council for advice and was referred to ������Ƶ’s Transition Year Program (TYP).

“The TYP was a turning point for me. I learned how to succeed at university and that I had potential beyond what I’d previously imagined. It changed my goal; I wanted to study nursing at ������Ƶ.”

A straight-A student in the TYP, Hamilton was accepted into the School of Nursing and, thanks to the financial support she received, is making her dream come true.

“It is the generosity of others that helped me turn my life around and become the student, worker, and mother I am today,” says Hamilton. “I cannot express how grateful I am.”