Latest news with #Sheshatshiu
CBC
4 days ago
- Health
- CBC
Dream come true: Woman from Sheshatshiu finishes nursing program using inspiration from family
As she graduated from Sheshatshiu Innu School in 2021, Stashin Penashue told the CBC she wanted to go into nursing. Last week that dream came true as she graduated from the College of the North Atlantic's licensed practical nursing program. "This is really important for me and for younger generations," she told CBC News outside of her graduation reception. She said she feels she will be a role model for youth in her community, and she isn't the only one who feels that way. Her father, David Penashue, says he believes she will inspire youth from Sheshatshiu. Like all parents at graduations, David Penashue reflected back on his daughter's younger years. Emotions bubbled to the surface. "It was very amazing for me, you know, it was a very good thing to see her walking on the stage. I remember when she was only just a baby and when she went to head start," he said. "Now she's graduating [to] be a nurse. Getting to her graduation, though, wasn't always easy. But Stashin Penashue says she learned an important lesson to never stop. After deaths in her family, it took her a year longer than she had planned to finish her program. "I had family members pass while I was in my first year, which made it very hard because it didn't just affect me, it affected my home life," she said. "Trying to come to school and learn, when my mind was somewhere else, was really hard." Inspired by great-grandmother The reason for pursuing nursing is because of her great-grandmother's work as a midwife, Stashin Penashue said. "I hope she'd be proud of me, since she missed, now, two of my graduations, and I hope I can keep her legacy alive," she said. "I hope that I can do some of the things that she did." A Sheshatshiu woman is following in her grandmother's footsteps to become a nurse in Labrador 4 days ago Duration 2:47 Four years ago, at her high school graduation, Shtashin Penashue of Sheshatshiu told CBC News she wanted to become a nurse to follow in her grandmother's footsteps. On Thursday, she received her diploma in Happy Valley-Goose Bay and is making it a reality. Stashin Penashue honoured her great-grandmother by putting a photo of her on her graduation hat, worn while walking across the stage during the graduation ceremony. "When I graduated high school, I had her painting [with me] when I was taking my photos, so I thought I would take her on stage with me this time with my cap," she said, adding that she always feels her great-grandmother is with her, that she is never far away. David Penashue said his grandmother would be proud of his daughter. He describes the woman who raised him as a medicine woman, saying that she helped many people in Sheshatshiu. He said he is proud that his daughter will be carrying on that legacy in their family. "I'm proud of my daughter, that she's trying to move forward on that stuff, in [a] different way, you know, in the English way," he said. Stashin Penashue said she hopes that in her career as a nurse she will be able to bring traditional medicine to western medicine, and believes that someone who has an understanding of Innu people will be a huge asset to the health-care system. "I think it could make a huge difference because a lot of people are really closed off by a lot of different viewpoints, and I think it would help to have somebody who has lived here and they know how people are and like what customs they have," she said. "I think it's really important. It can make people way more comfortable to get regular health care." She plans to someday return to Sheshatshiu to work there as a nurse, but first she wants to pursue a nursing degree.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Dream come true: Woman from Sheshatshiu finishes nursing program using inspiration from family
As she graduated from Sheshatshiu Innu School in 2021, Stashin Penashue told the CBC she wanted to go into nursing. Last week that dream came true as she graduated from the College of the North Atlantic's licensed practical nursing program. "This is really important for me and for younger generations," she told CBC News outside of her graduation reception. She said she feels she will be a role model for youth in her community, and she isn't the only one who feels that way. Her father, David Penashue, says he believes she will inspire youth from Sheshatshiu. Like all parents at graduations, David Penashue reflected back on his daughter's younger years. Emotions bubbled to the surface. "It was very amazing for me, you know, it was a very good thing to see her walking on the stage. I remember when she was only just a baby and when she went to head start," he said. "Now she's graduating [to] be a nurse. Getting to her graduation, though, wasn't always easy. But Stashin Penashue says she learned an important lesson to never stop. After deaths in her family, it took her a year longer than she had planned to finish her program. "I had family members pass while I was in my first year, which made it very hard because it didn't just affect me, it affected my home life," she said. "Trying to come to school and learn, when my mind was somewhere else, was really hard." Inspired by great-grandmother The reason for pursuing nursing is because of her great-grandmother's work as a midwife, Stashin Penashue said. "I hope she'd be proud of me, since she missed, now, two of my graduations, and I hope I can keep her legacy alive," she said. "I hope that I can do some of the things that she did." Stashin Penashue honoured her great-grandmother by putting a photo of her on her graduation hat, worn while walking across the stage during the graduation ceremony. "When I graduated high school, I had her painting [with me] when I was taking my photos, so I thought I would take her on stage with me this time with my cap," she said, adding that she always feels her great-grandmother is with her, that she is never far away. David Penashue said his grandmother would be proud of his daughter. He describes the woman who raised him as a medicine woman, saying that she helped many people in Sheshatshiu. He said he is proud that his daughter will be carrying on that legacy in their family. "I'm proud of my daughter, that she's trying to move forward on that stuff, in [a] different way, you know, in the English way," he said. Stashin Penashue said she hopes that in her career as a nurse she will be able to bring traditional medicine to western medicine, and believes that someone who has an understanding of Innu people will be a huge asset to the health-care system. "I think it could make a huge difference because a lot of people are really closed off by a lot of different viewpoints, and I think it would help to have somebody who has lived here and they know how people are and like what customs they have," she said. "I think it's really important. It can make people way more comfortable to get regular health care." She plans to someday return to Sheshatshiu to work there as a nurse, but first she wants to pursue a nursing degree. Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.
CBC
26-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
A Sheshatshiu woman is following in her grandmother's footsteps to become a nurse in Labrador
Four years ago, at her high school graduation, Shtashin Penashue of Sheshatshiu told CBC News she wanted to become a nurse to follow in her grandmother's footsteps. On Thursday, she received her diploma in Happy Valley-Goose Bay and is making it a reality.
CBC
09-02-2025
- General
- CBC
The Sheshatshiu Innu School expansion includes a new Innu culture and language classroom
Students, staff, elders and community members lined the halls of Sheshatshiu Innu School this week for the grand opening of two new wings. "This is a huge, huge help for our students and our community," said Kanani Davis, the CEO of Mamu Tshishkutamashutau Innu Education, also known as the Innu Education School Board. "We've been really overcrowded. Our teachers and our students had basically taken up any of the spaces that were available." Davis says the cafeteria, the music room, and even storage spaces had been repurposed as classrooms before. With the new expansion, 10 extra classrooms have been added to the school, serving both primary and high school students. Davis says students are already benefiting from smaller class sizes, though more teachers are still needed. "For example if we can find a music teacher now, we can have a music teacher in our music room," she said. New space devoted to Innu culture and language For now, Davis remains focused on the possibilities of the school's expansion, such as a space for a pre-kindergarten program, an upgraded computer room and a room for students with sensory needs. And, for the first time, Sheshatshiu Innu School is also housing an Innu culture and language classroom. Vice-principal Kenny Rich coordinates the school's cultural program. In this room, he says students will learn traditional, hands-on activities with Innu teachers. Furs hang on the wall, Innu-Aimun books are on display and a film loops on a large TV screen, showcasing Innu out on the land. A large map of Nitassinan, meaning "our land" in Innu-aimun, stretches out on the floor. The map is marked densely with place names, showing "all the Innu words used [for] travelling on foot," Rich said. The new room is a big hit with Grade 12 student Marie Pier Madeline Malleck. "I love it," she said. "It has more of my culture." Sheshatshiu growing For his part, Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation Chief Eugene Hart said the school's expansion is an exciting moment that was long overdue. "Our graduating rates are gone up really high," said Hart. An expansion at Sheshatshiu Innu School is making a big difference 3 days ago Duration 1:25 Two new wings at Sheshatshiu Innu School will be a big help to the overcrowded classrooms at the Labrador K-12 facility. It'll also offer a pre-kindergarten space, a special Innu culture and language classroom and more. With the new expansion — especially the new Innu culture and language room — he believes the school's graduation rate will go up even higher. Just like the school itself, Hart says the community of Sheshatshiu is growing. Last month, Indigenous Services Canada counted 2,014 total registered members of the band. With over 500 students attending Sheshatshiu Innu School, Hart says the population skews younger and estimates about 50 children are born in Sheshatshiu every year. Down the road, he'd like to see another school in the community. "We definitely need a primary school in Sheshatshiu," Hart said.
