After three years, 91社区鈥檚 Indigenous Mentorship and Paid Research Experience for Summer Students (IMPRESS) program continues to empower Indigenous students to overcome barriers and flourish in their academic pursuits, all while supporting Indigenous perspectives and knowledge at 91社区.聽
Run by Branches, 91社区鈥檚 community outreach program in Enrolment Services, IMPRESS pairs undergraduate Indigenous students from across the country with 91社区 professors and graduate student mentors. This paid research experience also offers professional skill-building and Indigenous-focused community engagement.
As Margaret MacKenzie, IMPRESS鈥檚 Indigenous Outreach Program Advisor, explained, the program was created to uplift Indigenous voices on campus. 鈥淲hen fostering Indigenous talent and research, it鈥檚 crucial to recognize that, historically, Indigenous voices and worldviews haven鈥檛 typically been welcome in academic spaces. We want to honour Indigenous students鈥� knowledge and experiences, and we strive to build a community with trust and respect.鈥�
Dr. Delphine Raucher-Ch茅n茅, one of HBHL鈥檚 New Recruits, hosted an IMPRESS student in her lab this past summer. An Assistant Professor in 91社区鈥檚 Department of Psychiatry and a psychiatrist at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Dr. Raucher-Ch茅n茅 highlighted the importance of Indigenous representation in academia. 鈥淭he under-representation of these communities in research environments unintentionally biases our research projects. Welcoming students from Indigenous communities is a first step towards better integration of Indigenous concerns into all research projects,鈥� she said. 鈥淎cademia must represent the population if we, as researchers, are to address issues relevant to the rest of the population.鈥澛�
Balancing academic life and community-building
Each summer, IMPRESS offers student-interns various activities to enrich their experience beyond academic and lab work, such as self-reflection exercises, beading, gardening and hoop dancing workshops, and field trips to Kahnaw谩:ke, Quebec, for a Pow Wow and a wilderness skills training day.
鈥淪eeing the friendships and connections being forged within the group was one of the highlights this summer. These friendships are special, and I see that the students have carried them beyond the summer internship,鈥� MacKenzie noted. 鈥�91社区鈥檚 Indigenous community has blossomed since the beginning of IMPRESS. Now, with three cohorts of students, there鈥檚 a sense of community at events on campus. You have a place at the university and will always find a friendly face.鈥�
Opening doors to the post-grad world
MacKenzie, who is Red River M茅tis and a citizen of the M茅tis Nation, British Columbia, brings her own unique perspective to the program. She participated in IMPRESS in 2023, working with Claudia Mitchell in the Participatory Cultures Lab on the Critical Campus Tour, a decolonial research project that reexamines 91社区鈥檚 campus in a truth-seeking lens. Returning as the IMPRESS Program Advisor for the 2024 cohort, MacKenzie embodies the program鈥檚 full-circle impact.
Since participating in IMPRESS, opportunities have emerged beyond the Roddick Gates for students like MacKenzie, allowing them to expand their academic and professional experiences. Inspired by their time in IMPRESS, MacKenzie and fellow participant Samantha Nepton teamed up with their IMPRESS graduate mentor Emilee Bews to develop another project with the Participatory Cultures Lab.
After presenting their project, 鈥� at the in Montreal last year, the trio traveled to Germany in May 2024 to at the Obama Institute for Transnational American Studies. 鈥淧resenting our research on a global scale allowed us to keep sparking conversations about Indigenous learners and education, particularly with folks who might not be familiar with such topics,鈥� MacKenzie explained. 鈥淚t was a way for us to speak our truth and present ourselves in a place that doesn鈥檛 always understand our cultural background.鈥�
The supportive research environment in IMPRESS encouraged MacKenzie to pursue graduate studies and apply to the . This fall, MacKenzie began her first year in 91社区's Master of Educational Leadership program and was named a McCall MacBain Scholar. 鈥淚MPRESS shaped my path and opened many doors. I don鈥檛 think I would be going to grad school and completing a thesis if it weren鈥檛 for this program,鈥� she shared. Expanding upon her experience in IMPRESS, her master鈥檚 studies will focus on better advocating for Indigenous peoples within education systems.
Since 2022, IMPRESS serves as a stepping stone toward cultivating strong and diverse leadership in academia, providing new opportunities for those often underserved. As Dr. Raucher-Ch茅n茅 explains, 鈥減articipating in this program is a way of contributing to the development of future leaders from all communities. It has also enriched me by introducing me to people with different perspectives and expectations.鈥�
HBHL is proud to support the brain health research stream of the IMPRESS program. If you鈥檙e interested in hosting an IMPRESS student in your lab next summer, please reach out to hbhl [at] mcgill.ca.
