Every month IIKELC is highlighting inspiring and uplifting stories from Nunavummiut across the territory. This month we are proud to celebrate Gwen Natsiq. Please enjoy her uplifting story!
“I’m Gwen Natsiq, currently a 3rd year NTEP student at Nunavut Arctic College. I’ve done a good amount of leadership work in my past and I try to continue to do so as much as possible.
Growing up, leadership wasn’t something that really interested me. It wasn’t until high school where I met someone who saw immediately that I was to be a leader. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do at that point so hearing that someone saw potential in me was really inspiring. From that moment, I found passion in helping my community. I’ve done a lot of different types of leadership work, ranging from helping my college host events for our students and just trying our best to improve college life for NAC students as Student Council President to being a representative for Nunavut at Jack.org and advocating for mental health. It’s an amazing opportunity to be able to do things for my community and my people, and see the joy or the impact that I can make, even by doing the smallest thing.
Some advice that I have for people is to have fun with what you enjoy doing. After all the experiences I’ve gone through, the biggest thing that life has shown is that life is short. We are placed on this earth and we must make the most of it. It can be very easy to feel lost and want to give up what you’re doing but the payoff is always worth it. I always try to find joy in whatever I do and it’s helped me maintain the passion that I have. As well as that, another piece of advice is that there is importance in taking care of yourself, make sure that you are not overwhelmed or over-filling your plate. Nunavut provides a whole lot of opportunities, and it can be very easy to just get tangled in everything, which isn’t always a bad thing although you still have to make time for yourself. It is hard to do things for others all the time and have time for yourself. Your mental health is the most important thing, it should be your top priority. You need to know who you are as a person, what your boundaries are, and what helps you feel better about being a good role model. Knowing these things, it has helped me to have a clear mind when it comes to conflicts or what it is exactly that I wanted to strive for.
I’m very thankful for everyone who has supported me and helped me in this journey. I hope I have encouraged you to find joy in the small things and to help your community grow.”
Best,
Gwen Natsiq, Iqaluit
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