A mother-son duo has achieved a common dream. Corrine Waterhen and her son, Anton Fiddler, are two of only seven students graduating from the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT) Adult 12 program at Waterhen Lake First Nation this year. The two agreed, if they were going to go back to school to earn their high school diplomas, they were going to do it together.
“My son, Anton, was going to school and was a top student, but then he developed anxiety and eventually quit school,” Waterhen explained. “He was out of school for about three to five years. One day I thought, if I tell him I will go back to school with him, he may decide to return. I shared my idea with him and he said, if I go, he would go. We signed up, we toughed it out and now we’re graduating.”
The Adult 12 program is a nine-month program that includes seven core courses. Additional electives allow students to have flexibility in choosing courses that match their career and post-secondary plans. It is offered at SIIT campuses in Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert, and in various community locations such as Waterhen Lake First Nation. Completing Adult 12 at SIIT gives students the prerequisites needed to apply for post-secondary programs at any college or university. Grade 12 is also required for entry level work and apprenticeship in a variety of sectors. “This year we have seven students graduating,” noted instructor Ron Ray. “This is our second year (at Waterhen). The first year we also had seven graduates. Corrine was born in 1973. She came back to school along with her son… That was her big thing, to stay in school with her son and to complete her high school education.” Ray said, as an educator, he always wants to see everyone earn an education. “It’s about moving forward… You can’t worry about the past – you have to move forward,” he said. “That’s what you always need to keep doing, and, in this case, it’s also about taking people along with you. Corrine motivated her son to also go back to school.” Ray went on to say he finds such an accomplishment as gratifying. “The bottom line is, we’re here to help you as educators,” he said. “We want you to move forward as an aboriginal person… You always have to be mindful of what you want to do in life. We’re here every day. We want to instil you with confidence and assure you of your capability of overcoming any obstacles and achieving the opportunities that present themselves to you.”
Waterhen, meanwhile, said she was 18 or 19 years old when she quit school. “I had my first baby, and I’d never been back to school ever since,” she stated. “I always wanted to go back because I wanted to be the first of my siblings to graduate. At the time it seemed like it wasn’t going to happen because I was back home raising babies. I have eight kids, and I never really thought about it after a while.” When she finally did return, she said it was difficult at first because she was older than her classmates. “I’m 51 years old, but they were all good to me and we all helped each other,” she said. She also has future plans as far as schooling is concerned. “Right now, it’s not really phasing me, but I have been thinking about going to North West College and seeing what they have to offer that interests me,” she said.
As for Fiddler, he is happy to have finally finished his high school career. “It’s awesome,” he said. “I didn’t think I was ever going to come back to school, but it’s cool my mom and I were able to do it together. I like that we stuck it through. When we started the course, it was hard to even find a place to sit, but, in the end, it came down to seven grads and you could choose anywhere you wanted to sit. Going forward, I’m going to look into some sort of career – I want to get a job.” The SIIT Adult 12 graduation is scheduled for May 31.