Text by Jeremy Freed. Image courtesy of Mike Latschislaw.

When Dr. Melanie Lalonde was working on her bachelor of science degree, she often struggled to connect to the course material. “It was very much black and white. Here’s the box and everything has to fit in this box,” she recalls. Now, through her work as the Wawatay Program’s development specialist in the Dean’s Office of the Faculty of Science at the University of Manitoba, Lalonde is working to create a better academic experience for other Indigenous students.

As a Red River Métis woman, an active member of the Métis community and with a PhD in molecular biology, Lalonde brings a unique perspective to her work. “We help with orientation and registration for their courses, and we start talking about how we can use Indigenous knowledge and Western science together to make more sense of the world around us,” she says. “We try to give them a really good basis and we continue those conversations through their entire degree program.”

From mentorships to mental health support to a new Wawatay student space, Lalonde is happy to be able to connect Indigenous students to a wide range of resources available to them. “They don’t have to struggle through like we did to get to where we are. It’s what we wished we would have had.”

Nominate a Localer. Do you know someone who goes above and beyond to make the world a better place? We’d love to hear about them. Send nominations to drivenbygoodmb@caamanitoba.com and they could be our featured Localer in an upcoming issue.