Orientation Day Kicks Off 2023 School Year at all Three FNUniv Campuses 

The first day of university can be daunting for anyone beginning their post-secondary education journey. Because of this, the First Nations University of Canada (FNUniv) held its annual orientation days at the Saskatoon, Regina, and Prince Albert campuses to help ease students into their new school year, where they get to share a meal together, listen to inspirational presentations, and have some fun to break the ice and create new friendships.  

• Saskatoon held their orientation on Monday, August 28.  

On Tuesday, August 29, Prince Albert and Regina campuses held their student orientations.  

In Prince Albert – students participated in activities like this body break with the on-campus wellness counsellor:   

Regina campus started with a pipe ceremony, student registration, and breakfast. All morning, there are icebreakers held, and several faculty presentations. Following that, lunch was provided by the support of Takota HR Solutions. 

In Regina, FNUniv President, Dr. Jacqueline Ottmann was on hand to welcome the students back and to share some words with the crowd. 

“Every one of you are leaders, because you lead your life. You have a circle of influence, and when you are a leader, you have a responsibility to share truth, and honesty, and to learn to use your voice.”  

Breanna Desnomie, from Peepeekisis First Nation, is in her 2^nd year at FNUniv studying Indigenous social work. She feels that orientation is important to her because she gets to meet other students that are in the same program. This year, Desnomie says that she is going to prioritize using the assistance of the Student Success Services department and visit the FNUniv elders whenever she needs support from them.  

“I was not raised traditional, so I’m connecting back to my culture and, in order to be the social worker that I want to be, I need to connect with those types of people.”  

Students finished their day off in Regina by doing a scavenger hunt around campus. They had to identify places, people and the Indigenous artwork displayed around the university, taking group selfies with them to win prizes to close out Orientation Day.