We’koqma’q Mi’kmaw School Hosts Healthcare Careers Fair
June 3, 2025
Dr. Shanté Blackmore was among the presenters at the Healthcare Careers Fair in February at the We’koma’q Mi’kmaw School. In bottom photo, she’s joined by Cassandra Googoo, the school’s career navigator. (Photos: contributed)
The fair was developed as a collaboration between the school and the Municipality of Inverness County’s Culture & Community Development department, with provincial funding from the Office of Healthcare Professionals Recruitment (OHPR). The OHPR Fund, established in 2022, has been supporting a wide variety of healthcare recruitment and retention initiatives across the province, including in Inverness County. This is the third healthcare-focused careers fair the municipality has collaborated on since 2023 and the first one to be held in We’koqma’q.
One hundred students from grades seven to 12 from We’koqma’q Mi’kmaw School and neighbouring Wagmatcookewey School in Wagmatcook attended the fair. Thirty-five healthcare professionals travelled from near and far to share their insights and experience with the students, showcasing a wide variety of healthcare professions and how to navigate careers in fields of continuing care, dental hygiene, dietetics, early childhood behaviour and development, emergency health services, medical lab technology, medicine, nursing, speech pathology and ultrasound technology, to name a few. The school’s teachers were generous in lending their classrooms for presentation spaces during the day, and also being on hand to help with any technical questions.
The fair was opened and closed by the school’s own drum group, White Bear. Prayers were offered by teacher, Phillip Prosper, with opening remarks from vice- principal, Pam Marston, and the municipality’s healthcare navigator, Lynn Carter, who also gave the land acknowledgement and expressed the municipality’s pride in being able to partner with the school for the event.
One of the highlights of the day for everyone was the keynote address by Dr. Shanté Blackmore, a recent family medicine graduate, who grew up in Millbrook First Nation. Dr. Blackmore is now a family physician based in Wije’winen Urban Indigenous Health Clinic in Halifax.
Dr. Blackmore spoke movingly of her own journey from a young student progressing through college and medical school to a flourishing and rewarding career. She outlined many of the setbacks and challenges she faced along the way, highlighting how the support and encouragement she had received from her Mi’kmaw community was crucial in keeping her focused and able to persevere.
Dr. Blackmore impressed upon the students how important it was to have Indigenous healthcare professionals working throughout the community and how much she valued being able to serve her community in an Indigenous clinic.
In introducing Dr. Blackmore, the director of education, Eleanor Bernard, and principal, Christina Sylliboy, shared how proud their community was of her achievements and what an inspiration she was to the students.
Cassandra Googoo, the school’s career navigator, who was part of the planning committee for the fair, said it was a life-changing event for the children of her community and one that she hoped will stay in their minds for years to come.
The intention is to hold two annual healthcare careers fairs in the future to serve all the local high schools.
The careers fairs are part of a wider municipality effort to grow and attract more healthcare professionals to meet the evolving needs of its communities.
The careers fairs are part of a wider municipality effort to grow and attract more healthcare professionals to meet the evolving needs of its communities.