But she is not quite sure what type of position she will seek after August of 2023, when she has fulfilled all of her degree requirements. “It just seemed like a broken system.” Balan believes her current program will better equip her to assist Indigenous people. So why the decision to leave her position and return to school? “One of the main drivers was when I was working as a nurse I noticed a lot of racism and a lot of the policies were not conducive to Indigenous people and marginalized people,” she said. Balan had worked several years as a nurse at a Winnipeg inner-city urgent care facility. Though several other universities offer the MDP program, Winnipeg is the only post-secondary school that has its program focus on how Indigenous knowledge and experience can shape a sustainable path for development, rooted in culture and identity. “Grad school was always something I wanted to do,” Balan said. Balan is now in her final year of studies at the University of Winnipeg in the Master’s in Development Practice (MDP): Indigenous Development program.
That’s why Balan, who had graduated with a nursing degree from the University of Manitoba back in 2012, decided to head back into the classroom. But Balan, a 42-year-old Métis woman from Winnipeg, felt she could be doing even more.
Métis mother of six thriving in grad school programĪmber Balan was already making a difference in the world.
