Indigenous Student PR Scholarship

Cara Ellingboe, 2023 Recipient

Schooling, work experiences set Ellingboe up for success

By Kate Ayers
In the penultimate year of her Professional Communication Major at Edmonton’s MacEwan University, Cara Ellingboe has her sights set on making a difference upon graduation.

“I actually started as a mature student, so it took me a while to find a program that I really resonated with and so when I was doing some research online, I found this program,” Ellingboe says. “I went into it because it was really diverse. There's a lot of different things that you can do with communications. You can work in a bunch of different kinds of fields.”

Throughout the three years of her studies thus far, Ellingboe has garnered many applicable skills including critical thinking, researching, writing and editing.

“I'm really enjoying it so far. I'm honestly shocked that it's going by so fast. It seems like yesterday I was just starting, but I've really been enjoying a lot of my classes,” Ellingboe says. “A lot of the online content production classes and things like that. It's been interesting to learn about new editing software and another class I’m taking right now is intercultural communication, which I also find really interesting.”

Intercultural communications provided lessons on how different cultures communicate and how to best communicate with people based on how they will understand the content, Ellingboe says.

Critically, Ellingboe has been able to apply newly learned skills on the job. One of her summer jobs in Edmonton between semesters provided experience in Indigenous relations. “I really kind of found a passion in doing that, so I feel like once I'm done school, I'll probably continue along that path,” she explains.

"I've always been interested in other cultures and that's something that's really important for Indigenous relations, navigating between how to communicate with people best and how they understand it.”

Leading with empathy is key to any conversation, she adds.

"I’ve also had the opportunity to take several Indigenous classes throughout my academic journey,” Ellingboe says. "Last year, I started a Cree language class, which is my family’s ancestral language. My Kohkom (grandmother) speaks Cree and I hope to continue the language in our family."

Ellingboe is thankful for the opportunities provided through summer employment and admits that not needing a job during the school year has made a significant difference in her post-secondary experience at MacEwan.

“I did work in my first year and I found I experienced burnout pretty bad, so getting scholarships is like a huge, huge weight off,” Ellingboe says. “Just to be able to really focus on studies and not stress so much about finances.”

“It's definitely helped me to focus on my studies and just relieve a lot of financial stress. And so, I was able to keep my marks up and not have the worries about, am I going to be able to make my next payment on this or that?” Ellingboe says. “It has made a really big impact in my studies. So, a huge thank you.”

About the Indigneous Student PR Scholarship

This scholarship was established in September 2020 for full and part-time students who identify as members of First Nations, Inuit or Métis nations or communities and are working toward a diploma or degree in public relations, communications, social media, or marketing-communications at a recognized community college or university in Canada. The CPRS Foundation partners with Indspire for this National Scholarship Program.