{"id":19528,"date":"2025-09-29T10:25:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T14:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.makivvik.ca\/?post_type=taqralikonline&p=19528"},"modified":"2025-09-29T10:25:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T14:25:17","slug":"graduates-honoured","status":"publish","type":"taqralikonline","link":"https:\/\/www.makivvik.ca\/fr\/article\/graduates-honoured\/","title":{"rendered":"Graduates Honoured"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Eleven current and former Makivvik employees complete McGill University Public Administration and Governance Certificate Program<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The program, which ran for three and a half years, culminated in a convocation ceremony on June 3 at McGill\u2019s downtown Montreal campus. Indigenous graduates were also celebrated by family, faculty, community members, and peers in a special event filled with culture, speeches, and throat-singing by graduate Phoebe Atagotaaluk and her daughter.

\u201cThis is more than just education, it\u2019s about building capacity, leadership, and investing in careers,\u201d said George Berthe, Makivvik\u2019s Treasurer. \u201cThese women are role models for their families, for all of us at Makivvik, and for Nunavik. We hope others follow in their footsteps.\u201d

The 10-course program was designed to give participants formal training in governance, leadership, and administration. For Laly Keatainak, a travel coordinator at Makivvik, joining the program was an unexpected journey that turned into something she feels every employee should experience.

\u201cI didn\u2019t know what to expect, but I\u2019m so glad I did. I learned things that really help us work better and more efficiently.\u201d
Keatainak juggled her studies while raising three young children\u2014often working on assignments late into the night.
\u201cTrying to read and write with three small kids\u2026 forget it! I could only work when they were asleep,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I wanted to show them that anything is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an amazing feeling\u2014it\u2019s like getting your first job all over again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
All graduates were gifted a sealskin ulu to attach to their graduation caps. \u00a9 Carson Tagoona\/Makivvik<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For Victoria Okpik, who works in Makivvik\u2019s Justice Department, the journey presented very different challenges. Midway through the program, she was diagnosed with cancer and had to pause her studies for a year of treatment.

\u201cI had to step away, then come back and make up what I missed,\u201d she said. \u201cFinishing felt like such a relief after everything.\u201d

Okpik also played a key role in shaping the graduation ceremony to reflect Inuit identity. After seeing past Indigenous McGill graduates wear sashes with symbols like feathers and turtles which are important in other Indigenous cultures, but not Inuit, she pushed for a change.

\u201cWe wanted something that represents us,\u201d she explained. \u201cWe chose the Inukshuk, which symbolizes guidance and represents both men and women in our culture. I asked that we use a style without arms, and everyone agreed. We did keep the feather, to honour the Anishinabe territory where McGill is located.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The inaugural graduated cohort of McGill\u2019s Public Administration and Governance Certificate Program includes:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phoebe Atagotaaluk
Liliane Emudluk
Laly Keatainak
Navarana Kleist
Lynn Moorhouse
Tammy Nolan
Victoria Okpik
Nancy White
Dannella Okpik
Jennifer Matchett
Laina Grey
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eleven current and former Makivvik employees complete McGill University Public Administration and Governance Certificate Program The program, which ran for three and a half years, culminated [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":19529,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"taqralik-issues":[443,123],"class_list":["post-19528","taqralikonline","type-taqralikonline","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","taqralik-issues-443","taqralik-issues-spring"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.makivvik.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/taqralikonline\/19528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.makivvik.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/taqralikonline"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.makivvik.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/taqralikonline"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.makivvik.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/taqralikonline\/19528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19535,"href":"https:\/\/www.makivvik.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/taqralikonline\/19528\/revisions\/19535"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.makivvik.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.makivvik.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"taqralik-issues","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.makivvik.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/taqralik-issues?post=19528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}