Indigenous student focused on goals—her own and others’

Natasha Marshall likes to set goals for herself. Inspired by her mother, who began pursuing post-secondary education while Marshall was a teenager, she realized that through hard work and dedication she could make her dreams come true.

“I have to know where I’m going to get there,” says Marshall, who has mapped out her career trajectory for the next dozen years. Having completed her diploma in First Nations community studies, Marshall is now working on her bachelor of commerce at UVic, after which she plans to pursue a concurrent master of business administration and law degree.

For two summers, Marshall held co-op positions as a mental health supervisor assistant and youth support worker for the Nuu-chah-nulth Nation Tribal Council on the west coast of Vancouver Island. A member of the Nuu-chah-nulth Nation, she spent her work terms traveling to different communities within her nation to co-facilitate suicide prevention workshops and provide support in a variety of capacities.

“This experience made me realize that I can help my people in really positive ways. I can apply the skills and tools I have learned at university to create opportunities to empower people and help them grow,” she says.

One of her favorite experiences was leading an outdoor leadership summer camp for teenagers. “The kids loved it,” says Marshall. “It was a way for them to reconnect with our traditional heritage.”

As an Aboriginal student, Marshall says she has run into some barriers but has been encouraged by her relationships with other Indigenous students, including fellow business co-op student and friend Lisa Dewit of the Wet’suwet’en territory.

“She was a big help to me. It was so nice to speak with another student and to see how she coped. Lisa showed me that we can learn and progress without giving up our identity,” she says.

She says that a key to her success is her partner Gary, her six-year-old daughter Mercedes and all her family. “Sometimes I’m only looking ahead. Gary helps keep me in the here and now,” she says.

And Marshall’s career goals include those of others. “I just want to help people in whatever way I can, to work towards their goals,” she says.