Evan Colgan, from Long Plain First Nation, had just dropped out of the Red River Business Information Technology program after completing the first semester, when he saw a position posted on Facebook for a Robotics Instructor with FPDI. Shortly after being hired with FPDI Evan’s career began to soar to new heights. Just recently he was appointed as the Agri Drone Instructor by FPDI.
“I always wanted to pursue a career path that had something to do with technology. When I saw the Robotics Program position being advertised, I thought, it was perfect for me,” says Evan. Although being a strong presenter is an important teaching skill that Evan saw as a challenge initially, he successfully made his way through by virtue of hard work and perseverance.
What he found most fulfilling as an instructor was the ability to bring opportunities to First Nation youth, especially those from Northern communities who wouldn’t normally have access to resources to allow them to broaden their horizons.
Evan demonstrated huge potential and by the end of the term he was promoted as the Robotics Supervisor of the entire program. “I think my previous knowledge of what it means to be an instructor really helped me manage the program itself because I knew what they were going through, being first-time instructors,” says Evan. “We started the year with not enough students graduating and concluded the year by accomplishing it as the best graduation rate year.”
Evan looks forward to his next endeavor as the instructor for the newly introduced Agri-Drone program with FPDI. “We’ve had those drones in a cabinet for a while, and we were just waiting for the perfect storm, basically just to bring them out and actually utilize them the way we utilized the Lego kits and turn it into another successful venture,” he says.
Evan credits FPDI for where he stands today. “When I started as an instructor, I wasn’t confident in my abilities to run a classroom, but today, here I am running the project.”