Campus Manitoba’s DawnDena Gordon, Kim Grenier Mintenko, Carley McDougall, and Kaitlin Schilling headed to the nation’s capital at the end of January to attend Cannexus20, presented by CERIC. Cannexus is a “bilingual National Career Development conference designed to promote the exchange of information and explore innovative approaches in the areas of career counselling and career and workforce development.

The three-day conference, which boasted three incredible keynotes and 150 information-rich learning sessions, was a wonderful opportunity to learn more about career development across the country. As Elder Annie Smith St-Georges notes during the opening ceremony, “that’s why it’s called Cannexus20. It connects us together.”

Q: Who did you most enjoy hearing from?

DawnDena: Tim Tamashiro — he spoke about finding your ikigai — that is, finding that thing that you love, that you’re good at, that the world needs and that you can be rewarded for. Ikigai is an action that is your purpose and a way to find happiness in all that you do.

Carley: I enjoyed hearing from Shellie Deloyer, founder of Bright Futures Solutions. She discussed the conscious and unconscious minds and how trauma affects our ability to effectively move forward. She used the solution model as a tool to take ourselves and the individuals we support from a problem state to a solution state. We can do this by recognizing what the issue is, building the necessary skills, and applying action towards finding the solution. A quote that struck me was, “Your conscious mind is your goal setter. Your unconscious mind is your goal getter.”

Q: What is one thing you learned?

Kaitlin: Learning about “Flipping the Classroom” (FTC) was really interesting. Larry Iles and Jamie Noakes from Thompson Rivers University discussed how FTC is a very successful tool for career preparation. It allows students to understand the human resources process when applying for jobs.

Carley: I liked learning about the ‘righting reflex’ with Crystal Dolliver from Agilec. She discussed our inclination to want to help (or ‘right’) an individual’s situation. Conversely, she recommends motivating them to find the path that works for them. Through the use of Motivational Interviewing, Crystal showed us tools that empower individuals to find their path.

Q: What is one thing that inspired you?

DawnDena: Josh Davies’s session, “Work Ethic: Foundation of the 21st-Century Workplace,” brought up an inspiring thought: we judge ourselves by our intentions, others judge us by our actions. What do your actions say about you?

Carley: On the final day of the conference, Natan Obed’s keynote speech was particularly impactful. Natan, President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, spoke about some of the more practical aspects of reconciliation. Specifically, how the Inuit are ensuring their right to self-determination. He was a dynamic speaker that helped me learn more about Inuit culture, language, and territory lines.

Q: What is one thing you hope to see going forward?

DawnDena: I hope to make use of two different ‘1% rules:’

• take care of yourself for at least 1% of every day (14.4 minutes)
• “could you do 1% better tomorrow?”

Kaitlin: I look forward to sharing the knowledge and inspiration from this conference with others. We are always better and stronger together and I anticipate wonderful collaboration opportunities to grow from this experience.

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