At a Glance:
- Trillium Lakelands District School Board recently celebrated young entrepreneurs, awarding more than $11,000 to participants while encouraging them to chase their dreams.
- Ampere team member, Tanner Big Canoe, was honoured to be the guest speaker and chat with learners about fostering their entrepreneurial spirit.
- Solutions don’t need to come from stereotypical innovation hubs, we just need to support leaders and learners within our own communities.
Supporting learners where they are and throughout their journey is a fundamental component of Ampere’s approach to sustainable access to STEAM education and opportunities in rural, remote and Indigenous communities. We also know there are many ways to encourage science, technology, engineering, arts and math, and specifically digital skill learning. That’s where our Lifecycle comes in, demonstrating our commitment to supporting the needs of learners and communities at each stage of their growth.
What’s particularly rewarding is seeing people move through the Lifecycle, watching them grow and become involved in our mission in new ways.
We had that experience as Tanner Big Canoe, one of our Lifecycle Superstars, was the guest speaker at the Trillium Lakelands District School Board (TLDSB) second annual Young Entrepreneurs in Action Showcase.
The event, held at the Rene Caisse Theatre in Bracebridge on May 1, offered individuals and teams from secondary schools across the Board a chance to present a five to seven minute business pitch to four community judges. In total, $11,750 was provided to participants for their endeavours. Furthermore, the judges (Allison Holder, Anne Davidson, Christy Buckley, and Emma Grimstead) provided advice and asked probing questions to help the learners advance their understanding of design thinking and what it means to start a company.
Ampere Superstar takes the stage
Big Canoe took to the stage as the guest speaker and spoke about the Project Life Cycle and the process to develop and implement a product or idea.
Ampere has been fortunate to have a strong working relationship with TLDSB through our various delivery programs and as the Board was preparing for this event, they reached out to see if anyone on our team would be interested in the guest speaker slot. Big Canoe was honoured to have the chance to address the young entrepreneurs as he himself has an entrepreneurial spirit.
“I wanted to speak because when I was in school, there was nothing like this, and I wanted to let them know that they should really be embracing this entrepreneurial side of themselves,” says Big Canoe. “I also wanted to highlight how technology is a viable career path or at the very least probably the most important non-soft skill tool to be utilizing when becoming an entrepreneur.”
Supporting local learners and leaders
These events, according to Big Canoe, are important for a number of reasons, particularly because they remind people that solutions can come from anywhere.
“These events show that no matter the age, people in communities see problems and want to create solutions. The solutions don’t need to come from big cities or stereotypical Silicon Valley-type innovation hubs,” he says.
“We have talented leaders in our communities already and we need to support them to create change.”
The support is something Big Canoe is quite familiar with, as he tips his hat to Ryan Oliver, Ampere’s CEO, for taking a chance and hiring him for his first role with the organization, allowing him to grow into the position.
“With support through work experience with amazing colleagues, role shift opportunities and education leave, I’ve really had the ability to lean into the things that I am passionate about within the organization,” says Big Canoe.
“I started as a Makerspace Assistant, then a Digital Skills Educator, then Junior Software Developer and now I’m the Director of Productions. I think that the diversity of experience mixed with an amazing team and culture has really allowed me to grow into the person I am today.”