Photo: contributed/TRU
Melissa Kelm’s graduation.
At Thompson Rivers University, the door to life-changing opportunities is always open.
Whether you’re starting your journey fresh out of high school, or choosing a new journey that the high school version of you never would have dreamed of, TRU’s learner-centred programs offer endless opportunities to change life as you know it.
For mature Métis student Melissa Kelm, this meant pursuing an education in social work at TRU after 12 years in the fast-food industry. Last spring, she graduated with her Human Services diploma, and she is now working on her Bachelor of Social Work.
The Human Services diploma program is designed to prepare students for careers supporting individuals and families with diverse social needs, like economic disadvantages, mental health and substance use issues, and involvement in the justice system.
Credits from the diploma program can ladder into a Bachelor of Social Work, which is why Kelm chose to first complete the diploma before moving onto her bachelor degree.
“I went through quite a bit of trauma in my teenage years and while growing up. I dropped out of high school, and I didn’t have that kind of support outside of my family,” says Kelm. “When I found TRU’s Human Services program, I was like ‘I could be that person that I know I needed when I was growing up.’”
Being an ear to listen and a resource to support teens going through challenges was at the forefront of Kelm’s mind when she chose to continue her education within TRU’s Faculty of Education and Social Work.
She was also drawn into the field because of her love for working with people.
Photo: contributed/TRU
Melissa Kelm.
But continuing her education 17 years after leaving school in Grade 10 was nerve-wracking. She battled with feeling like she had wasted 12 years working in fast-food. She worried about what it would be like to walk into a class filled with students who were younger than her.
But when she began the first year of her diploma in 2020—which was strictly online because of the pandemic—she found her confidence quickly building.
Much of what she was learning reflected her own life experiences, she says. And when the time came to step foot on campus for the first time, she was committed to making the most of her post-secondary experience and joined every club and extracurricular she could.
“I made lifelong friends, and that’s something I never did before going to school. TRU made me feel proud of myself—that’s really what it comes down to. I found out who I was, I found my voice and the people around me made me feel proud of myself, which I think is even more important than somebody else being proud of you,” says Kelm.
While at TRU, she has spent a lot of time at Cplul’kw’ten, which is an Indigenous centre for socializing and studying, and learned how to make ribbon skirts and how to drum.
“I don’t want to say that TRU has changed who I am, but it’s really brought into perspective of where I can be. Like I said, I worked 12 years in fast food while being a single mom, and I really thought I would end up being there for the rest of my life,” says Kelm.
After completing her social work degree, she hopes to work in the field for a few years before continuing her education.
For more information on applying to Thompson Rivers University, visit www.tru.ca/future.
Thompson Rivers University offers over 140 on-campus programs at its Kamloops and Williams Lake campuses and over 60 programs through Open Learning. Applications for Thompson Rivers University’s winter 2023 semester are open.
This article is written by or on behalf of the sponsoring client and does not necessarily reflect the views of Okanagan Edge.
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