Laid off from full time employment as a result of the recession , Kelly Cooley found herself in her early 40’s moving back from Kitchener to Niagara seeking a new career. After training and working as a PSW, she felt she needed more of a challenge.
With her Indigenous background and watching Dawn Hill of Six Nations, she realized that the people who seemed to have the biggest impact, or “the game changers” were engineers and architects. She didn’t have the education, but she knew that she wanted to make a difference in the natural world around her. She had always had a passion for all things related to science, but didn’t excel in her math and science courses while in high school. She knew that her first step would be to seek out academic upgrading.
Kelly discovered that Niagara College’s academic upgrading division could provide her with the advanced math and sciences that she needed to further her career goal. Finding herself in school during COVID, she found it a challenge with the new methods of teaching. She preferred in-class, face to face learning, but credits Kelly Bronn, her math professor, who was always available to offer extra help and provide the motivation she needed to keep her dream alive. Kelly firmly believes that the support of her math instructor was instrumental in her ability to pursue higher education.
Successful in completing her upgrading, Kelly applied to Mohawk’s engineering technology program. Although she had excellent marks, the program was highly competitive. She decided to pursue architectural technology and was successful in getting accepted. She never waivered from her belief that engineering and architecture fit hand in hand in making an impact on society. Her Indigenous background gave her a strong sense of purpose, she wanted a voice, and an education that would give her the ability to make a difference in the world.
Currently at Mohawk, Kelly’s passion continued. Eager to further advance her education, Kelly recently applied to University of Toronto’s Architectural Landscaping program and was accepted to begin in Sept 2023. She will complete the 2 year technician program at Mohawk before commencing her studies towards a university degree next fall.
Kelly is a member of Smoke Architecture; a business providing architectural services that focus on First Nations and Indigenous projects with the majority of staff being Indigenous women.
Kelly’s thoughts on Academic Upgrading; “It gets you places that you otherwise wouldn’t get to; it fills your knowledge base…you are always going to need and use what you learn. My upgrading got me to where I am now”.
“I encourage everyone to stop questioning and just do it. We need to stop putting labels and time stamps on education. It’s not easy but you can only keep walking in circles for so long before you have to make a change. If you want change…you are the only one that can make it happen”.
Wise words, indeed.