DataNB
The latest from the New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data and Training

You’re never too young to get involved in policy development! The high schoolers who took part in ExperienceGNB this past March Break proved just that.

From March 7-11, the Government of New Brunswick joined forces with NB-IRDT to offer Pathways to Professions: ExperienceGNB, a policy boot camp for high school students in the Fredericton area.

Over the course of the week, a group of keen and brilliant NB students from École Sainte-Anne, Fredericton High, and Leo Hayes gave up their well-deserved vacation to instead focus on the question:

How might we integrate meaningful wellness solutions into our school systems post-Covid-19?

In a four-day sprint to provide policy solutions, the students drew on their personal experience and interviews to consider how Covid-19 is harmful toward the mental and physical health of NB’s students. Stay-at-home orders, online learning, and the uncertainty surrounding the whole situation – these can lead to isolation, loneliness, depression, anxiety, and a whole slew of other problems.

With these struggles in mind, the students attended workshops on wellness, understanding users, storytelling in research, prototyping, user testing, creating an action plan, and giving a great presentation – all culminating in a final showcase proposing their solutions to GNB leaders and policy makers.

Student-led solutions included:

• Wellness workshops to help students form meaningful connections by developing a deeper sense of self.
• Integrating cultural components into NB school curriculum to celebrate the diversity of school students. This would help foster a deeper sense of belonging and allow every student to be seen and appreciated as their own self.
• Programs to connect students with reliable and more diverse mental health resources.
• Social clubs to help newcomers adapt and feel connected with their school and its students, with future planning components to help students outline their post-high school plans.

We are so impressed with the students’ hard work and with the quality of leadership the next generation is bringing to our province. To stay up to date with future Pathways to Professions opportunities, subscribe to our newsletter.