Alicia Pongracz always knew that she wanted to work in medicine. In an old family photo, Alicia is about four years old, with a little scrub cap on, taking her baby doll’s pulse. Connecting with and caring for people is a passion that she attributes to her dad, and it’s the reason she’s pursuing nursing.
Alicia is a third-year nursing student at Selkirk College in West Kootenay, British Columbia. She was born and raised in the traditional lands of the Sinixt, Syilx, and Ktunaxa Peoples, though her family is originally from Haida Gwaii.
As a nursing student, Alicia has become an expert at balancing responsibilities. On top of classes and clinical placements, Alicia is also member of the CFNU Nursing Advisory Committee and the Indigenous Caucus Chair for the Canadian Nursing Students’ Association, where she’s working on a report outlining the need to standardize nursing schools to be inclusive of Indigenous education. She credits her success with being in tune with herself and learning to ask for help.
“I’ve, unfortunately, failed and learned the hard way that you really need to connect with yourself and recognize your boundaries. Nursing helps with that as well. The teachings from nursing, like critical thinking and analyzing and self-reflection, all help,” she explains. “You have to have the humility to recognize you need support.”
While she finishes her studies, Alicia lives and works in the same rural community she grew up in. She loves living rurally but admits that it has its pros and cons. There are no friendship centres like you might encounter in a city, and the legacy of colonization means she is hours away from Indigenous communities. But the sense of community she’s found in her hometown is a source of strength for her.
“There are Indigenous people here, but we’re all from a mix of different areas,” she explains. “Our elders are Inuit, they’re First Nations, they’re Métis. It’s been beautiful to learn about so many different communities and traditions and medicines and stories. The world is hard, and the world is tough, but if you connect with culture and community, I think that you’re going to feel a little bit better and a little bit more okay, and you’re going to do some things that are absolutely amazing.”
Alicia speaks highly of her collaborators, role models and other Indigenous nursing students whose mutual support have encouraged her. Some of her own proudest moments stem from these relationships of reciprocity where she’s been able to connect with other Indigenous nursing students, honour their work and recognize their importance.
“I’m really proud of where we’ve come with our elders and with the people that have done the work before us, and I’m excited for the next students that come,” she said. “I’m happy to be adding to that community and working towards an education system and a health care system that perpetuates inclusivity, connection and culture.”
Alicia is actively working to create the future of nursing that she envisions – one that builds healthy communities that are inclusive and relational with culturally safe and equitable care. She encourages all Indigenous nursing students and youth to do the same.
“Everyone brings their own perspective, their own knowledge and their own experiences that really add to nursing education and our world in beautiful ways. And that’s something that should be honoured and not underestimated,” Alicia said. “Recognize your own strength. Your culture is a strength. Bring it with you. You belong in this world just as you are. Connect with community. You don’t have to walk this path alone. We’re all here to do it with you.”