A young woman with ties to both Tla-o-qui-aht and Hesquiaht First Nations has earned a pair of prestigious scholarships to help reach her goal of becoming a physician in the Canadian Armed Forces.
Ahmber Barbosa is a member of the first graduating class at the new Alberni District Secondary School. She is heading to Vancouver Island University this fall on a Chancellor’s Award scholarship, which covers her entire four years’ tuition.
On top of the Chancellor’s Award, Barbosa has also received the 2013 Nuu-chah-nulth Scholarship from the Clayoquot Biosphere Trust. The CBT scholarship provides $3,000 per year for four years.
With some major financial details now taken care of, Barbosa has been able to chart a course for the first leg of her academic journey at VIU.
“I have registered to do my bachelor’s degree in biology. I’m taking biology, chemistry, physics and math in the first semester and biology, chemistry, physics and English in my second semester.
“After I finish my bachelor’s, I plan on going to medical school and becoming a General Practitioner, at the least, and working with the military.”
The Canadian Forces connection is already a reality. Last July, the future physician was sworn in as a member of the Reserve Forces at CFB Camp Borden, Ont., where she did her basic training. And yes, those nightmare drill instructors are very, very real, Barbosa said. They badger and verbally abuse the recruits, just like you’ve seen in the movies.
But as Barbosa describes the relentless, profanity-laced hectoring, there is a gleam in her eye and you realize this is one steely-tough young lady who understands the process and is determined to prove herself worthy of becoming an officer in the Canadian Forces.
“I never got into too much trouble. I’m usually very scared of people and I was always very well behaved,” she said.
But on one occasion, she recalled, when the drill instructor was chewing out one of her fellow recruits, she allowed her anger to show. Big mistake.
“Later, when he was yelling at me, I rolled my eyes at him. That was a really bad idea.”
Barbosa said under the strain of the “daily heart attacks,” she made some close friends, and that too, is part of the process, she explained.
“I learned that I perform well under pressure. One of the things they drill into you is, ‘Don’t think. Just do!’ Your reflexes get really good,” she said. “For me, I loved the challenge. You felt like you accomplished something and you made it through this Hell of a day.”
Once she has completed her bachelor’s degree at VIU, Barbosa has committed to enter medical school through the Forces.
“One of the things Canadian Forces offers is a full scholarship. Once you complete your medical training you are required to serve a certain number of years. Typically, that is two years’ service per study year.”
While Barbosa is keen to prove herself in the regimented domain of the military, she is also well connected to her Nuu-chah-nulth roots. As a great-granddaughter of Simon and Julia Lucas, that almost goes without saying. As the eldest of her generation of first cousins and a great-granddaughter of hereditary chiefs, she said she is prepared, by tradition, to take on the role of mentor, counsellor and spiritual advisor.
And she is also determined to evolve into a lead dancer, as she builds her seniority within the dance community.
“I dance with Hesquiaht because most of my family is Hesquiaht. When the Olympics came to Vancouver in 2010, I danced there, and at occasions like potlatches and building openings,” she said. “Because I’m still young, I dance in the middle of the group, but eventually, that will be me leading the dance.”
Barbosa said her determination to become a doctor began bubbling in Grade 8. Up until that point, she considered herself a pretty average student.
“But then I realized that, everything my teachers were talking about in science and math, I just understood it. They would go through so many examples, and I would say to myself, ‘Why are you going through so many examples? This is simple.’ Then in Grade 9, when I really decided to become a doctor, I realized, ‘Whoa! I am really good at this stuff.’”
Barbosa credits two key ADSS teachers for inspiring her to do her best.
“In Grade 9, Mr. [Brent] Clark was one of the people who really pushed me. I took Science 10 with him and I got the highest mark in the class.
“In Grade 10 I took Biology 11 and I had Mr. [Bob] McCarter, who was just an amazing teacher. He actually taught me how to learn. He taught you how to absorb everything the first time.”
For Barbosa, university means relocating to Nanaimo.
“I lived in Victoria for three years while my mom [Lynette Lucas] went to [UVic], but I’ve lived in Port Alberni the rest of my life.”
Barbosa has only visited the VIU campus once, but she will head back soon to familiarize herself with the school. Her living arrangements are already taken care of.
“I’m doing room-and-board with one of my [ADSS] teachers. She lives a block away from the university and two blocks from the Reserve depot where I do my training.”
Barbosa is a member of the Signals Unit, and her training will swing back into earnest this summer when she attends Basic Military Qualifications – Land at CFB Esquimalt.
As with her Signals Unit training, she is paid a per diem for each day in the field, seven days per week for five weeks, so there is a financial benefit along with the education and experience.
“My course starts July 1,” he said, adding, “I know the fun parts of my course.”
Okay, digging trenches is not fun, Barbosa concedes, “But I get to throw grenades and use C-9s [Light Machine Gun] and C-6s [General Purpose Machine Gun] – really big weapons. Lots of fun; blow stuff up.”
The VIU Chancellor’s Award is presented annually by VIU Chancellor Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, to an outstanding aboriginal student.
The CBT Nuu-chah-nulth Scholarship is awarded annually to a member of one of the five First Nations within Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve region: Ahousaht, Hesquiaht, Toquaht, Tla-o-qui-aht and Ucluelet.
