#SAITFaces: Jalyn Sparvier

“I’m really happy I chose SAIT. It’s just an awesome community — accepting and open. At the end of the day, my professors and classmates, the community here, made my educational journey a fun and safe learning experience — you felt OK to be who you are.”

Jalyn Sparvier (she/her) graduated this June from the Bachelor of Business Administration (Accounting) program, is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and will be starting a full-time job this fall. Her path wasn’t easy, but connection and support made the difference.

Jalyn first came to Calgary from a small town in rural Saskatchewan to attend university. Her first year was a struggle academically, but she knew she really wanted to be in Calgary. So, she moved back home to Saskatchewan for the summer to regroup and come up with a plan.

“I always passed by SAIT station while taking the C-Train, so I decided to find out what sort of programs SAIT had to offer. To my luck, SAIT had a four-year degree program and offered Accounting as a concentration.”

The small class sizes and hands-on-learning #HereAtSAIT made it easier to connect and build community within her program.

“Based on my previous experience, I already knew I would need more hands-on learning and a smaller-class size. The smaller class sizes made it easier to ask for help from my instructor or classmates. There were also so many opportunities to get to know my other classmates and create an overall sense of community in our program.”

Rounding out Jalyn’s SAIT experience was the Chinook Lodge Resource Centre — a place for Indigenous students to gather, study, connect and access resources to support their education at SAIT.

“The Chinook Lodge was a bonus because I knew if I needed the extra help or just needed anything in general, I had a place to go that completely understands me and where I’m coming from.

“I did seek support earlier in the school year because I was having a hard time grieving the loss of my younger brother and my papa. Just having the ability to seek advice and talk about things like this in the Indigenous perspective really helped me a lot.

“It’s not just a place you go if you need help, you can even just go there to hang out and meet other students.”

Since opening its doors 20 years ago, Chinook Lodge has helped thousands of students flourish while studying at SAIT by providing emotional, spiritual, academic and financial support, and offering opportunities for students to realize their potential.

As a place of learning, Chinook Lodge welcomes the entire SAIT community to visit and learn about First Nations, Métis and Inuit histories and cultures, today and every day.