RECOGNIZING EXCELLENCE CAITLIN ABRAHAM

Caitlin Abraham

Firstly introduce yourself and tell us where your home place is. Describe your job/jobs in just under four sentences. Please also provide your title and profession.

My name is Caitlin Abraham, and I am the Communications Manager for Sasuchan Development Corporation. I am a proud member of Takla Nation, located in Northern BC and I sit with the Frog Clan (Jilh Tse Yu). I am of mixed ancestry – Sustudene and Ukrainian to name a few.

What sparked your interest to work in this industry?

Communications is so important in everyday life, including business. I enjoy sharing information with audiences who will resonate and utilize the information being shared. I like being in public relations because it gives me the opportunity to work with First Nations communities to strengthen their own communications and share their stories, success, and accomplishments to the rest of the world in a digital sense. I love that I can encourage people to have their voice heard when it feels that no one is listening.

What do you enjoy most about your profession?

I love the versatility of working in communications. I love meeting new people and learning new ways to continuously improve my personal and professional communications skills.

What educational preparation would you recommend for someone who wants to advance in this field?

When I first entered my career path, I did not have any education, which did make things incredibly daunting and difficult, but I have a great support and mentoring system. I would recommend taking a diploma program as it will help develop skills on effective communications, but you get to meet great people in the programs! I am currently attending the University of Victoria Continuing Studies and will graduate with my diploma in December 2022.

What does success look like to you for Indigenous youth?

Success for Indigenous youth is confidence, happiness, stability, and acceptance. Living a healthy and happy life while exploring your goals and adventures is the closest thing to success. Success looks different to everyone and should never be measured by what kind of career you have, how many countries you’ve traveled to, or how much money you have – success is knowing that we can do whatever we want to do with our lives and having a fun time doing it. 😊

How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?

I always wanted to be a lawyer. I went to university and college and achieved my Criminology diploma as my first step to getting accepted into law school. It was that same year that I decided I was not happy with what I was studying and didn’t feel the self-satisfaction I thought I would. I felt like a failure because I didn’t know what I wanted to do for the rest of my life or what would make me happy. So, I quit school and accepted a position with my current place of work, which turned out to be the best decision I’ve made thus far. I am surrounded by peers, coworkers, and mentors who support my journey and this alone gives me the feeling of success. I am more comfortable and confident than I would have ever been – I didn’t think I’d ever say that quitting school in 2017 was the apparent failure that catapulted me to the success I bask in today.

What are one to three books that have greatly influenced your life?

  • The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma – Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD
  • The Mountain is You: Transforming Self Sabotage into Self Mastery – Brianna West’
  • The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck – Mark Manson

The titles speak for themselves and highly recommend these books!

Do you volunteer? If so, where and why is that important to you?

I have volunteered for the 2022 BC Summer Games that were hosted in Prince George, BC in July. I supported the marketing team and had the opportunity to learn more about digital media, marketing and supporting such a huge community event, and to meet and work with so many great people.

In the last year, what new belief, behaviour, or habit has most improved your life?

To not be so hard on myself and focus on the good instead of the bad.

What are some challenges you think the next Indigenous generation will face in your industry/profession?

I think the biggest challenge is not many Indigenous people know about the industry and how important communications and public relations are in a personal and professional sense. Another challenge that could arise is being uncomfortable to put themselves out there and public speak, which can be a huge part of the job. I wasn’t comfortable with it, but I am working on being confident, cool, and collected – it’s tough work!

What advice would you give to a smart, driven student about to enter the “real world”? What advice should they ignore?

My advice is taking your time, there’s no need to rush decisions. Change career paths as many times as you need to find your dream career. Take every opportunity to meet new people and remember there is always room for learning and improvement in every career. Ignore the “Negative Nancy’s” because you will most likely encounter a few and ignore the idea that you need to change who you are to fit into a work environment.