March/April 2018

At 21, Brandi Milko was prepared to become a doctor. She had finished her bachelor’s degree in health sciences, was on the waiting list for the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM), and was working on her master’s degree in biology at Carleton University. But she says she felt like her life wasn’t headed in the direction she wanted.

The sun is setting as I circle a house looking for a back entrance to where I’m told a young man lives. Knocking and calling out loudly, I enter a crawl space that doesn’t allow me to stand up straight. “I’m down here,” echoes the tired voice of a 19-year-old Indigenous male lying on the floor.

If you are not an RNAO member, you may not realize the difference between policy and politics.

It’s hard to believe this is my final column as your president. When I reflect back on the past two years, that old adage “...time flies when you’re having fun…” rings so true. It has been an exhilarating experience representing the association on your behalf. It has also been an immense privilege, personally and professionally.

Each spring, winter-weary Ontarians watch in anticipation as lawns and parks slowly change from an unappealing brown to a promising green. The birds start to chirp a little louder, and we begin to see buds on trees as they come back to life.