The 2024 Arctic Winter Games (AWG) in Alaska’s Mat-Su Valley beckoned for a group of young volunteers from the NWT.
“I’d never been to Alaska before,” said 17-year-old Fort Smith resident Ben Mitchell, one of 11 young people to volunteer at the circumpolar games as part of the GNWT’s Youth Ambassador Program. “It’s kind of been a bucket list item place to go for me.
“I was super excited, and I’d say it definitely lived up to expectations.”
The Youth Ambassador Program, overseen by the GNWT’s Department of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA), aims to give young people opportunities to build leadership skills through participation in special events and volunteer assignments.
For Mitchell, the decision to apply came down to a desire to “meet more people” and push himself out of his comfort zone.
“I feel like during the Covid pandemic, I lost a lot of chances to meet new people as I normally would through school events and sports tournaments and such, and so this was kind of my way to regain that lost momentum,” he said. “I made some new friends and people I’ve been keeping in contact with on Instagram.”
The AWG ran from March 10-16, and Mitchell and his peers were kept busy for the duration. Over the course of the week, they were split into groups, and helped out with everything from washing dishes to officiating competitions.
One of the highlights was attending the event’s Carnival and Makers Market, which ran on March 15 and 16.
“There was one night when they opened up the fair to Arctic Winter Games participants only, and so there were a bunch of different athletes and volunteers,” Mitchell said. “We tried to talk to a bunch of random other people who were there and just meet a bunch of people, and I had some great conversations and met some people from all over and it was really awesome.”
By the time the AWG was over, Mitchell felt like he had honed his existing skills and developed new ones, particularly when it came to working with other people.
“I wasn’t always with other youth ambassadors, so I would be working with maybe other volunteers from Alaska, or volunteers who’d come from different parts from all over the world,” he said. “Because of that I had to really learn how to work with them quickly. We each had to take on our own role, but still work as a group.
“We were able to work efficiently even though we might not know each other super well.”
Mitchell and his family regularly volunteer at Fort Smith’s animal shelter. He intends to continue offering his time and efforts there, and hopes to continue seeking out other volunteer roles in the future, though his post-secondary studies could soon impact his availability.
He has applied to several universities across Canada, and while he has not yet decided where he will go, he has already been accepted by the University of Alberta and University of Victoria.
One way or the other, he’s glad he applied for the Youth Ambassador Program, and encourages other young people in the NWT to consider doing the same.
“One hundred per cent [I recommend it],” he said.
“I’d say it’s been the best experience of this year, if not for the past few years for me. I got to meet new people, travel to new places, and have all of these new experiences that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.”
Ashley Gillis, MACA’s manager of youth and volunteer leadership, was along for the trip with Mitchell and the other young volunteers from the NWT. She said she she saw growth in all of them.
“Across the board we saw a lot of youth build on their confidence,” she said. “We saw this in a variety of ways, including the youth working during their volunteer shifts, taking initiative on accomplishing different tasks.
“They talked to each other, made plans with each other, and learned to rely on one another. The youth put themselves out there and made the best out of their experience. Quite a few of the youth haven’t travelled outside of Canada, so this adventure was new for a lot of them.”