MANITOBA
She's on the right track now
Grad's painful experiences put to good use helping others
Rebecca Begg had 167 placements as a child in care by the time she was 17. So, who better, she reckons, to help troubled kids get their lives on track.
The 29-year-old Begg is the first Red River College grad to go through the joint Child and Youth Care certificate program offered by RRC and the Ndinawe community social program and then earn Red River's Child and Youth Care diploma. She's among 1,502 graduates for the spring convocation being held Wednesday and today, including 818 diploma and advanced diploma grads, and 684 graduates who've earned certificates.
"I went through 167 placements when I was growing up – foster homes, group homes, emergency shelters. I had no idea of who I was," said Begg, who's already landed a job with New Directions. "I sold a lot of drugs. I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks," Begg said. "I've lived in the North End of the city my entire life. (Now) I live right around the corner from where everything went south for me."
Begg never got past Grade 10, but Ndinawe prepared her for college, she explained. "I read and write at a university level, so I passed with flying colours," said Begg, who had an overall GPA of 3.95. She got into Ndinawe through a women's support group at Klinic.
Her husband had died under circumstances still too painful for Begg to discuss, leaving her with two children. But family members stepped in to help, allowing her to go to school. "I just know I wanted to make a difference in the system, as a product of the system," Begg said. "I did rehab, I had many addiction issues, I had a lot of counselling."
She's happy working at New Directions, and although Begg might check out whether she can transfer her credits towards a social work degree, she's eager to be on the front lines. "I grew up in care and I came across many workers who didn't have their hearts in the job. I wanted to be a worker who related to kids," Begg declared.
Winnipeg's gain, solar system's loss.
Karalee Koop, a Child and youth care student, won a Gold Medal at the ceremony.
Nick Martin
3 June 2010
