Convocation Spotlight: Kobe Lizotte
5 June 2025
As a young girl, Kobe Lizotte never imagined she would want to go into nursing. During a career session at school, when her friends all expressed an interest, she thought, “I couldn’t handle blood!” Today, all these years later, she’s graduating with honours with distinction from a bachelor of science in nursing — and looking back at what brought her to this day, the high points of the past four years, and how she looks forward to harnessing her lived experience as a Métis woman in her future career.
What drew you to nursing?
I spent a significant portion of my childhood living on the Métis settlement of Paddle Prairie, 黑料不打烊. Growing up there taught me a lot about resilience and working hard to achieve your goals, as the resources and success stories were different compared to those in urban areas. Even within my immediate family, I'm the first one to receive my high school diploma and bachelor's degree. Personally, I always knew I was going to receive post-secondary education; I just wasn't sure what I was going to do. However, one day in Grade 10 it was just placed in my heart that I wanted to be a nurse, and I made sure to work towards that through everything I did. My childhood definitely played a role in my desire to become a nurse and I'm grateful because everything happens for a reason.
What are you most proud of from your time in the program?
An accomplishment that I'm extremely proud of occurred during my final semester of my fourth year in the collaborative program. During this time I was enrolled in N425: Nursing Leadership in a Focus Area, in which my partner and I were tasked with adding Indigenous representation to the Faculty of Nursing History Room in ECHA. This space included memorabilia of the history of nursing, yet excluded how Indigenous people have contributed and continue to contribute to nursing. I'm extremely proud to have been a driving force on this project, as it was a meaningful moment for the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and the Faculty of Nursing. More so, this project allowed Indigenous nurses to share their vulnerability and strength with students, the Faculty of Nursing, and the U of A — and I'm extremely grateful to have been involved in that. Additionally, I would say this experience gave me a new perspective into the influence I will have on future nursing students, patients and different communities simply through being an Indigenous nurse. This showed me the larger role that my presence plays, extending beyond bedside nursing.
Read more about "Honouring Indigenous Voices"
How did you stay motivated during your studies?
I remained motivated by simply just doing the hard things without overthinking it. I truly enjoyed everything that I was learning, which made it easier. However, I believe the biggest challenge came from just getting it done and putting the time in. I would say that not overthinking things helped me to not feel overwhelmed and allowed me to stay motivated with the things I had to do.
My relationship with God kept me steady in all of the tough times and I would say was the reason I made it through this journey. There were also so many special relationships in my life that encouraged me during the hard times and celebrated me continually! I would also like to extend my gratitude towards my Métis settlement for all of their support!
What advice would you give to a student considering a PhD in nursing?
My advice would be to work hard and that you can do it, especially in adverse circumstances. Oh, and it does get better — I swear! Haha