Shawnee Sue’s Story

In the beginning of 2025, I had just moved back to New Brunswick after living on my own in Fort McMurray. When I moved back home with my mom, she suggested I check out the Learning Exchange. I had never heard of it before. I wasn’t going through the best of times when I met with Leah, the Program Coordinator. I had nothing to do all day and knew that I wanted to finish high school, but I didn’t know how to do that. The thought of doing the CAEC felt really overwhelming.

I didn’t finish high school but worked for three years until 2016. I was laid off unexpectedly, but decided to look at it positively. I thought, ‘This is my chance. I have to do something.’ 

When I came to the Learning Exchange, I knew I was looking for something different. I had experienced the traditional path – creating a resume, then reworking it, sending it around and was getting no response. I had come from a high-paying job in Nova Scotia and had a lot of experience but the feedback I was getting was that I was overqualified – or seemed to be. Someone had recommended the Learning Exchange and I made the call.