Once hopping from job to job, he finally found a career that lights him up in the electrical trade. Carl Squirrel grew up in Fort Providence and spent time in Fort Smith and Hay River. He got into an electrical trade through his mentor, became a power plant operator and then into the electrical field. He did an apprenticeship program which involved going to school three months out of the year and working nine months as part of on the job learning.

Historically, Squirrel moved between jobs a lot, following the work until he was offered work at Northern Local where he met his supervisor, Jason. He formed a company with Jason and Brandon where they do energy consulting and Squirrel handles anything relating to electrical. Currently, they are working on off grid solar operations, working with Indigenous governments and securing funding for them. They plan, schedule and implement the work, something that can be challenging.

It’s been a learning curve over the last four years with all of the logistics involved with hotels, boat rentals, gas, figuring out what order to schedule the communities in, all while planning around the weather, fires and safety. Squirrel’s been mentored by Jason along the way and learning so much, especially around using Excel and how to do quotes. They’re planning and scheduling two to three years out and have a lot to do over the next five to ten years. Having administrative systems in place helps to keep things on track for virtual filing.

His advice for students considering leaving their home community to pursue their education would be, “Just do it. Basically, it's a learning curve, especially when you leave home for the first time… it does get lonely, and it does get intimidating…. you just gotta put yourself out there and meet the right people. Once you do that, then you'll be all right and then that's kind of like your new family away from home."

As far as obstacles go, Squirrel struggled with drinking, something he overcame in the past five years. It was a major part of his life when he was growing up and he’s been able to be sober for the past five years thanks to his support network of friends and family. He had a larger social circle when he was using but now that he’s not, he’s got a smaller but more reliable circle to depend on. Having people to talk, vent and receive mentorship from has made a difference.

If Squirrel could give his younger self advice it would be, “Just basically relax and just trust the process. Through pain, there's always learning, and also just be humble. Sometimes you don't know what some people are going through, so be humble to them, and be humble to yourself. Just keep learning and take breaks when you need it.” He recognizes that even now, he’s always learning and he forgets to take breaks. Sometimes they go fishing when they have a boat and they need to take a break. He loves getting to see so much of the country through his work and all the travel he gets to do, but it can be hard being away from home so much.

To maintain his mental health and wellness, Squirrel chats with friends, family and his mentor. He spends time at the gym to burn off excess energy and the work he does being so physically demanding helps with that, too. When it comes to inspiration, Squirrel watches Youtube and listens to podcasts. He also likes to watch TED talks. He loves to keep learning from all forms of media and reading books.

Once a job hopper, Carl Squirrel found work in the electrical trade that lit him up. Helping communities with their off-grid solar needs, he’s planning for the future for himself and other Indigenous people. The logistics can be challenging but he’s learning so much along the way.

Thanks to Alison Tedford Seaweed for authoring this article.