Nathan Hutton

Child and Youth Worker, 2005

After taking a short break between high school and college, Nathan Hutton was somewhat nervous to go back to school to pursue his education in child and youth work. Apprehensive about how to connect with people, Nathan stressed about what he was going to do once he arrived on campus.

For the first couple of weeks Nathan felt a little lost in the college, but by the end of September he became more comfortable. “I started to get familiar with the campus, and became acquainted with my classmates and faculty.” It wasn’t long before Nathan and his classmates started to feel like a big family, offering support and comfort to each other through all of life’s challenges. 

During his studies, Nathan was struck with the news that two of his family members were diagnosed with cancer. With the struggle of trying to cope with the devastating news as well as stay afloat in his school work, Nathan’s classmates came together to offer their support through this tough time.

“I felt really lucky to have everyone standing by me during that extremely hard time. With the encouragement of my friends and the assistance of my instructors, I was able to push on and get through it all.”

It was instances like this that brought Nathan and his classmates closer. They would spend hours together both during class time and off, frequently travelling to the north campus to socialize. With this special bond, and being one of only two males in the class, Nathan was able to learn more about the lives of his female classmates. 

“It was very eye-opening for me to experience first-handedly how women are treated and what they go through. I started to understand what it was like for them to be in a male-dominated world; I felt like I was able to see through their eyes.”

With a new outlook on life and his education under his belt, Nathan accepted his first full-time position at a Young Offender’s residence. From there, Nathan transitioned into another role with the Covenant House, a shelter that offers programs and services to assist at-risk youth. It was while he was in this position where he coincidentally met his wife – a current student in Humber’s Child and Youth Worker program. Although their time at Humber had overlapped, they had never met each other until they started working together.  

After 11 years with the shelter – on and off with a few other jobs in between – Nathan is proudly an Employment Counsellor in the Vocational Services Department, and also spends some of his time travelling to local schools and speaking to youth.

Nathan attributes his success to the experience and knowledge he gained at Humber. “I appreciated the teaching models of the Child and Youth Worker program. I loved the fact that we were able to spend an entire semester in placement because it allowed us to gain industry experience, and when we reached graduation, I felt completely confident and ready to jump into the workplace. 

Nathan had to work extremely hard and jump through many hurdles to get where he is today, but he is thankful for the experiences and education he received. “It’s so important to remember to stay focused on your education, and don’t ever give up on your goals.”