Karen Grouette

Position Administrative Assistant Department Aboriginal Business Education Partners Office 350 Drake Centre Phone (204) 474-7401 Fax (204) 474-7545 Email grouette@cc.umanitoba.ca

Karen Grouette (Cree, Peguis First Nation)

My position as ABEP’s Administrative Assistant is to provide administrative support to the staff and to the students as well.  I believe being the front office person requires me to be a friendly professional when dealing with the public and especially with the students.  I find that my position as the Administrative Assistant for ABEP is to also be a role model to the students.  It is important to me to encourage the students by complimenting them when they do great work and give them my honest opinion when questions are asked, whether personal or academically.   I find myself lucky to have the opportunity to work here, I find this program to be excellence and unique and amazed at how well our Alumnus are doing out there in the “real world”. 

My journey in the business world has been successful thus far.  I achieved my GED through a Literacy program offered by Employment Insurance and took my Administrative Assistant Course at the Success Business College in 1998.  My previous employment before I came to ABEP was working in the Insurance Industry for a number of years as a Claims Assistant/Telephone Adjuster/Examiner. 

Personal Experience:
I have been married for 22 years with 3 grown children (2 girls and a boy) and I have 2 beautiful grandchildren, 10 and 4 years old, I also have a precious dog name Zoe and a cat named Tiggers.  To me family is very important and I tell my children to live life to the fullest and do the best you possibly can.  I also encourage them to get the education they need which is the key to landing excellent opportunities that may lead to well paying jobs and that hard work will pay off in the long run.  Making the decision to commit yourself to achieve your goals, in my belief, should be done with a positive attitude, having negative feelings is a heavy burden to carry and gets in the way of succeeding your goals.   I admire the students here at ABEP for their hard work and commitment to getting the education they desire and to leave here with the knowledge they gained from academics and from the roles of the staff. 

One of the benefits of working here is that I am learning what my Aboriginal Culture is about and I find out by asking questions, sometimes a lot of questions.  I have learned and still am learning a lot from our Spiritual/Cultural Advisor and from our Program Coordinator.  They are great leaders and I take home with me the knowledge I gained from them and teach my family what I have learned.  I am very proud to be working here at ABEP