Bringing Indigenous Ways of Knowing into Research: IMPRESS 2025

From June to August 2025, Alyssa Rock, an undergraduate student trainee at AOM and the Indigenous Youth Mental Health and Wellness Network, participated in the Indigenous Mentorship and Paid Research Experience for Summer Students (IMPRESS) and recently presented her work at Research Days at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute.

Alyssa Rock and Dr. Srividya Iyer at the Douglas Mental Health Institute Research Days

IMPRESS is a summer program that provides Indigenous students with mentorship and paid research opportunities. It connects students with supervisors and offers workshops on professional development and support for graduate school across various disciplines. The program also includes mentorship focused on professional opportunities and typically accepts around twenty students each year.

Here is Alyssa’s reflection on her experience:

“Participating in IMPRESS this summer was both grounding and motivating. As I conducted research at the Douglas Research Centre on Indigenous youth mental health, IMPRESS gave me space to reflect on how research can be done in ways that honor land, community, and lived experience. The workshops, cultural activities, and conversations with other Indigenous students reminded me that I’m not alone in this path, and that our ways of knowing belong in academic spaces. Moreover, presenting at Research Day was a meaningful moment for me to share our work, but also feel seen and supported in it.”

IMPRESS Summer Program 2025