STONEY NAKODA – Cheyenne Wesley knew she was interested in the world of technology from the minute her mother bought a Windows 98 PC.
“I remember when dial up Internet first came out,” Wesley, 27, said with a laugh.
“Growing up, I was kind of always the go-to person when it came to technical problems or issues. Or if I didn’t know, I’d definitely find a way to figure it out.”
Fast-forward two decades later and the tech-savvy Chiniki band member discussed how she went from working in the retail industry to becoming an Information Technology (IT) field technician to now the operations supervisor for Stoney Nakoda Telecom.
“It can be intimidating but you just have to overcome those barriers if you want success,” Wesley said.
Despite growing up on the Stoney Nakoda First Nation, compromised of three bands, where many homes did not have cell reception, home phone service or high speed Internet, Wesley’s interest in technology never waivered and when she got the opportunity in 2013 for an three-month IT internship she jumped at the chance.
“At that time, I learned about the potential for us to have our own ISP, Internet Service Provider,” Wesley explained, noting that at the time less than 10 per cent of homes had high speed Internet available.
As a single-mother, knowing how life-changing access to the World Wide Web can be when trying to home-school or obtain a post-secondary education, Wesley stayed in touch with the Nation’s IT manager Brian Frise and when a position opened up for field technician, she was the first hired.
“I saw the poster for an information session for Stoney Nakoda Telecom and signed up for training ... it was really intensive, but I passed and was hired and that was that,” Wesley said with a smile.
Working as a field tech for four years, Wesley watched the company grow from zero to 753 customers, installing the majority of services with her co-worker.
“We were the ones going to each house and doing the installations like mounting the dishes, programming routers, installation and maintenance and any troubleshooting,” Wesley said.
“It’s great for someone who likes travelling, being outdoors, working with tools, working with your hands and keeping busy. It’s definitely a fun job.”
But as with any job, Wesley noted there are cons as well.
While if you are “not an office person” the job can be right up your alley, Wesley said winter time can be difficult when working in extreme temperatures and despite being in the industry for five years, the operations supervisor has only encountered one other woman working as a field tech.
“I’m still trying to figure out what might be shying people away, specifically women, but I’m pretty sure if they can see that I was able to overcome these barriers and you know, be successful, then hopefully I can be a role model in some way for them to pursue a career in this field,” Wesley said.
As a single mom of three boys, Wesley previously attempted night IT classes at SAIT in Calgary, but found driving back and forth to be strenuous and childcare to be a challenge.
“Now my kids are in full-time school, but at the time my youngest needed daycare and getting them to and from school was hard,” Wesley explained.
“For myself I was lucky having the background that I was able to work my way into that position – having the background was huge.”
Today with five full-time positions, Stoney Nakoda Telecom services more than 80 per cent of the 900 houses between Morley and Eden Valley, and Wesley wants to encourage more band members and women to explore the world of tech.
“I think it’s important [to hire Nation members] to maintain our own cultures and beliefs and keeping that sense of community supporting one another in terms of the field of tech,” Wesley said.
“It is such a rapidly growing industry and it’s always changing and there is always new opportunities out there.
“There is so much to learn and so many benefits all together.”
