Meet Ryan Courchene , another one of this year New Professionals Programme bursary holders, who lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Becoming a professional archivist was not something I thought about becoming growing up. In fact, I started working for the Library and Archives Canada 13 years ago as a clerk and then an archival assistant, and only developed an appreciation of the archivist position from working alongside some amazing archival professionals.
I decided a few years ago that I wanted to become a professional archivist and enrolled in the Archival Studies Master’s program at the University of Manitoba 2 years ago.
I have learned so much but I still learn something new every day. The Congress is an opportunity that few get to experience and being able to attend is something I will cherish for the rest of my career. I am hoping to start a great network of archival professionals and friends from the Congress as I believe a worldwide perspective is the best way to address archival problems that affect all archivists.