{"id":18932,"date":"2021-03-31T09:33:23","date_gmt":"2021-03-31T13:33:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/?p=18932"},"modified":"2021-04-02T16:02:00","modified_gmt":"2021-04-02T20:02:00","slug":"alumni-spotlight-krystal-abotossaway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/2021\/03\/alumni-spotlight-krystal-abotossaway\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumni Spotlight: Krystal Abotossaway (BHRM \u201913)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2021\/03\/Abotossaway-Krystal.png\" alt=\"Krystal Abotossaway\" class=\"wp-image-18690\" width=\"360\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2021\/03\/Abotossaway-Krystal.png 720w, https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2021\/03\/Abotossaway-Krystal-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2021\/03\/Abotossaway-Krystal-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>For&nbsp;Krystal&nbsp;Abotossaway&nbsp;(BHRM \u201913),&nbsp;arriving on York\u2019s busy, sprawling campus was overwhelming; but an unexpected invitation helped her feel at ease and introduced her to a community that would become a central part of her university experience.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe first day at York was very scary for me,\u201d recalls&nbsp;Krystal. \u201cI grew up in a small community and when I arrived on&nbsp;campus&nbsp;I immediately felt culture shock. I remember going to Scott Library and having to sign into a computer and receiving my York email. To my surprise I saw an email from our Indigenous counsellor inviting me to a potlatch. I suddenly had a sense of relief and packed my school bag, looking for&nbsp;the&nbsp;Centre for Aboriginal Student Services&nbsp;immediately. I spent the next four years going there&nbsp;everyday&nbsp;to use their services and creating a network of Indigenous peers and friends.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today&nbsp;Krystal,&nbsp;an urban Ojibwe Anishinaabe&nbsp;Kwe&nbsp;from&nbsp;Aundeck&nbsp;Omni&nbsp;Kaning&nbsp;First Nations, is&nbsp;a sought-after expert, speaker,&nbsp;and leader on Indigenous engagement.\u202f A senior manager at TD Bank,&nbsp;she&nbsp;is responsible for TD's Indigenous Peoples strategy, integrating colleague, customer, and community perspectives while continuing to build TD's brand as the employer, bank, and community partner of choice for Indigenous Peoples.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cA long history of colonialism, genocide, and racism has led to inequities in many facets of life for Indigenous Peoples,\u201d she says. \u201cIn&nbsp;workplaces across Canada, Indigenous Peoples are underrepresented, suffer a wage gap, and often experience isolation because of a lack of Indigenous role models at senior levels. Additionally, they are regularly surrounded by managers, colleagues, and senior executives who do not truly understand their history. Representing 4.9 per cent of the total Canadian population within Canada and seeing staggering unemployment rates within this demographic, I knew I had a calling to work on understanding the issues related to employment for Indigenous people. I\u2019ve spent the last 10 years working with governments, private and public organizations on this \u201cquestion\u201d and coming up with solutions and involving Indigenous perspectives throughout the entire process. I hope to contribute to the unemployment rates within Canada and close the gaps.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the president of the Indigenous Professional Association of Canada&nbsp;(IPAC),&nbsp;Krystal&nbsp;is helping to redefine the agenda and identify new measures for advancing the opportunities for and the capabilities of Canada\u2019s Indigenous Peoples.&nbsp;She is recognized across Canada \u2013 in the media and within the broader Indigenous community \u2013 as an expert spokesperson for bridging strategies that will enable more Indigenous youth to achieve their aspirations and dreams.&nbsp;Her thought leadership in advancing human resources knowledge on Indigenous engagement is informed by her academic background, including a degree in human resources from York\u2019s Faculty of Liberal Arts &amp; Professional Studies&nbsp;(LA&amp;PS), and ongoing leadership roles on multiple boards in the GTA.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Krystal&nbsp;hopes to become an executive at TD in the future and \u201creally move the dial forward\u201d for her Indigenous colleagues.&nbsp;She is once again a student at York, working on her Master of Human Resources Management.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI want to create a safe workplace culture where all employees respect and understand the lived experiences of Indigenous within this country,\u201d she says.&nbsp;\u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate that the school system has only recently changed curriculum and made the necessary changes to truly show Canada\u2019s history. As a result,&nbsp;organizations&nbsp;must now play a role in educating and catching up generations before them that didn\u2019t have the same education. This is part of the reconciliation journey we are on.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To students just beginning their university experience, her advice is to network as much as possible for as long as possible.&nbsp;Krystal&nbsp;personally invites York students and fellow alumni to reach out via LinkedIn or social media to stay connected.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe faster you begin a professional network,&nbsp;the better your outcomes will be when looking for employment and opportunities,\u201d she says.&nbsp;\u201cI would also say to stay active in community and volunteer&nbsp;opportunities&nbsp;on campus. Part of being successful in this life is having access to resources and knowledge.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For York alumna Krystal Abotossaway (BHRM \u201913), arriving on York\u2019s busy, sprawling campus was overwhelming; but an unexpected invitation helped her feel at ease and introduced her to a community that would become a central part of her university experience. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[95,92,134],"class_list":["post-18932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-alumni-profile","tag-alumni-spotlight","tag-top-30-under-30"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Alumni Spotlight: Krystal Abotossaway (BHRM \u201913) - Division of Advancement - Alumni and Friends<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/2021\/03\/alumni-spotlight-krystal-abotossaway\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alumni Spotlight: Krystal Abotossaway (BHRM \u201913) - Division of Advancement - Alumni and Friends\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For York alumna Krystal Abotossaway (BHRM \u201913), arriving on York\u2019s busy, sprawling campus was overwhelming; but an unexpected invitation helped her feel at ease and introduced her to a community that would become a central part of her university experience.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/2021\/03\/alumni-spotlight-krystal-abotossaway\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Division of Advancement - Alumni and Friends\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-31T13:33:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-04-02T20:02:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2021\/03\/Abotossaway-Krystal.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"akolade\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"akolade\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/2021\/03\/alumni-spotlight-krystal-abotossaway\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/2021\/03\/alumni-spotlight-krystal-abotossaway\/\",\"name\":\"Alumni Spotlight: Krystal Abotossaway (BHRM \u201913) - Division of Advancement - Alumni and Friends\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/2021\/03\/alumni-spotlight-krystal-abotossaway\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/2021\/03\/alumni-spotlight-krystal-abotossaway\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2021\/03\/Abotossaway-Krystal.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-31T13:33:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-04-02T20:02:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/#\/schema\/person\/f640ecd87de34c2e5005a13ea6a9ba80\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/2021\/03\/alumni-spotlight-krystal-abotossaway\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/2021\/03\/alumni-spotlight-krystal-abotossaway\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/2021\/03\/alumni-spotlight-krystal-abotossaway\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2021\/03\/Abotossaway-Krystal.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2021\/03\/Abotossaway-Krystal.png\",\"width\":720,\"height\":720,\"caption\":\"Krystal Abotossaway\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/2021\/03\/alumni-spotlight-krystal-abotossaway\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Alumni Spotlight: Krystal Abotossaway (BHRM \u201913)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/\",\"name\":\"Division of Advancement - Alumni and Friends\",\"description\":\"Meet, stay connected and get involved\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/#\/schema\/person\/f640ecd87de34c2e5005a13ea6a9ba80\",\"name\":\"akolade\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c09bf1d6f2d768da403160a1c37ce1fd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c09bf1d6f2d768da403160a1c37ce1fd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"akolade\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/author\/akolade\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Alumni Spotlight: Krystal Abotossaway (BHRM \u201913) - Division of Advancement - Alumni and Friends","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/2021\/03\/alumni-spotlight-krystal-abotossaway\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Alumni Spotlight: Krystal Abotossaway (BHRM \u201913) - Division of Advancement - Alumni and Friends","og_description":"For York alumna Krystal Abotossaway (BHRM \u201913), arriving on York\u2019s busy, sprawling campus was overwhelming; but an unexpected invitation helped her feel at ease and introduced her to a community that would become a central part of her university experience.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/2021\/03\/alumni-spotlight-krystal-abotossaway\/","og_site_name":"Division of Advancement - Alumni and Friends","article_published_time":"2021-03-31T13:33:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-04-02T20:02:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2021\/03\/Abotossaway-Krystal.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"akolade","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"akolade","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/2021\/03\/alumni-spotlight-krystal-abotossaway\/","url":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/2021\/03\/alumni-spotlight-krystal-abotossaway\/","name":"Alumni Spotlight: Krystal Abotossaway (BHRM \u201913) - Division of Advancement - Alumni and Friends","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/2021\/03\/alumni-spotlight-krystal-abotossaway\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/2021\/03\/alumni-spotlight-krystal-abotossaway\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2021\/03\/Abotossaway-Krystal.png","datePublished":"2021-03-31T13:33:23+00:00","dateModified":"2021-04-02T20:02:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/#\/schema\/person\/f640ecd87de34c2e5005a13ea6a9ba80"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/2021\/03\/alumni-spotlight-krystal-abotossaway\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/2021\/03\/alumni-spotlight-krystal-abotossaway\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/2021\/03\/alumni-spotlight-krystal-abotossaway\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2021\/03\/Abotossaway-Krystal.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2021\/03\/Abotossaway-Krystal.png","width":720,"height":720,"caption":"Krystal Abotossaway"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/2021\/03\/alumni-spotlight-krystal-abotossaway\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Alumni Spotlight: Krystal Abotossaway (BHRM \u201913)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/","name":"Division of Advancement - Alumni and Friends","description":"Meet, stay connected and get involved","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/#\/schema\/person\/f640ecd87de34c2e5005a13ea6a9ba80","name":"akolade","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c09bf1d6f2d768da403160a1c37ce1fd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c09bf1d6f2d768da403160a1c37ce1fd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"akolade"},"url":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/author\/akolade\/"}]}},"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":1,"label":"Uncategorized"}],"post_tag":[{"value":95,"label":"Alumni Profile"},{"value":92,"label":"Alumni Spotlight"},{"value":134,"label":"Top 30 Under 30"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"akolade","author_link":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/author\/akolade\/"},"comment_info":"","category_info":[{"term_id":1,"name":"Uncategorized","slug":"uncategorized","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":558,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":1,"category_count":558,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Uncategorized","category_nicename":"uncategorized","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":95,"name":"Alumni Profile","slug":"alumni-profile","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":95,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":76,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":92,"name":"Alumni Spotlight","slug":"alumni-spotlight","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":92,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":86,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":134,"name":"Top 30 Under 30","slug":"top-30-under-30","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":134,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":31,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18932"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18970,"href":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18932\/revisions\/18970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/alumniandfriends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}