From Sioux Lookout to SickKids: How the Award for Indigenous Nursing Students launched Sofia's career

As a child living in a small northwestern Ontario community called Sioux Lookout, Sofia España, whose family is from George Gordon First Nation, remembers watching other children leave her community for care.

“Growing up as an Indigenous child in the north is so different from growing up anywhere else in Canada,” says España. “We’re called the ‘Hub of the North’ because we service all the reserves north of us. It’s such a peaceful, tight-knit community, but there’s a need for specialized health-care services, especially paediatric care.”

For many families in remote northern communities, needing specialized paediatric care means travelling thousands of kilometres south.

“I remember friends getting sent to this magical land called SickKids, this place where people were healed that you kind of grow up being fascinated with,” says España.

From early on, she felt called to a career in paediatrics and wanted to bridge the gaps she saw, particularly between culture and health-care.  

“I wanted to be that voice for the north. I wanted to be the nurse who I wished I had to look up to, to say, ‘hey, this is possible for you too.’ But heading south to do so genuinely felt worlds away."

What she didn’t know then was that a last-minute award application — submitted in a fleeting moment of courage just before its deadline — would change the trajectory of her life.

It was that decision that carried her from Sioux Lookout to the front lines of paediatric care at SickKids, where she now lives the very change she once dreamed of.

While in nursing school, an email kept landing in España’s inbox: the SickKids Indigenous Nursing Student Award, which offers a $5,000 bursary and a SickKids clinical placement to recipients. 

“I saw the email and thought, I’ll never win that,” she says. “People like me, from small communities and who aren’t always at the top of their class, we don’t get that opportunity.  I had written myself off to be part of such a large organization.” 

Then, 48 hours before the deadline, the email appeared again. 

“I called my cousin and she said, ‘Why don’t you just apply? What do you have to lose?’” 

She was right, España thought to herself. So, she applied — with minutes to spare.  

“I submitted everything at around 11:55 p.m. I thought, even if I don’t get the award, at least someone down south will see my story and maybe it will resonate. Maybe a part of the north can live in the south with someone.” 

España went home for the summer and tried not to think about it. 

Then the email came. 

“I got it. My mom and I cried,” she says. “It meant that my dreams and a billion pathways were able to begin. It lit this fire that had been missing in me for a long time.”

The bursary, which can be used for any personal or academic purpose, is one of the supports from the award package that are designed to reduce barriers that could prevent students from considering a placement at SickKids, such as higher cost of living and having to relocate.   

España was able to move in with her best friend’s family in Toronto. She used the funding for travelling between Toronto and her school in London, for rent, groceries and living expenses — all practical needs that can sometimes feel overwhelming for students. 

But it was more than financial support. The placement opened a door. 

“Without it, I wouldn’t be on the career path I’m on now,” says España.

She began her placement in January 2025 on 6A, the multi-organ transplant and medical specialties unit, where nurses care for children before and after liver, kidney and bowel transplants, supporting families through some of the most complex paediatric health journeys in the province. 

“When I first walked through the doors at SickKids and saw the yellow elevators, it felt like home,” she says. “The team welcomed me immediately.” 

During her placement, España experienced what she describes as a lot of full-circle moments, including caring for patients from communities like her own. 

“I’ve met patients from the reserves around Sioux Lookout, and being able to say, ‘I know where you’re from. I hear you. You’re not alone,’ is indescribable,” she says. 

One moment in particular stayed with her. During medical rounds, she noticed a parent she’d known was from a northern community who looked overwhelmed. 

“He reminded me of my own family members. I went to him after and said, ‘I’m from Sioux Lookout. I understand where you’re from and that this experience can be overwhelming at first.’ That connection meant everything,” says España. 

Margaret Schwan, one of the Senior Clinical Managers on 6A, says Sofia’s presence has helped the team in ways that extend beyond clinical skill. 

“The Indigenous voice is underrepresented in health care, especially in Toronto,”  says Schwan. “Having Sofia’s perspective — and, more broadly, community-connected nurses who can communicate in culturally meaningful ways — strengthens how we care for patients and families at SickKids.” 

Elena Blackwood, Interprofessional Education Specialist and co-lead of the Awards for Black and Indigenous Nursing Students, says this is exactly why the awards were created.  

“Representation can be critical to fostering trust with patients and families,” says Blackwood. 

When diverse perspectives are present at the point of care, Blackwood says care becomes more relational, recognizing that patients and families bring their whole selves, histories, and communities with them into the hospital. 

By the end of her placement, the team encouraged España to apply for a full-time role. 

“Student placements at SickKids are an incredibly important part of getting a job here,” says Schwan. “When Sofia approached me about the job, I’d already known who she was and that she’d be a great fit.” 

España’s placement ended in March. She applied for a full-time role in April, learned she’d been chosen in May, and began in September after being able to spend the summer reconnecting with her community. 

Today, she is back on 6A, not as a student, but as a full-time registered nurse.   

That journey, from student to staff nurse, is exactly what the SickKids Indigenous Nursing Student Award was created to support. 

Now, España has a message for Indigenous nursing students who are at the beginning of their journeys. 

“I learned quickly though that no matter where you go, there are people who will support you. SickKids became that place for me,” says España. “If there’s someone out there who has a hard time seeing their future or thinks this couldn’t happen to them too — it does. It can. Trust in the creator and dream big.”