Tyrell Bird dropped out of high school 6 times. Now he wants to help others fall in love with learning

It started with a promise to his grandmother. 

Tyrell Bird told her that he would finish high school, and it wasn't easy, but he did it in 2017. 

"I do it for her. I do it for myself. I do it for a better tomorrow," Bird said. 

Today he's a proud graduate of the University of Manitoba with a bachelor of arts and is preparing to help others fall in love with learning as he works to become a teacher. 

The 24-year-old from Black River First Nation, about 160 kilometres north of Winnipeg, said his grandmother Grace died of lung cancer when he was still young but was always a source of inspiration.

"She talked me through all my anxieties. She was my biggest rock in those first few years."

Bird said he dropped out of school "about six times" as he struggled to handle agoraphobia (an extreme fear of open spaces) and the intergenerational trauma stemming from his grandfather's experience in residential school. 

"I didn't think that I'd even make it, to be honest," he said. 

But things shifted when he started attending Pembina Trails Alternative High School in Winnipeg, a school that helps youth struggling in traditional schools. 

Ian Smith, now retired, taught Bird in high school and remembers how angry he was. 

"He was mad. There were times I was sure he wanted to punch me," Smith said. 

Bird admits, "I was a bit mean to him when I first attended." 

There was the culture shock of moving to Winnipeg, multiple deaths in his family and his own mental health struggles, but Bird said what got him through was the "pure love and support of my family, my friends [and] my work colleagues."

Bird said Smith, and Smith's wife, are like "a second set of parents." He added that Smith helped him cultivate his creativity (Bird makes music and has self-published a book of poetry) and credits Smith with inspiring him to pursue his own career as a teacher.