Brandi Akey is a 25 year old First Nations Mohawk woman born and raised on the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory - Bear Clan, a freelance Blog Writer, @blogboq host and interviewer, fashion enthusiast and Enrolment and Liaison Co-Ordinator at First Nations Technical Institute..
 
 
Brandi Akey was introduced to the Rotary Club of Belleville by Jennifer Savini.  Brandi is the Club's guest speaker and will be sharing her enthusiastic journey in education, fashion and Indigenous rights.  She graduated from Nicholson Catholic College in 2013, where she excelled in sports, a Crusader for life.  Sadly, Brandi was bullied in high school and did not have a lot of friends, but that didn't seem to stop her from finding the good in everything.  She wasn't really sure what she wanted for a career so enrolled in the Community Justice Services course at Loyalist College with interest in private investigation services.  Over a few years, Brandi also completed the General Arts & Sciences program followed by Public Relations and Event Management, all at Loyalist.  Throughout college, she continued to play sports and was able to play for Team Ontario in the North American Indigenous Games.  They won gold! and that is when Brandi felt like part of the community that she embraced and she came to the conclusion that she wanted to represent her community, to be a positive Indigenous woman.
 
She became pregnant while at College and is now the proud mom of a 5 year old boy.  All in all, Brandi graduated from Loyalist College three times and started to get involved in public relations and planning events.  In the summer of 2020 she started her own free lance blog and has interviewed different people.  Brandi started working for the Bay of Quinte Regional Marketing Board in the summer of 2020 during COVID and two stories she did were on the language and culture centre on Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory and a story on naturala themes, a native plant nursery in harmony with nature.  And then in February 2021, Brandi started working with Josh and Rebeka at BLOG BOQ, doing segments on local businesses in the area that want to promote their business.  Brandi says this has been a great experience for her and she is proud to showcase the beauty of this area.
 
Brandi is currently working full-time at the First Nations Technical Institute (FNTI) as the Enrolment and Liaison Coordinator.  FNTI is an Indigenous institute offering unique educational opportunities aimed at enhancing the capacity and strength of learners and communities.  They deliver culturally rich post-secondary programs, most of which are presented in an intensive mode that allows students to learn while they continue to work and are delivered online and in communities across the country.
 
Brandi's successes did not follow the traditional path, but she turned negatives into positives.  Randy Coker thanked Brandi for her talk and referred to PMA - Positive Mental Attitude, something that Brandi is living everyday.  Very inspiring.