Nathan Bradburn gains hands-on experience through the Fillmore Riley Indigenous Scholarship and Internship

Fillmore Riley LLP congratulates Nathan Bradburn on completing his firm internship as part of the 2025 Fillmore Riley Indigenous Scholarship and Internship. Nathan's first-hand account of his time at the firm can be read below.

Tansi,

My name is Nathan Bradburn. I am a proud Cree, First Nations student, from Norway House, Manitoba, currently enrolled in the Pathways to Business program at Red River College Polytech for the 2025-26 academic year. Expecting to complete my program within the next month, I have made the decision to pursue Business Administration as my progression program, beginning this September.

As a creative with a passionate for visual storytelling, I developed an appreciation and interest in business through the relationships made collaborating on projects with Indigenous organizations and small businesses. Through those connections, I’ve met so many great people who’ve been such a huge and positive influence in my entrepreneurial journey, and many of whom I still am in contact with today.

My time with Fillmore Riley has been an amazing experience and I am extremely thankful for the opportunity. There is a strong sense of community here at the office and they’ve done a great job in making me feel welcome since day one. The interactions I’ve had and connections I’ve made —sharing stories, talking about sports, our pets, our favourite comic book characters — those are moments I’ll always cherish. Being greeted when walking past each other, being greeted by Wendy, the receptionist, in the mornings and waving goodbye when leaving for the day. Maybe that’s just normal behavior and standard office etiquette but I’ve never experienced anything like that. You feel safe, seen, and excited to come in to work.

Leading up to the internship with Fillmore Riley, I had just applied to the Pathway to Business program at RRC Polytech and was looking for summer employment with the help of my employment counsellor at the local Neeginan Centre here in Winnipeg. I was sent a copy of the internship posting and decided to apply because I saw it as a perfect opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a real-world professional office environment.

I was so surprised to get a second interview because I thought I had botched it. I was nervous, and for some reason, I couldn’t stop looking at the view outside the window during the interview on the 17^th floor. When I first entered the building, I was already intimidated by the high ceilings and everyone is in full business attire. It was daunting as an Indigenous person who grew up on the reserve. This was completely new to me, I knew I had to “lock-in.” Before heading up, I did some box breathing to calm the nerves and the rest was history.

I read the official offer letter while in the office at my summer position as Marketing Support Officer with Norway House Cree Nation, Economic Development Group. It was a creative role, assisting with the design and layout of promotional marketing materials. I was very fortunate to have landed that position as well — a great story — and it was there in the office where I had read the offer email from Fillmore Riley and shared the good news with my coworkers and celebrated together.

This experience has given me confidence in myself and am excited for what’s ahead as I continue on my journey. When I think of Fillmore Riley, it’s not the company — it’s the people. Thank you.

-Nathan Bradburn