While most people’s thoughts have been focused on what’s happening with the high school (including some extremely vocal opposition to the current plan to rebuild), Northern Lights College (NLC) has also been displaced after the February 10 shooting.
On May 25, Jessie Drew, Tara Highland-Russell, Lindsey Borek, Steve Dowling and Todd Bondaroff came before council to provide updates, share current initiatives, and discuss potential opportunities with NLC.
According to Todd Bondaroff, president and CEO of the college, says NLC has been attached to the high school since 1983. “As the high school has moved temporarily into new space, the college wasn’t able to move with them. We had to find some new space for our operations to continue.”
They’ve leased the space right next to the post office for at least two years, and are currently in the process of renovating, says Steve Dowling, campus administrator for the Tumbler Ridge and Chetwynd campuses.
“We are going through a pretty major renovation to suit the needs of the college. We are redoing the space from the ground up. We’re taking down some walls and adding some walls. We’re adding in a washroom, a kitchen and a little bit of a lounge area to update the space.
He says the plan is to have the new space open by September of this year.
Vice President of Academics and Research Tara Highland-Russell says the college will be offering new programs moving forward.
“We’re launching a new pharmacy technician diploma. And all of that theory is going to be online and just two months of lab classes in person in Dawson Creek,” she says. “This is one of the programs we developed out of two years of consultation across the region for Allied Health programs, as we know hospitals and other healthcare settings often have to close, not just because of nurse and doctor shortages, but shortages in pharmacy technician among other things. So this is the highest priority in the region that we heard about.”
The college is also launching a mental health and substance use certificate with all the theory classes provided online and practicums arranged in the home community where possible. “We think this is very timely across our region, particularly here.
“We have a new advanced certificate in interprofessional mental health and addictions. And we are also expanding our healthcare assistant certificate. So we’ve just expanded our in-person labs in Fort St. John and we’re looking at expanding them in Chetwynd and Fort Nelson.”
The college is also expanding programming in energy and environment. “We’re trying to really respond to what the community needs.”
And, says Highland-Russell, they are in the process of launching a wilderness guide school. “So if anyone is interested in guiding and outfitting, stay tuned,” she says. “We see this is a growth area and very appropriate to the region. We’ll be launching that next spring. There are a number of community grants that are available, and this is something that could be, you know, quite feasible for the community.”
Will the college go back to the high school once it’s built? Bondaroff says he’s not sure, but there’s not a lot of places where secondary and post secondary schools co-exist.
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
