I hope you had a great summer whether you enjoyed your time off in our beautiful Peace region or if you spent some time relaxing back home with friends and family.
Northern Lights is always energized with the start of every new academic year and ready to welcome our first-time and returning students. I encourage you to attend student orientation activities in your first week back to school. Students will be happy to learn the College has a new student experience officer to serve you and you’ll be able to meet Katelyn Kunudsgaard during the orientation activities.
Another great support for students I would like to mention is the addition of Lisa Verbisky to our Academic and Vocational division as an associate dean. Lisa has been with Northern Lights for over 10 years and is excited to be in this role, one that is key to our students’ success.
This year Northern Lights College is also excited to be undertaking the construction of a new Trades Training Centre in Dawson Creek. Construction will start this fall on a state-of-the-art $33.6 million facility with 50,000 sq.ft. of space. It will house new shops for the Welding, Millwright, Carpentry, Plumbing and Wind Turbine programs. There will also be some student gathering space, offices for the faculty and Dean, and it will be directly connected to the Student Centre Building. The anticipated completion date is for spring of 2018. We are very excited about this project which was jointly funded by local industry and the Provincial and Federal governments.
Over the summer, college staff have been busy improving our campus spaces. Fort St. John students may notice renovations underway in the atrium. This work will result in a much more functional and esthetic space available for our students to enjoy. On all of our campuses, our information technology department has been making behind-the-scene improvements to our video conferencing, phone and network systems that will be a benefit to all.
Whether you are a student on the Chetwynd, Tumbler Ridge, Dawson Creek, Fort Nelson or Fort St. John campuses, it is good to remember we are all a part of the same Northern Lights family within our vast campus territory that stretches as far as Hudson’s Hope, Dease Lake, and Atlin. I appreciate that each one of us is dedicated to achieving success and benefiting the communities we serve.
Our College is as great as the people who are a part of it. Our shared enthusiasm and commitment to teaching, learning and acquiring knowledge to achieve a credential will make our region, province and country a better place.
Join me in welcoming our students, faculty and college staff to a new and wonderful academic year. I look forward to seeing you at a campus near you!
Bryn Kulmatycki, Ph.D.
President and CEO
Northern Lights College