For the first time in over ten years, Northern Lights College (NLC) Dawson Creek has a new campus administrator.
Linda Mueller, the former Director of Ancillary Services, has taken the helm at the Dawson Creek campus. Having started at NLC Fort St. John in the spring of 2020 as Campus Administrator, she is familiar with the role.
Before Linda came to NLC, the Muellers were living in Stony Plain, AB. Linda’s husband had started a new job in Fort St. John in the fall of 2019, and she followed him in the winter of 2020.
“…if I wanted to stay married, I had to!” She said, laughing.
Days after Linda started, the pandemic restrictions began and everyone was sent home, including her. Linda didn’t feel right being at home with essential staff still on campus, so she submitted a request to Bryn Kulmatycki, NLC President and CEO at the time, to allow her to be on campus with the staff that had to be there. He agreed, and she went in.
“There were no people on campus, so it was very different.”
Despite the bumpy start, it was a lucky break for NLC. Linda came with a wealth of experience in non-profit management, as well as advanced education in human resources and leadership.
In May 2022, Linda moved from Campus Administrator to Director of Ancillary Services and Alumni Engagement. Ancillary Services was a large portfolio, covering two cafeterias, bookstores, and student housing units.
While Director of Ancillary Services, she advocated for better bus service for students who were working in town and living on the Fort St. John campus, and has been an active member of college committees, including the Accessibility Committee.
Two years later, after some necessary restructuring this winter, Linda has made the move to Dawson Creek’s campus administrator. This means that ancillary services and facilities in Dawson Creek will be under her administration, and in Fort St. John they will be under their own campus administrator, Karen Mason-Bennett.
When Linda talks about her work, the word ‘service’ often comes up, so it wasn’t surprising that one of the first things she thought about was how she would serve the campus as the administrator.
“Connecting community, connecting people in communities, connecting communities. That is my passion,” said Linda.
She wants NLC to be a hub for our communities, and a natural addition to community events and efforts. Her hope is that NLC continues to develop as a community, where everyone — with a shared vision of helping students be the best they can — helps each other do the very best they can.
Welcome to Dawson Creek campus, Linda!