Wider Horizons asked readers to send us their stories about the teacher or class that made a difference in their lives. If you’d like to share your story about an amazing teacher, email [email protected].
Elaine Conrad, Office Administration
Elaine Conrad is a very great instructor. I had her for a number of classes, and right from the start I liked her. You could tell she liked her students and if they needed help with something, she was always there when they needed her. She would also come to every class with a smile on her face. From what I remember, every class of hers that I was in, she would always make the class enjoyable. What I would say about Mrs. Conrad is that she is truly dedicated to her job as a teacher and you can see that dedication in her work as a teacher and in her students as well. I’d like to thank her for being an amazing teacher.
- Submitted by Erica Nichols, Administrative Office Professional 2014
Sharie Cousins, Environmental Sciences instructor
“Sharie was a professor, but she was also an honest, caring individual. She had an open door policy, as do a vast number of professors at Lethbridge College, and she genuinely cared about her student’s success, in both their personal and professional lives. Sharie was also very modest, and it wasn’t until her passing (in March 2016) that I realized she was the second female officer hired by Alberta Fish and Wildlife. Sharie could go on for days telling stories of her amazing experiences with Alberta’s Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Branch. Sharie and I both have a profound love for horses and on one day, in my second year of studies, she told me that with this amazing career (her former career with natural resource enforcement) you could have the opportunity to ride horse back in the mountains to conduct compliance checks. What a dream job and an inspiration that stuck with me. She was truly inspiring, and my only regret is that we didn’t have the opportunity to ride together, but I think of her every time I am in the mountains with a pack string, both for work and pleasure.”
- Submitted by Heather Sywanyk, Renewable Resource Management and Conservation Enforcement - Bachelor of Applied Science 2011
Don Lee – Criminal Justice
Don made class fun every day. He always had a lighthearted, easygoing demeanor that helped the students feel engaged in the subject matter. It was very apparent he knew his material inside and out. I always felt comfortable that I was learning from the best. Don has a wealth of knowledge in the subjects he taught, especially traffic enforcement. There are several skills and tips I learned from Don that I use every day in my law enforcement career. Don genuinely cares about his students achieving every career goal they have set and would do what he can to help. In my experience, Don went the extra mile with his students both during their college experience and after graduation. Don has always been more than willing to help his students in any way he can, even in retirement. I would say thank you to Don for genuinely caring.
- Submitted by Nat Collins, Criminal Justice – Policing 2008
Joyce D’Andrea, Nursing
Joyce D’Andrea is a great teacher and a lovely person. I can't remember what the class was called but it was advanced nursing practice on burns, electrolyte imbalance, thoracic injuries, and that kind of thing, that was held the summer of 2005 – and Joyce made it a lot of fun. She had to impart to us a tremendous amount of information in a short time. She is very knowledgeable and she put the content across to us in a logical way which made us feel confident that we knew and understood the information. Joyce was always very encouraging, very positive and funny. I try to keep in touch with Joyce with cards and letters at Christmas, and I have been back to Lethbridge four times and have managed to have lunch with her three of those times. I would like to thank her for encouraging us to believe anything is possible.
- Submitted by Donna Dornian, NESA 2005
Carolyn Clark, Office Administration
I had Carolyn for keyboarding, desktop publishing, office procedures, and many more in the Office Administration program. She was 110 per cent committed to seeing her students succeed. She was available to help students when they needed her and she broke concepts down and would ensure that her students understood them before moving on to something new. She was always in your corner cheering you on. Carolyn never tired of questions from her students. I forget what assignment it was, but I was working on it in the IB Commons, and kept running into problems and had numerous questions about the assignment. I can't remember how many treks I took back and forth to Carolyn's office, but she never got annoyed. She would just smile when she saw me in her doorway and invite me in to see what I needed. I know that I did all the studying and hard work to get the grades and my diploma in the end, but Carolyn was a big part of where I am today with my career. I would like to thank Carolyn for her words of encouragement, her never-ending support, and her commitment to seeing her students succeed. She's a wonderful person!
- Submitted by Jenn Ward, Communication Arts - Print Journalism 2003 and Office Administration 2012
Dave Kennedy, Accounting
Dave and I don’t teach any classes the same right now but he and I are the two primary accounting instructors for the accounting majors’ second-year accounting courses and as such we work closely together to ensure our second-year accounting majors are receiving current, relevant, accounting instruction. Dave is extremely knowledgeable and always made class fun. He adds a lot of humor to his classes to help students feel relaxed. I can still recall Dave spending time with me during the Tax class in the spring semester of 1990. I would like to say a huge thanks to Dave for the inspiration he gave me and continues to give me to be an excellent instructor. He has modelled so many things to me that have had a huge impact on my own career: always prepared - even a few semesters ahead sometimes!, always fun – creating a relaxed and fun classroom environment, always so thorough and detailed, always patient, always giving 100 per cent, and always wanting to see all his students do well.
- Submitted by James Reimer, Business Administration 1990
Bob Harrison, Law Enforcement
When Wider Horizons put out the call last fall for stories of fabulous faculty and staff members, we were delighted to hear from Marian Harrison, who was reporting on two people in her life with Lethbridge College connections. Bob Harrison, who passed away in August 2015, was one of the college’s first faculty members in the Criminal Justice program and worked at the college from 1972 to 1993. Kathy Schultz, Bob’s daughter, studied nursing at Lethbridge College.
Marian wrote: “Bob went from being the non-commissioned officer in charge of training with the R.C.M.P. at Depot Division in Regina to teaching at what was then Lethbridge Community College. Whilst there, he obtained his Bachelor of Science in Law Enforcement and Police Studies degree and his Master of Arts in Police Science and Administration at Sam Houston State University in Texas. Bob always encouraged students to go on to further their education, which a great number of them did. Bob spent endless hours improvising and improving the programs for Native studies, which is a very important part of the campus life. In addition to Bob, his daughter Kathy Schultz is a graduate of the college nursing program and is now the executive director of medicine, neurology and corrections at Rockyview Hospital in Calgary.”
- Submitted by Marian Harrison, Bob Harrison’s wife
The class that changed my life: “Mind, Body, Spirit”
“I was a student within the Exercise Science program for two years at Lethbridge College and obtained my diploma there. During my second year, we did a "Mind, Body, Spirit" module, and that was a class that truly changed my life. I was amazed at the way in which I could manage my stress (and I had a lot of it) through the simplicity of my breath and through meditation, or moving meditation (yoga). I got so inspired by this module that I applied for a yoga teacher training in Goa, India, and through a leap of faith and hope, I got accepted and my year following graduation from Lethbridge College, I went to India and had the most life changing two months of my life. While I was there, I met a person who was a holistic nutritionist, so when I got back to Canada, I applied into that and I obtained a diploma in holistic nutrition. I am now working towards getting my Bachelor in Education degree to use the knowledge I obtain during my time in the Exercise Science program, yoga teacher training and holistic nutrition to help students at their most influential age, from grades seven to nine. I have been on this amazing journey, and I am certain that my two years at Lethbridge College were an amazing instigator to moving me on this path I am on now.”
- Submitted by Kelsey Heitkoetter, Exercise Science 2013
