Wow. What an unsettling few months we’ve been through, right? The world has changed so much since I scrapped the Editor’s Message just before we went to press with our spring issue, letting you know a bit about the college’s response to the then-new development of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
As I imagine is true for you, I have since settled into many new routines, finding pleasure in some (including working with two dogs at my feet and a pandemic puppy on my lap) and learning new skills from others (Teams! Zoom! Screen-sharing!). But I have to admit that I still miss the hallway hellos and story ideas shared on campus, the creativity that comes from working in the same room with my talented colleagues, and, most of all, the energy that arises from being surrounded by thousands of students eager to learn.
This fall semester looks to be like none before it at Lethbridge College, but I am reassured by knowing the important parts will largely be the same. Instructors will bring their passion and realworld experience to their lectures and learning opportunities. Classmates will collaborate, create and challenge themselves as they encounter new ideas and ways of looking at the world. Staff members will be ready to support the students every step of the way. The places we do this work may change – but the heart of that work will be wonderfully familiar.
It shouldn’t be surprising that the Lethbridge College community has responded so positively even with so much upheaval. After all, solving problems and finding new ways of doing things is what a lot of post-secondary education is all about. The college has always been committed to helping its people stretch, embrace change and face challenges. These are certainly difficult challenges – incredibly difficult for some. But in the midst of it all, I keep coming back to some key words of the college’s story: that we are more than bricks and mortar, that we are a community committed to one another, and that our people know about digging deep and rising up.
This issue of Wider Horizons includes stories of some of those people and the different ways they are rising up, whether by returning to the home kitchen, teaching their neighbours essential local history, helping their communities or solving important problems. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed creating it. And as always, we’d love to hear from you, so feel free to drop us a line at [email protected].
