Choosing a post-secondary program and sticking with it to completion doesn’t always pan out – at least not on the first try.
However, the key to finding the right path, according to Debby (Tomsic) Savidant (Nursing 1984) and her children Ryan Shigehiro (Automotive Service Technician 2015) and Amanda Shigehiro (Culinary Careers 2014, Cook Apprentice 2015), is persistence and a desire to learn.
At 17, Debby left Taber, Alta. to take the Registered Nursing program at Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra Hospital. Homesick after one year, she moved back and began working in an extended care facility. “I quickly realized I needed to complete the program,” she says. “Lethbridge College was so accommodating, and I graduated at the same time I would have had I stayed in Edmonton.”
Debby took a year off, then enrolled at the University of Lethbridge to pursue her post-RN Bachelor of Nursing degree. She spent 39 years in healthcare, and recently retired as manager of the Alberta Health Services (AHS) South Zone Integrated Quality Management team. Not wanting to step away entirely, she continues to do project work for AHS on a casual basis.
“I know it’s an academic field, but I’ve always viewed nursing as a trade,” Debby says, “so I encouraged both Ryan and Amanda to consider the trades as well.”
Her children wanted to explore other paths and so first enrolled in non-trades programs – Ryan in Engineering Design Technology, then Geomatics Engineering Technology at the college, and Amanda in pre-veterinary biology, then psychology at the University of Lethbridge.
“I worked one summer doing geomatics, but it wasn’t for me, and I didn’t complete the diploma,” Ryan says. “Then, I went in a totally different direction with the Automotive Service Technician program. I thought ‘I know cars, I might as well try it,’ and I’m happy I did.”
Ryan graduated in 2015 and has worked in the industry ever since. He recently obtained his Journeyperson Certificate and Red Seal from SAIT. Ryan admits that if he wasn’t already living in Calgary, he would have gladly come back to Lethbridge College to continue his education. “I miss the Food Court,” he laughs. “I can’t tell you how many breakfast bowls I ate on my way to class – it was the best food!”
His younger sister Amanda would likely agree, having prepared many Food Court meals herself. After leaving university and taking a year off, she enrolled in the Culinary Careers program and instantly appreciated the smaller class sizes and one-on-one time with instructors. “It was hands-on and a lot of fun,” she says, “especially second year because we got to work in the Garden Court Restaurant learning how to serve and bartend.”
Amanda left the food service industry in 2017 for a fast-paced role in emergency communications, though she says she still enjoys cooking and baking for family and friends.
