2017
Laura McKeag
Medical Device Reprocessing
Laura told the Alumni office that she is working as a merchandiser for various companies.
Lee Mosemann
Computer Information Technology
In June, Lee started working as a system administrator with Whipcord, a high performance IT services company that specializes in colocation, cloud and disaster recovery. Lee completed his field work at Whipcord and was the team lead for his college capstone project, where his team created a system, now known as Bandwidth Accounting System Enterprise Edition (BASEE).
The successful system processes millions of records in real-time and generates PDF and Excel reports from the data on demand. Once handed over to Whipcord it was transitioned to an ongoing agile development project and has accumulated an additional 128 source code commits - adding new features such as emailed notifications of errors, single sign on and faster data processing.
Janet Reesor
Correctional Studies
Janet is working as a peace officer, where she says she will get to use her Lethbridge College education.
Devon Scott
Agricultural Technology – Plant and Soil
Devon and his steer, Rotor, took the grand champion title at the Calgary Stampede, an accomplishment that comes with $12,000 in scholarships and $5,000 in prize money. According to the Wrangler Network, Devon said: “We raised him ourselves, we didn’t buy him, and did it all ourselves, so it feels pretty good. We saw awesome potential in him at the start and he came along really well.”
Katie Stutheit
Fashion Design and Sustainable Production
Katie saw her design come to life on the runway at the national Cashmere17 fashion design contest. Drawing inspiration from Canada’s iconic trillium flower, Katie’s design was chosen from over 150 entries as a top 16 finalist.
2012
Danielle Lohmann
Criminal Justice – Policing
Fresh out of the RCMP’s police academy in Regina, Danielle Lohmann started working in February in Jasper as a constable with the RCMP.
Heidi Shaw
Exercise Science
Heidi told the Alumni office: “My hands-on experience at Lethbridge College gave me a step up to be able to get into the training field as quickly as I did. It provided me with the tools to be successful right after graduation. I went on to complete my KNES Degree from U of L and now proudly manage both our fitness centre and High Performance Centre.”
2011
Daniel Alfano
General Studies
Daniel told the Alumni office that he has completed medical school and started pathology residency training at University of Arkansas for Medical Services in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Kara Small
Early Childhood Education
The Alumni office received this update from Kara: “After graduation, I quickly gained employment in my hometown of Strathmore. Going on six years with the centre, I am working with a group of school-aged children who keep me busy. While they’re in school I get to play a bit of assistant director. A husband and two furry children later, I am eager to have children of my own and branch out into a day home. Lethbridge College has given me the opportunity to have a meaningful career and I can’t wait for what’s next.”
2008
Nicole Meyer-Featherstone
Correctional Studies
Nicole told the Alumni office: “After finishing my degree, I worked for the Correctional Service of Canada for five years at Edmonton Institution for Women. I realized I wanted to do more prevention than reaction to society’s mental health issues and that working inside an institution was not allowing me that opportunity. …So I left the service and went on a new adventure. I just graduated in May of this year with my post-baccalaureate diploma in Art Therapy, and have opened a private practice in my home town. I am grateful for my time at Lethbridge College and the eventual work in the service, as it laid the foundation for the work I am fortunate to do now. I think of my time at the college fondly, and the people I met there are forever etched on my spirit.”
2007, 2011
Erin Fulcher
Renewable Resource Management, Fish and Wildlife Technology
Erin was featured in an article in the Rossland Telegraph celebrating a scholarship she won from the Freshwater Fisheries Society of British Columbia to support the completion of her studies in Fisheries and Aquaculture at Vancouver Island University. “My combined experience and education will allow me to contribute to freshwater fisheries in B.C.,” she said in the article. “Perhaps I will be restoring declining fish populations, conducting research to learn about challenges such as climate change and pollution, or maybe raising fish in a hatchery to allow parents to teach their children to fish the way that my father taught me.” The article states that Erin has worked as a Fisheries and Oceans summer student in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., in its Sea Lamprey Control program and that after completing her certificate in Fish and Wildlife Technology, she spent five years as an Aquatic Specialist in Calgary conducting fish habitat assessments and environmental monitoring.
Photo courtesy Rossland Telegraph
2005
Tara Griffith
General Studies student
“Just to see them grow into themselves, to be empowered young people with goals, I think that’s how coaching really inspires me,”
{ Tara Griffith }
Tara was featured in a story on CBC in August about her work as an assistant coach for the File Hills Qu’Appelle midget boys’ baseball team, which participated in the 2017 Saskatchewan First Nations Summer Games in Regina. Tara played basketball while at Lethbridge College and was part of the team that won a national championship in 2004. In the CBC story, she said that sport can improve the lives of young people in multiple ways. “It can bring a lot of confidence. I think that’s what I’ve taken throughout my life that sport has given me. It’s really cool to see the same thing now happen with these athletes,” she said. For much of her success, she credits the coaches who helped push her. “Because of those coaches, they really cared about me and went the extra mile, I think that that’s definitely what helped me,” she said. Now it’s come full circle, with Griffith helping to give the athletes she coaches the same opportunities. In her time with the team, she said she’s seen the development in players as athletes and people. “Just to see them grow into themselves, to be empowered young people with goals, I think that’s how coaching really inspires me,” she said. “To see the positive change, setting goals for themselves and trying to achieve those.”
Randolph Gehl
Engineering Design and Drafting Technology
Randolph told the Alumni office that since completing his second Engineering program diploma at the college, “I have been working in Calgary and area for the last 24 years in the civil engineering field. I am currently a project manager and primarily work in land development and infrastructure. For eight years, I sat on the Lethbridge College Alumni Advisory Committee for the Civil Engineering Technology program and have attended two job fairs at the college representing the company that I currently work for.”
1991
Tiffany Holtman
Business Administration – Marketing
“The schooling I received from the college and the work experience has benefited me with skills operating and managing my home salon business.”
{ Tiffany Holtman }
Tiffany writes: “I live in Calgary now. When I completed two semesters, I worked for Alberta Fish and Wildlife for the summer in Lethbridge and returned to college for an extra semester. After I finished my third semester and graduated in 1991, I moved to Medicine Hat to take a maternity leave position as a receptionist for a year, then moved to Edmonton to look for another secretarial or receptionist position. I continued to work for another four years as a secretary. [After being laid off,] I decided to change careers to hairstylist. It has been a great move for me and I have been doing it for 22 years now. The schooling I received from the college and the work experience has benefited me with skills operating and managing my home salon business.”
1990
Trevor Council
Renewable Resource Management
Trevor is a regional manager with Alberta Conservation Association.
1987
Terry Whitehead
Business Administration – Accounting and Marketing
Terry, a managing partner of Alexander Whitehead Executive Search in Vancouver, was recently appointed to the University of Lethbridge Board of Governors. After graduating from Lethbridge College, Terry attended the U of L and started his career as an arts administrator, including working as New West Theatre’s first company administrator. In 1998, he joined Theatre Calgary and concluded his tenure there in 2004 as the company’s director of Advancement. He served as a member of the Calgary International Film Festival’s Board of Directors before moving to Vancouver to become the director of Development for the Arts Club Theatre Company, Canada’s largest urban professional theatre company. In 2008, he entered the professional search industry, eventually establishing Alexander Whitehead Executive Search, a boutique search and consulting firm operating in Vancouver and Calgary. He is currently a member of the Vancouver International Film Festival’s Board of Directors and continues to be an active donor and supporter of student initiatives in the arts.
1981
Darwin Drader
Criminal Justice – Policing
Darwin was featured in an article in the Rivers Banner that described his work as a casual constable with the Rivers Police Service, where he has worked the last three years. Darwin was hired by Delta Police after graduating from the college and completed the three years of training at Justice Institute of B.C., becoming a certified police officer. He then received additional on-the-job training with Delta Police for the next 18.5 years. He came to the Rivers Police Service from Brandon, with a long history of law enforcement, which includes 35 years of official policing and some 40 years in the criminal justice system, including 14 years in corrections work. Of his 35 years, the remaining 17 years have been with Rural Municipality of Cornwallis Police, where he is still employed full-time. Darwin is trained in collision analysis and commercial vehicle safety alliance inspections and is also a laser, radar and pepper spray instructor. Darwin says when he has spare time, he loves to camp and spend time with his five children and 13 grandchildren.
Chris Clegg
Communication Arts – Print Journalism
“I am so grateful to what they taught me and the experience LCC provided. Thank you!”
{ Chris Clegg }
Chris sent this update to his former instructors last May: “I am the editor of the High Prairie South Peace News. I graduated from the print program at LCC in 1987 and have been employed since Aug. 1, 1988 in High Prairie. This year, we celebrated our 75th award since my arrival. That includes 41 Canadian Community Newspapers Association Awards and 34 Alberta Weekly Newspapers Association Awards. Many thanks to the excellent program at LCC [now just LC] and instructors Georgia Fooks, Richard Burke, D’Arcy Kavanagh and Veryl Todd! I am so grateful to what they taught me and the experience LCC provided. Thank you!”
Richard Labossiere
Conservation Enforcement 1981, 2007
Richard wrote to Wider Horizons with this update: “I am a 1981 Renewable Resources grad and then went on to obtain my Bachelor of Applied Science Degree from the college through distance learning. I retired from Environment Canada’s Wildlife Enforcement Division as an operations manager in 2015 after 25 years with EC and eight years prior to that as a conservation officer with Manitoba Conservation. I’ve included a recent photo that was taken at the Game Warden’s Museum we have at the International Peace Garden. The photo was taken this spring and it shows the polar bear exhibit that I have had the pleasure of working on (post retirement) with my Manitoba Conservation friends. The exhibit highlights the Polar Bear Alert Program in Churchill as well as a project I had the pleasure of working on during my last two years with Environment Canada’s Wildlife Enforcement Division. The project was geared to improving methods of tracking polar bear hides in commercial trade. I installed microchips into numerous polar bear hides to test their ability to withstand fleshing, stretching, tanning, freezing and taxidermy processes – all to hopefully better track the movement of polar bear hides from harvest to processing to sale to export. The project was a success, so Environment Canada, working closely with provincial governments, established a three-pronged approach to tracking polar bear hides in trade – that being the use of microchips, DNA sampling and stable isotope analysis. The exhibit at the Game Warden’s Museum includes information on the project as well as a microchip scanner that visitors can use to scan the mounted polar bear and hopefully locate microchips previously injected into the bear hide. The mounted polar bear you see in the photo was one of the bears I used in the project.”
1979
Mike O’Connor
Conservation Enforcement
Mike told the Alumni office that he has worked for Alberta Parks and then joined the Calgary Police Service in September 1980. In 2009, he retired after 29 years with the service and went on to consult with the Alberta Office of Traffic Safety until 2016.
1975
Guy Pomahac
Guy, a Canadian Little League Baseball champion, a high school football star, a Western Canadian decathlon champion, and a player on the 1975 Kodiaks men’s basketball team that won a national championship, passed away on Aug. 18 at the age of 61. He was best known for his accomplishments in judo, where he was an Olympic alternate in 1976, a four-time Canadian university champion, a 10-time provincial title winner, a Canadian senior champion several times and a Canadian national team representative 10 times. He was also a lifelong educator who gave 32 years to educating young people in the Lethbridge School District. Guy was featured in an article column by Dylan Purcell in the Lethbridge Herald that showcased his contributions to the community, and his loss was felt in many different parts of the community.
1972
Fred Tyrrell
Outdoor Recreation and Conservation Education
Fred sent this great update to Wider Horizons in late August: “I just wanted to drop you a line and let you know how much I still enjoy reading about the college. The fall 2017 edition is top-notch! As a 1972 grad from the now-defunct Outdoor Recreation and Conservation Education program, I often think back to my time at college, and how it changed my focus on ‘career.’ I went to college to join my mother and my sister in taking the fun courses that the program offered for a couple of years, fully intending to then get into medicine. Funny, that never happened! Instead, I retired in November of 2016 after a full career in public service. My volunteer work with the Lethbridge Historical Society and the museum led to my first short career at the Galt Museum before I took on the challenge of working on the Canada Winter Games. That led to the opportunity to work in municipal parks and recreation in the County of Lethbridge and then the Town of Vulcan. Having been selected as one of 20 St. John Ambulance volunteers to go to the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia, but also having brought Vulcan into the Southern Alberta Summer Games as the host community, I passed the torch on to another young “reccie” and took on the challenge of opening the first Alberta Games office in northeast Alberta before heading over to Australia. After my return I switched gears and moved from the municipal sector to the Government of Alberta, working as a Provincial Park Ranger. I also obtained a degree in Recreation Administration from the University of Alberta, and met my wife there as well. Shifting from provincial parks, I moved over to the recreation side of the ministry and handled the operations program in the municipal parks program for several years, before evolving into the position of community development officer. With an 18-month secondment to set up the Stakeholder Relations Unit in the new-at-the-time Alberta Emergency Management Agency, and later a second 12-month secondment to serve as the lead recovery coordinator on the Southern Alberta Flood Disaster Recovery Task Force, my government career wound down last winter. The closest I came to medicine was to continue my involvement with St. John Ambulance; I held my Instructor’s ticket for 46 years! Now I am enjoying a part-time work-from-home position as the executive director of the Alberta Fire Chiefs Association. All in all, not a bad story for a young kid who just wanted to grow up a bit by attending the LCC!”
Criminal Justice grads recognized for going above and beyond
Three Lethbridge College Criminal Justice alumni – Ryan Darroch (2003), Michael Darby (2000) and Spencer Hodgson (2011) – were recognized for their efforts during the Lethbridge Police Commission’s September meeting and featured in an article in the Lethbridge Herald. In two instances last summer, Darroch came across people who had overdosed and, after calling EMS, he began chest compressions until the ambulance arrived. “These two incidents are the second and third time this year that Const. Darroch helped revive people following overdoses,” said Chief Rob Davis. “I can’t stress enough that without his intervention and actions, these people would not have survived.”
After learning that three bicycles had been stolen from a family near where Darroch and Darby were patrolling in June, the two officers bought three new bikes with their own money, and the store they purchased the bikes from kicked in free locks. “This particular situation was brought to my attention from numerous members who had heard what happened,” Davis said, noting he felt the actions of the officers was an example of the types of kind acts police take part in that go unnoticed by the general public. As a result of the policing efforts of the officers, a bicycle “chop shop” operation shut down and the drug dealers in the area where they had been patrolling moved out.
Hodgson also received a Chief’s Commendation for his actions stemming from a June 10 event at Chinook Regional Hospital where he was attending to another matter. Hodgson was alerted that a suicidal man had left the building and stepped out onto an overhang above a loading area 30 feet below. According to the Herald, Hodgson engaged the man, and, when an opportunity presented itself, he pulled the man over the railing and restrained him. The event took place in front of hospital staff and the man’s family. “The outcome would not have been positive if the man had fell,” said Davis. “If the intent was to harm himself, without (Hodgson’s) intervention, I believe the man would have suffered serious if not fatal injuries.”
