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By Admin, May 4, 2009

Residential Construction Students Celebrate with an Open House
 

The 2008-09 Residential Construction class in front of the recently-completed “NLC House” in Dawson Creek.

DAWSON CREEK – Residential Construction students at Northern Lights College celebrated a special achievement on April 29.
 
The class of six, along with instructor Mark Heartt, hosted an open house at a newly-built home located at 9625-15th Street in Dawson Creek.
 
What made this open house special was that the students had just finished constructing the house as the practical portion of their Residential Construction trades program at NLC.
 
“They started right from the ground up. They dug the hole, put in the footings, the foundation, and even did the painting,” said Heartt. “They were pushed very hard to complete this task. I think every one of them today is pretty darned proud, and they should be. They met a goal, and that’s very rewarding.”
 
The latest “NLC House” is the fifth to be built in Dawson Creek by Residential Construction students. NLC students also have built two houses and the new airport terminal in Chetwynd.
 
But this is the first time in the history of the program the students have completed the house project before the end of classes, including seeing the “for sale” sign in the front yard. The only parts of the house they did not do was drywall, plumbing and electrical.
 

This is how the recently-completed “NLC House” looked in mid-October, when students spent a sunny autumn day pouring concrete.

Heartt said that the plans used for this 1,100 square foot structure allowed the students to complete the project. For example, building a single-storey house eliminated the need to work at various heights.
 
“The project itself was a little more reasonable to build than in previous years,” Heartt said. “It was a little less complicated, but not less functional.”
 
Students were involved in every aspect of the planning and construction process. The work started on Sept. 27, 2008, and was completed in 76 shifts over eight months. And, this year for the first time, the students were involved in project managing, including tracking expenses and making sure the project stayed within budget.
 
“This is the students’ work. I may have shown them how to trim a window, but they did the rest,” Heartt said. “This house could be here for 75 to 100 years. Several generations will be able to drive by and see it. This is something left behind by these students, and that’s what I like about it.”
 
The class was comprised of Megan Biddulph, Garrett Dunn, Kristin Gostick, Ward Moffat, Drew Robinson and Tyrone Watson.
 
For more information on Trades and Apprenticeship programming at NLC, call 1-866-463-6652 or go to the website at nlc.bc.ca.

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By Admin, March 18, 2009

Raysa’s Ready to Work in the Field of Aircraft Maintenance

Raysa Abril in the Aerospace Centre at the Dawson Creek Campus of NLC.

DAWSON CREEK ~  Raysa Abril was 16 years old and did not speak English when she left her home in Colombia to experience life in Canada.  She enrolled in English as a Second Language courses for two years before deciding to follow in the footsteps of an uncle, who is a pilot and mechanic. Abril enrolled in the Aircraft Maintenance Engineering program at Northern Lights College.

I heard this was one of the best schools there is for Aircraft Maintenance Engineering”,  Abril said.  “Reputation is definitely one of the reasons why I decided to come to Dawson Creek. A lot of people recommended Northern Lights College. I definitely recommend it.” 

Abril, who is now 20, recently completed the 15-month program. She said that the program helped open her eyes to the various career options available and the skills required to succeed in the aircraft maintenance field.

For example, Abril said she expected a focus on the hands-on and mechanical aspects of the field. But she was very surprised by the emphasis placed on neat and organized files and paperwork. 

 ”The program has definitely given me a good basic understanding of what is necessary to succeed,”  Abril said. “It has opened more options to me. I learned about helicopters, and I even got some welding experience. The program makes you aware of a lot more possibilities.” 

Despite the importance of the work of aircraft mechanics in ensuring safe flights around the world, aircraft maintenance can be an underappreciated field because much of the work is done out of the public spotlight.

“It’s a field where everybody sees the pilots, but nobody sees all the people who work on the plane, ” Abril said.  “You get on a plane and it is ready to fly, but there’ s a whole world of people involved that no one knows about.”

The Aircraft Maintenance Engineering program at NLC is based in the Aerospace Centre at the Dawson Creek Campus. The program is 15 months in length, and the next intake of students starts in September. For more information or to register, call 250-782-5251 or 1-866-463-6652, and ask for a Recruiter.