Our Northern Lights is an initiative that illuminates our people, their stories, and celebrates their achievements. We hope that their journey will inspire others to pursue their dreams and make a difference in the world.
As a small, local college, Northern Lights College has a diverse student body. We see folks from all over the world and in many age brackets. Still, it was unusual when Jon Zimmer began his journey at NLC at 14.
In 2014, during the province wide teachers’ strike, Jon was in grade nine. It was during this period of educational uncertainty he first took a class at Northern Lights College.
“So I was talking with my parents, basically saying I already had this interest in doing some sort of history, but I hadn’t narrowed down the subject…[I thought] if the public system was completely shut down, then I might as well just attempt some sort of post-secondary or just stay productive.”
Jon started taking one of Dr. Eva St. Jean’s (now retired) history classes. He began as a listener but eventually did assignments and earned credits.
The teachers and the province came to an agreement and students made their way back to school, but Jon was hooked by the quality of the teaching and the intimate learning environment at NLC.
“My policy was to do one class a semester and then [to graduate] with almost my first year complete.”
After high school, Jon completed another year at NLC. He focused on second-year courses in history and political science. His goal was to earn his bachelor’s degree, so he worked on transitioning to a larger institution using tools such as the BC Transfer Guide to see which programs he could take at NLC that could transfer to the next step in his learning.
He took his Computer Science and Geography prerequisites at NLC and eventually finished his bachelor’s degree at Thompson Rivers University, doing the last part of his coursework from home during the pandemic. Although he had taken more first-year courses than he could transfer, he still felt they benefited his overall education.
“My philosophy was that even though anthropology or business management couldn’t fit into the degree, at least I had sampled almost everything and found what I liked.”
Study as much as you can at NLC – it’s a great place to start in the arts!
From there, he transferred to the University of Regina to earn a master’s degree in history under the direction of Doctor Raymond Blake, a specialist on Canadian nationalism and identity. He helped steer Jon from his original idea of studying the Suez Canal crisis, instead encouraging him to focus on a less-studied topic: Canada’s role in the Ethiopian Famine Crisis.
Jon completed his master’s degree, and now at 24 years old, he is in a fully funded PhD fellowship at Queen’s University in Kitchener, Ontario, called the Roger Graham Fellowship. He also works under the Ontario Graduate Scholarships. Together, these funding streams support his PhD studies.
Jon is quick to credit NLC with the successful beginning of his education. With fewer students competing for awards, it was easier to win bursaries and grants to fund his education. During his time with us he earned financial awards from North Peace Credit Union, the BC Oil and Gas Commission, as well as the William and Marky Wanka Awards Program. He also saved a lot of money by living at home.
“It’s also the cost of living that can just kill you in those early years [of post-secondary]. For reference in Kingston…some of my friends are paying upwards of $2500 and $3000 a month for a one-bedroom.”
Staying at home and attending a local institution also allowed him more flexibility and less risk while exploring his educational pathway.
“I’ve seen a lot of my own friends from Fort St. John, a lot of them didn’t opt to go to the college and they decided to jump into a larger institution right away. A lot of them have dropped out. A lot of them have discovered this during programs that they don’t particularly like, but now they’re committed, so they’re funding 10s of thousands of dollars or debts into these programs.”
He loves the Peace Region and brings it up whenever he has the chance. He even references Peace Offerings, NLC’s yearly student work publication, on his Queens University profile page.
So, what’s next for Jon? He plans to continue to work on his PhD, and when that’s done, perhaps some post-doctoral work. He also may come back home and teach. He appreciates the quality of education in smaller classes and would enjoy being part of that again.
“I’m thinking the quality of the education [at a larger institution] is fine, but it’s going to be far less than if you have 15 to 20 or 30 people in a room where you know each person by name.”
To hear more from Jon in his own words, read below:
What is your first NLC memory?
Attending my first history class at NLC at the age of 14.
What three words describe your NLC experience?
Growth, opportunity, quality.
What was the best part of your program?
Small classes and the attention devoted to students by faculty and college staff.
If you could go back to your first week of classes and give yourself advice, what would it be?
Pay close attention to the textbooks!
What would you tell another student if they were thinking of coming to NLC?
Study as much as you can at NLC – it’s a great place to start in the arts!