DAWSON CREEK – More than 240 Grade 9 students from across School District 59 converged on Northern Lights College on March 16 for the annual Dual Credit Day event.
Dual Credit Day provides students with the opportunity to experience their choice of three program areas available to secondary school students for Dual Credit study. The event was held at NLC’s Dawson Creek and South Peace campuses.
Participants selected from numerous program areas, including: Aircraft Maintenance Engineering, Applied Business Technology, Automotive Service Technician, Carpentry, Cook Training, Cosmetology, Early Childhood Education and Care, Esthetics, Health Care, Heavy Duty Mechanic, Plumbing, University Arts and Sciences, Visual Arts, Welding, and Wind Turbine Maintenance Technician.
The event included an opening presentation by professional chuck wagon racer Mark Sutherland, who also works for Encana as a public speaker. He reminded the students that Dual Credit Day was a perfect opportunity for them to try out some potential careers.
“If you don’t have an education, that closes doors for you. The opportunities are there, and there’s a thousand things you can do,” Sutherland said. “Today you are going to experience some of those opportunities and careers and you will get a good feeling if this is what you want to do… And it’s okay to change your focus, but it’s not okay to stop. That’s what today is all about. You have three sessions to try things out.”
Dual Credit Day is designed to give students hands-on experience to discover information about specific careers. Students learn they can start the transition to a career in Grade 11 or 12, earning secondary and post-secondary school credits while still in secondary school.
Event sponsors included: Encana, School District 59, Northern Opportunities, and Dominos Pizza.
The College also will be hosting a Dual Credit Day event at the Fort St. John Campus in May.
For more information on Dual Credit programs, students should contact their secondary school counsellor. For more information on programs available at NLC, call 1-866-463-6652 or check the website at nlc.bc.ca.