Thursday, September 1, 2011 Castlegar News
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Selkirk College ready and set for new school year CRAIG LINDSAY Castlegar News Reporter
With Labour Day just around the corner, school is close at hand. In fact, Selkirk College in Castlegar is busy preparing for what is expected to be another busy year. Although overall numbers are similar to last year’s, the number of first year stu-
dents is down about five per cent. “I think it speaks volumes for our programs when you see so many returning students,” said Barry Auliffe, director of communications. The Castlegar campus returns in style on Sept. 6 with Student Orientation Day, Nelson’s orientation day runs Sept. 7. Expect
a fun-filled day with breakfast, games, information centres, lunch barbecue, music and tons of prizes. Offered this year are two popular nursing programs: Online Pharmacy Technician, and Health Care Assistant which is offered in Grand Forks and Trail. The programs were made available after
the college received $200,000 in grants from the government as part of a provincewide initiative. There are 20 seats for the online pharmacy tech program and 18 seats for the health care assistant program. The Nursing program, as well as the Aviation and Early Childhood Education programs are the
most popular programs, said Auliffe. The Nelson campus has just completed renovations for the residences on 10th Street. The $7 million cost was paid for by the federal and provincial governments, with support from Columbia Basin Trust and the City of Nelson. New at the Castle-
gar campus is the Aboriginal Gathering Place – part of a province-wide program by the Provincial Government. Selkirk College received $600,000 from the government and $200,000 from Columbia Basin Trust. “The Selkirk College Gathering Place is a specifically designed and dedicated
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structure which will be utilized to promote Aboriginal culture, ceremony and provide an opening environment for aboriginal students, their families, and to the larger community,” said Selkirk College president and CEO Angus Graeme in a press release. “The final cost for the project is $950,000. We need to raise the remaining $150,000 ourselves,” said Auliffe. “The building is open for students but there is still plenty of work to do. We are hoping to have the grand opening in late October or early November.”
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Adults head back to school for free this fall in Selkirk’s ABE program, like Zoe Langlois did ten years ago. Zoe goes to work each day excited. She marvels at how lucky she is to work with people, helping them find their way in life in her role as a Vocational Counsellor for Canadian Mental Health in Nelson, but Zoe didn’t always see her future so brightly. Zoe’s turning point came ten years ago when she enrolled in the Adult Basic Education (ABE) program in the School of Academic Upgrading and Development at Selkirk College. After leaving high school in grade twelve, Zoe spent five years not being sure of what she wanted, let alone how she would get it – high school hadn’t been easy and she wasn’t sure if she could do more schooling.
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