News Archives: From Oilfield to Classroom
Tuesday, July 19th, 2016
Rebecca Marks left a lucrative oilfield job in the wilderness to embark on a whole new adventure: an education degree.
Marks was making a fortune. She was also bored out of her mind.
In 2015, the then-31-year-old was working as a medic, sitting in a truck 16 hours a day.
“Three months in, I thought, ‘this is horrible,” she says. “I felt like I was getting dumber every day.”
The gregarious brunette had already had some major life experiences: teaching English in Cambodia, studying to be a dental hygienist, travelling everywhere from Vietnam to Switzerland.
Still, Marks felt unfulfilled with her career. Time to go back to school, she decided, time to figure out her path.
Her work in Cambodia had been rewarding. “I really felt a connection with my students,” she says. “I loved it but I didn’t have the greatest tools to teach.” She liked the idea of teaching again - but first learning to do it properly.
She called GPRC from her truck and spoke with Jennifer Robertson, the college’s Academic Advising Coordinator.
Robertson started putting together puzzle pieces: which credits did Marks have from her dental hygienist studies? Which courses could she do online, which on campus? How could she blend her studies with her full-time work?
“I wanted to make sure she knew that it was possible and that we were going to do whatever we could to help her achieve her goal,” says Robertson.
“It really jump-started me to get going,” Marks says, of Robertson’s help. “If I would have had to do it alone, I might have gotten lost. She was amazing.”
By the fall Marks was a student again, working towards her Bachelor of Education degree.
Having previously attended a large institution, Marks says she’s been astounded by the level of personal attention she receives at GPRC.
“In my education classes they always teach us that building your relationship with your students is the most important part of your job as a teacher,” she says. “And they actually embody that here, which is pretty cool.”
Marks lives on-campus with three roommates. She says the residences’ administration team have been incredible, making sure her home life is easy and stress-free.
According to Kim Richardson, Housing Manager, she and her team always try to take the best care of their charges.
“All of us who work in housing have kids,” Richardson says. “We always try to imagine: what if it was our son or daughter coming in here, needing help?”
Richardson says she can’t count the number of times she has driven a student to the bank, provided a shoulder for tears or accompanied a student to the Emergency Room, often staying there all night.
“We will do - almost - whatever it takes to make sure these kids are okay,” Richardson. Even, she adds with a smile, when the ‘kids’ are in their 30s.
For her part, Marks’ path continues this fall. She has applied for the University of Alberta Teacher Education North (TEN) program, a collaborative bachelors degree with the University of Alberta and GPRC.
“For me, the sacrifices I’ve made to be a student is worth it because, in the end, I know I’m going to have a rewarding and challenging job,” she says.
“I think it’s inspiring,” says Robertson, of Marks’ decision to leave a lucrative career and return to school. “I think it’s the best move that she could have made for her own personal growth, her own personal desires and dreams. I’m very proud of her.”
