Tom Henihan
Express Staff
Having completed the office administration program at Northern Lakes College, Kayla Bartel, attended convocation ceremonies in Slave Lake in early June.
In early July, Bartel, along with two other recipients, received a $425 Alberta Business Educators Association Award.
Bartel returned to study, first doing academic upgrade from September 2014 to February 2015 at Northern Lakes College and then proceeded with the 10-month office administration course .
A single mother of a 5-year-old daughter, Bartel is originally from Edmonton and has lived in Falher since 2001.
Bartel says she received a lot of assistance when she decided to return to study.
“My family and my daughter’s dad were all very supportive when I decided to go back to study,” she says.
Having completed the office administration program Bartel also received a gift card from the Smoky River Community Education Committee.
Following the convocation ceremony in Slave Lake, on her return to McLennan Bartel and Smoky River Campus staff, Odessa Ptashnyk, Shirley Harkness, Karen Laboucane and a fellow graduate and family went out to dinner to celebrate.
Bartel is now in the process of looking for employment but accepts that her graduation coincided with the downturn in the economy and that not many businesses are hiring at present.
Although she understands that the odds are not great at the moment and that she may have to wait for the economy to turn around, she is confident, with her new office administration skills that she will find employment when the opportunities arise.