N.B. Career Surf highlights some of the success stories from New Brunswickers who've turned their passion into a career! Read about what they do in their jobs, what or who inspired them to pursue a career in their field, and their advice for students interested in working in their profession. If you know of an NB Success Story that we should highlight please let us know! Email us at cs-info-nc@gnb.ca.
Darcy Grant ICT Consultant Grant was one of the organizers of a group in Fredericton for Women in IT.
The group is focusing on providing networking and mentoring opportunities for women in New Brunswick's ICT Sector
Michelle Blyth Apprentice Boilermaker At 29 years old, Michelle is the first female boilermaker, as well as female welder, from New Brunswick to be accepted into the Boilermaker Local 73.
Tara Griffiths Apprentice Mechanic Becoming a mechanic wasn’t the type of job that Tara thought she’d pursue when she was younger. At one point, she thought that it may be too difficult, but the more she was exposed to it the more she became interested in pursuing it as a career.
Wendy Boone Blaster “I have always been interested in the explosive and demolition side of construction,” says Wendy Boone who worked as a blaster apprentice for five years, and has become the first female blaster in New Brunswick. “Tearing things down and building them into something beautiful is very exciting to me.”
Tina Siddall Carpenter Getting into a non-traditional job such as carpentry was not even a consideration for Tina Siddall growing up in the east end of Saint John in a rural setting.
Meaghan Seagrave Commercialization Officer “My interests were around physiology and human nutrition at the time and that's where I thought my career path was going to go,” says Seagrave who now works as a commercialization officer with BioAtlantech in Fredericton.
Pamela Jardine Electrical Plan Approval Officer Independent and down-to-earth, Pamela Jardine went to NBCC in Saint John for Industrial Instrumentation Technology after high school. “I had cousins in construction and instrumentation who encouraged me,” said Pamela.
Charity Bridges Electrician Charity Bridges is just finishing up the hours she needs to get her electrician’s license. She went to school at NBCC for two years, completing four sections, each followed by a certain amount of hours of experience she had to earn.
Nina McCarthy Fire Inspector Nina McCarthy, who works as a Fire Inspector with the City of Fredericton, hadn't even considered a career in firefighting even though she grew up with it around her.
Natalie Melanson Informatics Specialist Natalie Melanson got her first computer when she was 12 years old and has always been fascinated by it. “I was always curious to know how it worked,” says Melanson. “I even had my own website on geocities! It was basic, but for a 13 year old kid, it was lots of fun!”
Colin DesRoches Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Colin DesRoches is a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) who works full time at a nursing home and at a hospital on a casual basis. Working shifts, Colin handles patient care assessments, medications, and reports to Doctors and Registered Nurses. He started working only two days after he graduated!
Michelle Martin RCMP Inspector Michelle Martin graduated with a BBA from UNB after growing up and graduating from high school in a small town. “In rural New Brunswick, the RCMP is always part of the community,” said Michelle. She added as well that friends of her parents were in the RCMP too.
Jasmine Sanaee Software Developer Jasmine Sanaee moved from her hometown of Tehran, Iran to Fredericton to attend UNB in 2008 where she completed her MSC in computer science.
