News Article

Even while in junior high, Stephanie Williams of Deer Lake knew she would eventually pursue a career in electronics. She was also pretty sure that with its low tuition cost and proximity to her home town, that she’d get her post-secondary education at College of the North Atlantic. What she didn’t know however, was that she’d earn her diploma while also serving as a member of the Canadian Forces.

 
Now 18, Williams has just completed her first year of studies in the Electronics Engineering Technology program at the college’s Corner Brook campus.
 
“I wanted to do Electronics Engineering because that’s what my father did and he was always telling me how good it was. I’m always tinkering around with TVs and trying to figure out how to hook everything up, and he said it would be a good career choice for me. I have always wanted to do it.”
 
Her father, Leyon Williams, an instructor with College of the North Atlantic (CNA) in Qatar, was a major influence on his daughter’s decision.
 
“He was always showing me stuff he was doing and he would show me the blueprints and different things that he had to work on. I always found it very interesting. Then one day he brought this presentation home to me that he had gotten from the military. It was an opportunity where you could join with the military and they will pay for your education and give you a job afterwards,” she says. “I took a look at a couple of other schools as well, but went with CNA in Newfoundland because it was close to home and my sister was going to school in Corner Brook. It’s just me and her living together so I figured it would be the best opportunity to be close to home and close to my family.”
 
The rest of Stephanie’s family is currently in Qatar where her father is employed at the CNA-Q campus. In fact, Stephanie had the opportunity to experience the culture in Qatar first hand when she moved there with her parents.
 
“I lived in Qatar for three years. We went over nine years ago just as I was getting out of Grade 3. I finished Grade 3 here and I was over there for Grades 4, 5, and 6. If dad was still in Newfoundland he would instruct me in my second and third year at the college, but at the moment he is away in Qatar.”
 
CNA offers a common first year for all engineering technology students. In many cases this allows them to attend the first two semesters of an engineering technology program at a campus close to their hometown. Students then enter the campus which offers the program of their choice for the subsequent years of their program. For Williams, this means she will be able to stay in Corner Brook.
 
She says she is looking forward to the last two years of the Electronics Engineering Technology program and starting her career in the military.
 
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Media Contact:
 
Glenda McCarthy
Public Relations Assistant
College of the North Atlantic
709.643.6408
glenda.mccarthy@cna.nl.ca