Nursing, robotics, trades and more: Shell donates $30,000 to fund Northern Lights College summer camps

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — An oil and gas company has made a donation to help Northern Lights College (NLC) facilitate a series of summer camps for secondary school-aged students.

According to a press release from the college, Shell Canada donated $30,000 to its fundraising arm — the NLC Foundation — that was put towards running a series of summer camps in July and August Fort St. John, Dawson Creek and Chetwynd.

The camps, intended for kids ages 12 to 16, provide attendees with hands-on experience with nursing, robotics, trades and more.

“We deeply appreciate Shell’s ongoing support of Northern Lights College and the Northern Lights College Foundation, as well as their steadfast commitment to education,” said Lindsey Borek, executive director of the NLC Foundation.

“Their sponsorship of our youth summer camps has enabled us to offer local youth the chance to discover the unique programs and experiences available at NLC. Through these opportunities, we hope to inspire a passion for higher learning in the next generation of our communities.”

A representative from Shell Canada who has visited three of the summer camps says she hopes they help growing kids decide what they want to do for their careers.

“We’re looking at things for the future [and] we need to have people who fill those positions and to fill those hospitals,” said Groundbirch community liaison Michelle Murray, referencing the new hospital in Dawson Creek that’s currently under construction.

“We do these camps so you can get exposed to different occupations and hopefully you might want to become an esthetician or maybe you might want to become a nurse or a doctor.”

A detailed breakdown of all the summer camps offered by NLC and how to register, including fees, can be found on the college’s website.