Northern Lights College receives campus upgrade courtesy of donation

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A recent donation to Northern Lights College (NLC) has allowed the school to upgrade part of its North Peace campus used by its engineering students.

According to a press release in September, Birchcliffe Energy — an Alberta oil and gas company that works out of the Montney region — donated a steam separator and valve to the Northern Lights College Foundation worth $8,500.

The release claims the separator and valve are an “essential teaching tool” for students in the ‘field operator specialist – hydrocarbon resources’ (FOS-HR) and ‘power engineering’ programs.

The contribution reportedly allowed the school to replace other components of its existing steam turbine system, which it says will increase and improve the hands-on learning opportunities the school can provide.

Birchcliffe Energy’s production manager Greg Vreim said he was proud to present the donation to NLC.

“We value our continued, strong relationship with Northern Lights College,” Vreim said, “and are grateful for the opportunity to support these initiatives and the staff and students that make these programs successful.”

Josh Klassen, NLC’s chair of trades and apprenticeships for the Fort St. John campus, offered Birchcliff “sincere gratitude” for the donation.

“We are honoured by community support like this and deeply appreciate industries’ commitment to advancing education in the trades,” Klassen said.

The release also says Birchcliffe will be offering a scholarship for prospective students interested in enrolling in the fall FOS-HR program, although details regarding the scholarship weren’t included in the release.

Energeticcity.ca contacted NLC for information regarding how prospective students can apply for the scholarship but did not receive a response before publication. This story will be updated with new information as it becomes available.