Annual Grow Our Own careers event set to return to Fort St. John

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C —  A group of students will have the opportunity to meet professional mentors at the upcoming edition of Fort St. John’s annual Grow Our Own event.

The 2026 edition of the annual Grow Our Own event is scheduled for March 3rd at the Lido Theatre on 100th Avenue from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

The event, which has been organized by the School District 60 (SD60) and Urban Systems, will give about 30 students from North Peace Secondary School (NPSS) a chance to meet professional mentors for 15 minutes each. 

“We have a whole bunch of different professional community members that are volunteering as mentors,” Jeff Mayer, the work experience coordinator for SD60, said. “Students have [been] pre-selected six mentors to meet for 15 minutes a session about the particular mentor’s job, life and schooling and how to do what it is they do.” 

Mayer shared the motive for the event was to give students an opportunity to explore careers. 

Participating mentors include professionals from aviation to archeology, biology, business development, community planning, dental hygiene and even the RCMP. 

When asked how students have reacted to the event in the past, he told Energeticcity.ca: “They come out just glowing. I’m hosting the event and I have a student who participated last year…this year, she’s also going to be my co-host.” 

Mayer believes this event is “absolutely pivotal.” 

“Students have the opportunities to explore different career routes available in the community,” he shared. “The whole idea behind Grow Our Own is that Fort St. John needs professional people…we encourage students to go away for their professional training and come back.” 

In addition, Mayer shared that the mentors appreciate the opportunity to pass on knowledge to the youth. 

He said: “They take time out of their busy schedules to participate in this event and they really enjoy talking with the students.”

The event was the brainchild of Kimberly Zackodnik, an environmental engineer at Urban Systems, a former NPSS student and the keynote speaker for this year.

Mayer added: “She’s a perfect example of [Grow Our Own] because she is an environmental engineer who went away, did her training and came back. 

“She wanted to encourage students to do the same.” 

Zackodnik contacted Mayer in 2015, who started hosting the event first at the NPSS library. 

“We decided to branch out a little more, renting the Lido and growing the mentor [list],” he noted. 

The event is by registration only for students and it is closed to the public.