Full of enthusiasm
New co-ordinator joins college
Shawn Giilck
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, October 17, 2013
INUVIK
Jonathan Wood is one enthusiastic dude.
We're not talking the kind of simple enthusiasm, excitement and energy most people display coming into a new job, town and environment. Wood demonstrates something more like the relentless enthusiasm that might tempt people to reach for a tranquilizer gun while talking to him.
Jonathan Wood is the new head of Student Wellness and Life at the Aurora Campus. He's a teacher-turned-administrator who says he's very excited to be in Inuvik. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo
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We're not talking the kind of simple enthusiasm, excitement and energy most people display coming into a new job, town and environment. Wood demonstrates something more like the relentless enthusiasm that might tempt people to reach for a tranquilizer gun while talking to him.
He laughed at that suggestion, and said "I just try to be a happy guy."
He's been on the job for just a little more than two weeks now. Originally from Ontario, Wood worked in the Sahtu for a few years before arriving in Inuvik.
He's a public school teacher by trade, having taught primarily Grades 1-6 in his career. He began teaching in remote communities in northwestern Ontario, which he said was a great training ground for coming further north.
"It's a lot like being here," he said, with the ever-present smile engraved on his face. "But the NWT does a whole lot better at providing services and resources to the remote communities here than Ontario does."
The more administrative role he's undertaken is different than anything he's done in the past, but Wood said he's enjoying the opportunity to see education from a different perspective.
"I'm not an instructor here, so this is a big leap for me," he stressed. "I've been a teacher for around half a decade. I believe education is the number-one opportunity for people to change themselves, their family and their community. Being a teacher, especially in the North, has given me that chance."
"The opportunity to work with young people or adults, who are trying to go out and join a profession, I think is a powerful opportunity. By working with them today we're setting them up for success down the road."
"Inuvik seems like a very nice town," he continued. "I like living in a medium-sized or small town, and I like living in one of the NWT's regional centres. It's fantastic. We have resources, services and those are top choices."
Wood says he sees the trades as holding the biggest career potential for Northern residents. Both here in the North, and in the south, there is a dearth of people trained and qualified for those jobs, he said. Filling them could be the stepping-stone to a long and prosperous lifetime of work.
In the meantime, Wood said he sees his current position as one where he's obligated to pump up the enthusiasm for the campus students and to foster a sense of community among them.
"If you feel connected, you're more likely to come by, right?" he said.
"My priorities are to engage our students and our faculty in great activities. Also, I want to see the student association reach new levels and provide new services, to do great stuff for the students."
