WHATI/LAC LA MARTRE
Lisa Nitsiza says the past year has flown by. Whati's senior administrative officer trainee has already finished her first year of training and there is only one more to go before she steps into her role as SAO.

Lisa Nitsiza, Whati's senior administrative officer trainee, has one year left before taking over as the community's SAO. - photo courtesy of Larry Baran

"Two years will come and go pretty fast," Nitsiza said.

Nitsiza is from Behchoko, but moved to Whati three years ago as an economic development officer with the Tlicho Government.

She became the community's SAO trainee last year.

She said since then, she has spent her workdays learning all she can to prepare her for the role.

Nitsiza took her first training workshops in September last year and has begun to master the finance and administrative skills she'll need, including how to work with council to plan the community's budget.

"Now I have a better understanding of where our sources of income come from," she said.

In addition to training, Nitsiza said she has travelled to Yellowknife and other communities to take part in conferences and annual general meetings. She said the experiences have helped her better understand what it means to be a SAO, as well as allowed her to network.

"The travelling is great, that's where I get to meet more people," she said. "I'm able to understand more of the job."

She credited Yvonne Doolittle, North Slave Regional Superintendent with the Department of Community and Municipal Affairs for always being there when she needs support, as well as current SAO Larry Baran.

"They've become great resources," she said.

She said while she enjoys travelling and making connections with people, it's sometimes hard to be away from home. Nitsiza has two young sons, aged four and eight.

"Travelling gets a little hard," said Nitsiza.

She added one of the hardest lessons she's learned so far is how much time it takes to complete tasks.

"I was surprised how much time in a day you need," she said. "Everything can't get done at once."

Nitsiza said being organized is vital. She begins her workday at 8:30 a.m. and checks e-mails first thing. She then creates a checklist, which she'll follow throughout the day.

"I like to see things I like to have things written down," she said. "I like to have a check list."

Nitsiza said one of the challenges she has overcome is becoming acting SAO when Baran is out of town. She said being left in the role frightened her at first, but she has since embraced it as a learning opportunity.

"The first time was nerve-wracking, but after a while it gives me more confidence to do more things," she said. "I get an idea of what my job will entail when I become the SAO. It has given me a good idea of what I need to do."

She said another challenge was how to make quick decisions. She said when she was first faced with a problem, she required time to research before she could provide input. Now, she has the confidence to make more informed, timely decisions.

"I learned how to be aggressive, In order to make a decision, you need to make it now," she said. "That came naturally after a while."

Nitsiza will take over as SAO in the fall of 2015. In the meantime, she said she will spend her time making sure she's ready.

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