Lynn Lau
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Jun 29/01) - Vicki St. Germaine, 43, fulfilled a dream when she finished her training to become a registered nurse.
On Saturday, she was awarded a Governor General's academic medal for being the student with the highest average this year at Aurora College.
She had an average of 93.31 per cent.
Minister of Education Jake Ootes presented her with the award during a regular meeting of the college's board of governors.
"It's a tremendous honour," she said after the presentation. "My family knows this is something I'd wanted to do for a long time and certainly, their support made it possible."
Before St. Germaine went back to school in 1998, she worked for the territorial government in Health and Social Services, first in finance, and later doing communications for the policy section.
"It was a big switch in terms of career," says St. Germaine. "It's something I wanted to do way back, in 1980. Because it was something I'd wanted to do for so long, I was really committed. I would lock myself in the bedroom studying for three or four hours on the weeknights and on weekends I'd study six or eight hours."
She credits her husband, Warren, and their two children Ashley, 15, and Kevin, 12, for giving her the support she needed to study as much as she did.
St. Germaine has been working as a home care nurse for Yellowknife Health and Social Services since she finished school in January.
