THEBACHA/FORT SMITH
Robyn Brown says she was excited to discover her classmates had chosen her to be this year's valedictorian during the convocation ceremony at Aurora College's Thebacha Campus in Fort Smith.

Fort Smith's Robyn Brown graduated with an Environment and Natural Resources Technology diploma from Aurora College on April 22. - photo courtesy of Aurora College

"I was really honoured that somebody had put forth the nomination," she said. "When I found out, I was quite surprised."

Brown graduated with an Environment and Natural Resources Technology diploma on April 22.

She said she first became interested in the program in 2014 after finishing two years of a bachelor of science degree at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Sask.

While Brown did well in the program, she said she began to realize how much she enjoyed being out on the field rather than in the classroom.

After returning to Fort Smith and tutoring math and science at Thebacha Campus, she realized the school's Environment and Natural Resources Technology program could be exactly what she was looking for.

"The more I heard about it, it really seemed like the field camps and on-the-land programs could give me that knowledge and experience," she said. "I was really attracted to the field aspects,

getting out on the land. I got exactly what I wanted to experience from the program."

Brown spent the summer after her first year studying bats in the Fort Smith area with a researcher.

"Last summer I was in the forest capturing bats," she said. "It was really, really interesting."

Brown put the information gathered during the summer toward her final project in her second year.

Also in first year, Brown and her classmates participated in a multi-day canoe trip, which contributed to her desire to be outdoors. She then enrolled in a canoe and whitewater safety course and is now a certified instructor.

Now that she's completed her program, Brown said she will be spending this summer as a Parks Canada fire crew member.

She completed a three-week boot camp in mid-May, which trained her in everything from how to use a chainsaw to how to effectively fight fires. She is now a Fire Fighter Type 1.

"The more I thought about it, the more I thought it would be a great experience," she said. "It really seemed like a good route to go because I wanted to continue getting experience out on the land and using equipment."

Brown said she is also a long-time volunteer and participant with the Slave River Paddlefest, which is scheduled to take place from July 29 to Aug. 1 this year. While she won't be able to commit as much time as she has in the past, Brown said she has already begun helping out by writing letters to sponsors and other behind-the-scenes duties.

"I'm really glad to continue being a part of the Paddlefest team," she said.

Brown said she knows crafting her career around being outdoors was the right decision for her.

"Just being out there actually doing things has kind of made me feel more like myself, like I'm living the life I want to live," she said. "It's a really amazing sense of happiness and peace when you realize you wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

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