The End of a Chapter
September 7, 2016 6:41 pm Leave your thoughts
In what has felt far too short a time, my summer with Millar Western has come to an end. The last couple weeks did not have much new to report. I was kept quite busy right until the end completing what crossing inspections I could for the year, and leaving the rest for next year.
I did manage to squeeze a few new experiences in this summer:
- I saw my first grizzly bear, and in a show of ruthless efficiency, I experienced my first bear charge all at the same time.
- It was the first time that I was involved in the process of looking after bush roads instead of just being the one complaining about them.
- I was narrowly missed by shotgun fire (it was an accident, he felt bad, it was fine)
- I got to see (and take part in) new initiatives to help protect the fish I hold so dear.
Working for Millar Western this summer has been an absolute pleasure. It is hard to believe that work is over already, but you know what they say about time and having fun and all that. What made the whole experience even better was the people. Sure, not everyone saw eye-to-eye all the time, but Picasso proved that the ability to see eye-to-eye is often unnecessary. Everyone is trusted with their tasks without constant micro-management. That was one of the things I appreciated most about my job, the ability to coordinate my own tasks and schedule. I was given a list of objectives for the year, and for the most part, left to my own devices. Assistance was given wherever necessary, but I was definitely trusted to complete my tasks without direct supervision. I genuinely have nothing bad to say about Millar Western or my time spent with them, largely because any issues myself or my fellow summer students had were listened to and promptly dealt with. It says a lot when a company this size takes time to listen to its members at the bottom of the chain and actively works to ensure that they are looked after.
My summer experience was not comprised wholly of work, I also managed to get some great fishing and camping in as well. The rivers and streams in the Whitecourt area offer some great opportunities for grayling and trout that I never got in my hometown of La Crete. The camping locations were amazing as well, I have never lived such a short drive from the mountains before, and we took advantage of it with some beautiful camping trips. A friend and I even did a little backwoods camping where we hiked 4km through knee deep bog and paddled across a lake to set up camp on an isolated peninsula. The trek was hard but the views and the experience were certainly worth it.
As I head into my second and final year of school, I know that the knowledge and experiences I gained at Millar Western will help me, not only in my classes, but in my career to follow. This is just the end of a chapter in what promises to be a long and interesting book.
