I started my Environmental Health Officer (EHO) journey in the summer of 2023 as a student in a rural Ontario community. After graduating from Conestoga College in July 2024, I accepted a job with Northern Health (NH) and embarked on a new journey moving to rural Northwest BC. My SUV was fully packed with my life’s belongings and two Australian Shepherds, Luna and Zoey, and we drove 4500 kms across the country to our new home and community in Smithers.
My role as a generalist EHO supersedes anything I could have imagined! Working for NH has greatly advanced my technical and critical thinking skills and has truly supported my growth and development as new EHO. Additionally, working with NH has granted me numerous opportunities to travel and provide health services to diverse remote communities across the Northwest, including Haida Gwaii and Stewart.
From industrial camps and outfitting lodges to community fairs, personal service establishments, restaurants, and drinking water systems, no day is ever the same in the Northwest. At times it can be overwhelming, providing services to the public over a large area, but having support and guidance from my leadership teams, colleagues, and organization makes me feel valued, appreciated, and invested.
NH is an amazing organization to work for, especially when individuals are just starting out in their professional careers, and the organization fosters an environment of collaboration, professional growth, positive culture, career advancement, and work-life harmony.
Living in the northwest can be described in one word: incredible. From downhill skiing on Hudson Bay Mountain, to traversing the mountainous peaks in Babine National Park, to catching sockeye, coho, and steelhead trout in the roaring Skeena and Bulkley Valley Rivers, Smithers is truly a place for all seasons, and I wouldn’t have the pleasure of enjoying it all without the opportunities offered by an organization like NH.
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