Desire to learn helped mother find career

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"Have a good day at work, Mom," Myrna Houle's young son and daughter say to her as she drops them off at Edmonton's east-end Bannerman elementary school.

Myrna continues on to her job as an accountant at the Canada Employment and Immigration Commission, located in Canada Place downtown.

Five years ago, Myrna was just a beginning student at Concordia College, upgrading her schooling through the college's university and college entrance program.

Concordia secretary Maxine Nelson says of Myrna: "She started the program while the mother of pre-school age children, and she had an almost perfect attendance record--missed one day of school during the whole year."

With the youngsters in a nearby day care, Myrna worked hard at English, math and other academic subjects.

As well, she participated in career planning, one of Concordia's most important activities, held at the Alberta government's career development center.

There, students fill out questionnaires, hear presentations on different occupations and investigate various career possibilities.

"I wanted a good career, but I wanted to enjoy my work, too. Concordia helped me decide what occupation I was best suited for," Myrna explained.

Graduating at the top of her class, she was the valedictorian of the 1985-1986 UCEP program. "She was a very pleasant student, and very dedicated to her studies," Maxine remembers.

Myrna feels the UCEP program gave her the skill and confidence to enter school a the university of college level.

In her valedictory speech, she recognized mankind's ability to learn as a most important gift.

"Our existence would be meaningless has we not learned to associate learning not only with books. But with life itself," she said to the graduating class of 1986.

Following her graduation from Concordia, Myrna was accepted into business administration at NAIT.

With her major in accounting, subjects included economics, business law, organizational behavior, business communications, and business math, just to name a few.

"It's pretty heavy course," Myrna reflects. "Some people get through it in two years. But with a family at home, I spread it over three years."

Myrna remembers many discouraging times. "Mid-terms were especially hard," she says. "Sometimes I just felt like quitting."

For several summers whole Myrna was getting her education, and following her April 1989 from NAIT, she worked for her future employer through the Native Internship program.

Three months age, a position became available and Myrna was taken on permanently. The long days and nights of balancing school and family duties had paid off, at last.

One of a family of two girls and four boys, Myrna grew up at Goodfish Lake in northeastern Alberta.

"My mom is my role model," she admits. "She teaches for the County of St. Paul in the town of Ashmont. She worked hard for her education, too, spending two summers at Hobbema for lessons so she could teach Cree to her students."

To the young people of today who think they can improve their lives, Myrna says: "We can all continue to set our individual goals then go on to achieve them."

After all, she overcame many obstacles, "and you can do it, too."