So, I graduated from St. Thomas University in Fredericton and after working in Child Protection in Natuashish, Labrador for a year and a half, I moved to Nain, Labrador
in January of 2007 to work in Mental Health. We moved from Nain to Saskatchewan in 2008 and then on to Watson Lake,
Yukon in 2010. Social work is everything I imagined and then some. But this page isn't about that...
Onward. Or backward. This is the bit where I get to talk about where I grew up and all that. I was
raised in Saint John, New Brunswick. I went to school there and I graduated in 1987 from Millidgeville North High School absolutely blank as to what to do next. So, I went north. Baffin Island to be exact. I kicked around there for three years, travelling, working and generally having a pretty good
time of it. Best thing I ever did, really.
Eventually, I thought it would be a good idea to have a job that actually paid the rent, so I went back to school. I
enrolled in a three year dentistry programme at the National School of Dental Therapy in Prince Albert, SK. Another good move for me. I loved it! I met people from all over the world who had come to this school
to train to be "dentists". Here in Canada, we might do the same work as dentists, but we weren't allowed to be called
by the title officially. We were dental therapists and we were trained to work either on native reserves or in the Territories.
It was a sweet deal really; no tuition and a guaranteed job on graduation. Who could ask for more?
Obviously, I didn't stay in that job. Choosing a career based on where I wanted to live may not have been the wisest
move ever. I did love working up north; no doubt about it. All things come to an end and I found myself needing
to do some serious soul searching. I went to Edmonton (not a Mecca for the weary, I realise, but it did suffice). I got myself together with the help of some very
creative and talented people and then I got on with my life with the help of my cousin John. Oh sure, he may not realise
the impact he had, but I am here to tell you I am not sure if I could have done it without him (love ya, big guy). He
was my social convener, my personal bodyguard, and my friend when I needed it most. It was he who intorduced me to Carolynn
in a little coffee house called Jazzberries.
While studying for a History degree at the University of Alberta, I took many classes in Colonial history and hit on
the brilliant idea to study Social Work - I finished off the History degree at the University of New Brnswick and then went
"up the hill" to STU. Just before starting at the U of A, I was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis, just another in a list
of autoimmune diseases that I seem to accumulate!
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Jenn and Carolynn
University of New Brunswick
May 2004
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In 2003, Carolynn and I moved to Fredericton, NB so I could finish off my History degree and do a post-degree
in Social Work. I would be hard pressed to find anyone who could support me the way Carolynn does.
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Places where I have lived or worked:
Click the community names to visit a related website.
Labrador:
On Baffin Island:
High Arctic:
Further West:
Going South:
Edmonton
Prince Albert, SK
Fredericton, NB
In BC:
I spent one glorious month on Salt Spring Island when I really needed a little R&R. (Thanks Alix)
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