Jody MacKenzie
After receiving her own education at the Medicine Hat College, Jody MacKenzie is now playing a major role in shaping young minds in the same place her passion was first inspired.
At just 35 years old, MacKenzie is already a successful power- engineering instructor at the college, whose passion for her craft is undeniable. Even as a young student herself, people told her she’d make a great teacher — MacKenzie just didn’t expect it to actually happen so soon.
“I definitely started teaching a little earlier than I had intended,” MacKenzie jokes. “When I was taking the program the instructors would joke that I could come back and teach some day. I used to think, ‘oh sure, maybe when I’m 50,’ so it’s certainly happened a lot sooner than I expected.”
She remembers that being a fairly nerve-
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wracking decision, as she wasn’t sure she was ready to be responsible for other people’s knowledge. Those nerves almost kept her from applying for the job until a former instructor called her and told her she should.
Clearly, it was the right decision, as MacKenzie has formed a love for what she does — and where she does it — that resonates loudly when she speaks of it.
“Being alumni myself, I have strong ties to the program and I have a true desire for it to be a successful program, and maintain its success,” she says. “We have a brand new facility at the college that was finished three years ago. We’ve
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had a lot of publicity from that and the program is really strong right now.
“It’s exciting, there are a lot of students interested in taking the program right now.”
Power engineers are at a premium in Alberta, MacKenzie says, and being a former member of the industry herself, she knows what it takes to be a success and feels right at home instilling those values and concepts into up-and- comers.
“I worked at the City of Medicine Hat power plant prior to teaching part time to see if I would like it,” says MacKenzie, who found her industry work to be quite hands-on but very lacking in people interaction. “Then I made the change five or six years ago to teaching full time.
“I really, really enjoyed it but (the switch) was also a lifestyle decision. I have absolutely no regrets.”
In fact, MacKenzie finds her job extremely rewarding and says sharing in her students’ successes is worth at least as much as her own. And according to her, there’s a lot of success to bask in, as the graduation employment rate from the program nears 100 per cent.
“(Being a teacher) had a steep learning curve but I’m really passionate about teaching, I’m really passionate about the students and I’m just really passionate about doing a good job for them. I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.”
MacKenzie doesn’t stop with her work at the college, as she is also involved with power engineering committees at a provincial level, and provides input on a national level into program curriculum.
“I have been very lucky to be involved on these levels,” she says. “That has all been really interesting and exciting, and it’s changed my perspective on how (the education side) works. Everything has just really fallen into place nicely for me; I’m so grateful.”
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