Two new teachers in schools in Bowden and Olds say they're thrilled to be able to realize their dreams – teaching what they wanted, where they wanted.
Olds resident Emma Turville, 26, is taking on her first teaching assignment as the Grade 8 homeroom teacher and junior high humanities instructor at Bowden Grandview School.
Heather Dewling is starting a new career in education after working in health care for 10 years, managing the nutrition and food services department for a health-care centre in Wainwright.
Dewling is teaching Grade 7 science half-time at École Deer Meadow School. The person teaching the remainder of that position is Turville's mom, Janice Gallant.
Both got their education degrees through the University of Alberta; Dewling via a U of A program offered through Red Deer College.
Emma Turville
Turville grew up in Olds, so she's thrilled to be working so close to home.
“I'm very excited. Couldn't be happier to be in Bowden,” she says. “I subbed all last year throughout Chinook's Edge and this is my first permanent position.”
Turville says her mom is her role model – the reason she went into education.
“She was definitely my full supporter going through university and I absolutely look up to her. She's a great teacher,” Turville says.
“I actually did my schooling for elementary, but through subbing, I found I fell in love with the middle school grades and ages of the students in middle school,” she says.
“I just connect to them very well so I'm very excited. I love social and English and that's what I'm mostly going to be teaching.”
Heather Dewling
Dewling, 39, is pleased to be only working half-time because she wants to spend time with her husband Jason Dewling, vice-president academic and research at Olds College, and their two daughters: Jenna, 15, and Heidi, 13.
“It's something I've always wanted to do – being a teacher. And working at Deer Meadow School is just icing on the cake. It truly is a dream come true for me – as corny as it sounds, it is,” she says.
Dewling is excited to start her new career because she loves to learn and she loves to interact with children.
“I think with teaching, the beauty of it is that you get to meet all these great kids so you really do have to love kids.
“And you can really make a difference. So every day you go to school and every interaction that you have with students, you can impact their lives.
“You may not know that – ever. You might not know that for 10 years down the road, but teaching is a gift. It's just a chance to invest in those lives,” she says.
Dewling took the plunge to go back to school in her mid-30s.
It wasn't easy to do that, and it was an experience to be interacting with students much younger than she was.
“Some of them – technologically, physiologically -- could have been my children really; literally,” she says with a laugh.
However, “they were a great group of students, too, so it was easy to go back.
“I love to learn. I think if someone paid me to go to school forever I would just learn and learn and learn. Lifelong learning – that's really a passion of mine, so teaching really fits well with that,” she adds.
Dewling says a key to being able to successfully complete the course and become a teacher was using her time wisely.
Another key was her family and their help.
“My family was my biggest champion – Jason and the kids. Without their support, I couldn't have done it. So everyone kind of just had to take on a little more and we made it work. And now this is the reward – I get to teach at a school I always wanted to teach at,” she says.
"Every day you go to school and every interaction that you have with students, you can impact their lives."HEATHER DEWLINGTEACHER
