News Article

Fusing unbreakable bonds


6/1/2011 9:21:35 AM


Patsy Blundon and daughter Jessica both attended CNA’s Welding Engineering Technician program where they were taught by husband and father Perry. Patsy found employment in the welding sector before graduating from the program.

Bonding is the name of the game for the Blundon family. Patsy Blundon and daughter Jessica both attended CNA’s Welding Engineering Technician program where they were taught by husband and father Perry.

Patsy is well on her way to becoming a three-time graduate of College of the North Atlantic (CNA), graduating with honours from each of the programs she attended. The mother of three has held jobs in many sectors, as a fisherperson, a courier and an office worker but, she finally found a career as she entered her 40s.

“I was a fisherperson and I owned my own boat and licence. I fished with my father who is soon going to retire and I didn’t want to fish for the rest of my life. I wanted to go back to school while I was still young enough to do it so that’s what I did. With the help of my husband, I put myself through school.”

Perry, an instructor at the Burin campus, was instrumental in her decision to go back to school.

“He helped in the decision. He recommended the program to me a long time ago and he encouraged me to go back to school, and encouraged me while I was in school. I could never have done it without him and the entire family really.”

“Patsy is a very capable and motivated person who decided to put her career on hold until our children were through high school,” says Perry. “These past two years, I watched Patsy dive into her studies in the Welding Engineering Technology program. She really enjoyed the program and the experience.

“We have always talked about her going back to school when Kelsey, our youngest, finished high school. She got to do it two years ahead of schedule, which is great. Patsy is the kind of person who thrives in a group, whether it is in school, on a job site, as a key member of the local figure skating club, or at a party. With all the children gone, it was unimaginable that she would spend the days at home waiting for me to get off work. She’ll be much happier in her new career.”

Patsy’s 4.0 GPA and her developing shop skills showed that she was cut out to be a Welding Engineering Technician.

“Her drive was infectious for her classmates. She organized a study group (Sunday to Thursday), planned social get-togethers, took stands on behalf of her class, and even baked raisin buns on occasion.”

Patsy agrees that it is the atmosphere of the classroom that holds a special place in her heart.

“The part I loved the most, I think, was my classmates. We had a really close class. We studied together every night. We had a study group and anyone could attend. We became really close. We had a class party after every single semester, took trips together and ate lunch together every day. That’s something I will always remember about the program. The instructors were fabulous. They even came to all the class parties as well. We were almost like a family. We even had people who stayed at residence and they’d come to my house for meals a couple of times a week. I was the oldest in the class too. Most were below 25 so I was the class mom.”

She literally was the “class mom” to one student in particular, as her daughter Jessica is enrolled in the program.

“I have three kids and my oldest is graduating from the same program in June. We started the same time and did the program entirely together... we studied together all the time. She helped me a lot because she was only out of school a few years but she had done physics and math so she helped me a lot with that as well.”

While Patsy thrived in the academic side of the program, it was the hands-on training that she looked forward to each week.

“I loved welding. It’s the hands-on part I loved – the lab time was really good. I couldn’t wait for shop on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

Like many students graduating from high school, Jessica wasn’t immediately sure what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. She enrolled in the Comprehensive Arts and Science Transfer: College-University program at CNA, but once in university discovered she wasn’t suited to the classroom setting. She started out as an English major but then switched to social work, then switched again to business. She decided to stop putting money into something she didn’t enjoy and asked her parents for advice.

“I asked Dad what courses are good to do and he suggested I apply for the Welding Engineering Technician program. My first day, I had never seen welding before. I am glad I did get in because I like it. I kind of lucked into it.”

That wasn’t the only surprise Jessica got. She wasn’t aware her mother has enrolled in the program until she showed up for her first day of school.

“I didn’t know she applied at first. She didn’t tell me, and when I got there she said we’d be in the same class. I was like ‘mom, why would you do this to me?’” Jessica recalls with a chuckle.

“We were always close anyway, but at first I told her I wasn’t going to school if she was there too. When we got in the same class we didn’t tell anyone we were related, but we had some people I went to high school with who knew. I’m glad mom and I got in the same class. We helped each other out – if there was a subject I wasn’t sure about or she wasn’t sure about, we helped each other in the weaker areas.”

Perry also thought it would be a tricky situation.

“A couple of years ago, when I realized that Patsy and Jessica would be my students, I thought that they would finally have to listen to what I had to say... (because) it could be on the test!” Perry jokes. “Watching their classmates realize that their math and physics instructor was related was fun. I was concerned that it would be awkward but it wasn’t, at all. I thought that I would be badgered at home for extra help, but I wasn’t. She and Jessica spent three to four hours back at the school for study group every night. Having Patsy and Jessica in the class also brought me closer to the rest of the students. We hosted BBQs, darts, Christmas parties, you name it.”

However, Patsy does recall a few incidents where she “tormented” her husband.

“He taught me math and physics, so he was a wonderful help there, and I tormented him quite a bit, especially with the physics. One night he was in the hospital and I came into his bedside with my physics book and asked for help with a problem,” she recalls with a chuckle, “so he went above and beyond to help me.”

He wasn’t the only one.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do this course without the instructors. They have been absolutely amazing. The instructors, I think, make the course what it is. They’re supportive, helpful and go above and beyond. We can ask for help during school, after school, we can email or call them – they’re always there for us.”

And she feels that’s the key to a quality education.

“If you don’t have good instructors you lose interest. The instructors are experienced in the workforce and that really helped because they could relate their experiences and give us examples of what we can expect in the workforce. They were very knowledgeable.”

“I loved it,” agrees Jessica. “The teachers are really great. They are willing to put in the effort to make sure you understand everything. (It university) it was anonymous with big lecture theatres. (At CNA) we have class get-togethers and the teachers come to those. They are always telling us about their students and what jobs they are doing. They keep in contact with their students and it’s good to know your teachers will always be there to help you once you get a job.”

Some lucky students find employment before graduating. Patsy started work right away and is completing the program via CNA’s distance learning service.

“There were a lot of long faces when she announced that she would be leaving early to go to work at the refinery. Watching her take on all challenges, it was easy to feel proud,” says Perry.

“Through it all, Patsy found a way to attend to her studies, her family, and homemaking. Her bosses will certainly find that they have hired a self-starter who is both competent and is a natural when it comes to working with others. It’s always nice to see a student find work as soon as they graduate. It validates what we do here. It shows that determination and hard work really do pay off. We have several students from that class that who will be going right to work when they graduate.”

The Blundon’s are from Bay de Verde, which can be found in Conception Bay on the east coast of the province. They currently reside in Burin.

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Media Contact:
Glenda McCarthy
Public Relations Assistant
College of the North Atlantic
709.643.6408
glenda.mccarthy@cna.nl.ca