Space speaker
Canadian astronaut Roberta Bondar is the keynote speaker at CareerLeap 2009.
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Quesnel is hosting a space traveller.
Roberta Bondar, the world’s first neurologist in space, was part of the Discovery mission in 1992 where she conducted experiments. After returning to earth, she continued to work with NASA for a further 10 years, finding new connections between recovering from floating in space and neurological illnesses such as stroke and Parkinson’s.
But part of the message Bondar brings to CareerLeap 2009, is always keep your options open.
“Life is a learning opportunity from beginning to end,” she said.
“We always have the chance to learn and change ourselves.”
Bondar said if people could have seen her in high school, the expectation was she would be a physical education and science teacher.
“I guess I didn’t see myself totally in that role,” she said.
“I wanted to expand beyond the local community.”
And with a lot of encouragement from her parents and maybe a little inspiration from the plastic rockets she assembled at the age of eight, Bondar became a neurologist, scientist, astronaut, business consultant, media spokesperson, author and photographer.
“The point is I didn’t feel that any one of these things was going to be enough for me, I felt I needed to have crossover,” she said.
“It was almost as if I needed to create something new and different that allowed me to use my gifts, encourage my interests and support my curiosity.”
Bondar is the keynote speaker for Career Leap 2009, Nov. 5.
She delivers her inspirational address at Northstar Baptist Church between 12:15 – 1:15 p.m.
Career Leap is a career event for youth and adults to gain information and support from professionals, companies and institutions regarding opportunities for employment, training, and/or education.
Bondar said development of life skills is essential for the flexibility a person needs to move more easily into opportunities along life’s road.
“That doesn’t mean just keeping options open until you decide on a career, but to keep options open for the rest of your life,” she said.
As with any generation, Bondar says young people need to get out and experience life.
“Life is not a sound byte,” she said.
“With the Internet and social networking online, its a way to access information, to see the world and hear things very quickly. In the past we didn’t have that global access.”
But she went on to say the downside is there’s a tendency to not leave the computer or the network world and go out into reality and amass life experience.
“That enables a person to make the connections between education, real life experience and something new that person can then create and infuse back into society.”
Bondar said it’s like going to an IMAX movie and seeing something about space “and feel like we’ve been there but that’s not reality, it doesn’t allow people to see the dangers of space flight, it gives us a false view of reality.”
“Life skills, and those can’t be developed through video games, they have to learn through group activities and real life practice,” she said.
“Let’s face it, we want doctors who know how to operate, pilots to be able to fly and other professionals who have real life skills.”
CareerLeap 2009 offers workshops, career focus sessions, more than 30 post and secondary education employer exhibitions, CNC and UNBC open houses and Astronaut Roberta Bondar’s keynote address.
All sessions are free.
To register for any sessions, workshops or the keynote speaker, call Helen Dixon Centre at 983-6900.
CareerLeap 2009 is a partnership with
School District 28 (Quesnel), City of Quesnel, College of New Caledonia, University of Northern British Columbia, and the Governments of Canada and British
Columbia.
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