A Hands on Experience

Rita (Bekkers) Schofield (Class of ’83) thinks back on her time at NSAC as being without question, the right decision.  “I remember the great people I met and I remember really enjoying the classes that I took.   I immediately felt I was in the right spot,” says Schofield.

After high school Schofield went straight to St. Mary’s University in Halifax.  During her first year of the B.Sc. program she met a lab technician in the biology department.  “She seemed to have the greatest job!” remarked Schofield.  “I asked her if she was a graduate of St. Mary’s and she told me that she took the Biology Laboratory Technology program at NSAC, she said it really prepared her for the type of hands-on work that she was doing.”  Schofield looked into the program right away.

“As a result of that conversation, I ended up graduating from NSAC with some lifelong friendships and a skill set that took me directly to the workplace, in exactly the type of job I wanted,” she says.

After graduation Schofield worked as a Lab Technician for four years in the Pharmacology Department at Dalhousie University.  There she spent the majority of her time assisting a teaching professor with his work in heart research. She has also worked for Baxter’s Dairy and Scotsburn Dairy.  

Schofield moved to Guelph, Ontario about seven years ago and now works at SiREM Lab.   SiREM is a division of Geosyntec Consultants, an environmental consulting firm based out of the US, who’s only Canadian office, is located in Guelph.  SiREM employs a staff consisting of microbiologists, molecular biologists, chemists and environmental scientists dedicated to environmental remediation.  

Schofield describes SiREM as an environmental lab working to help clean-up sites contaminated with various volatile organic chemicals.  “We grow bacterial cultures that use some of these chemicals and produce non-toxic breakdown products,” she explains.  “We also test groundwater samples for DNA of these types of beneficial bacteria.”

Schofield’s main area of focus is preparing, sampling and analyzing treatability studies to test various treatment options for a contaminated site.  “It’s very interesting and rewarding knowing that we are helping clean up the earth,” she says.

When asked how her time at NSAC helped better prepare her for her career, Schofield indicates how many of the laboratory skills she learned have always been easily transferrable. “The skills I learned at NSAC have helped in all of the lab environments I have worked in.” She also points out how a continuous desire to learn is a crucial quality in any science-related job, as new ideas are always surfacing.

“I loved my career choice from the beginning,” she says.  “I wanted to make a difference in my little corner of the world and I feel I have done that, just by making a positive contribution in the workplace.”

In her free time Schofield and her husband (Dean, Class of ’85) like to travel, but also enjoy being home and spending time with their family.  Recently Schofield had an opportunity to catch up on some NSAC news at an alumni event that took place in Guelph.  “I thought it was a great opportunity to meet some people in my new home who also went to NSAC,” she says.  “It was really nice to connect with people that had great memories of an institution in common.”