Strong roots in the family can nurture deeper connections to the broader parts of the community. That statement may be straightforward, but this belief in the power of connection is one that Emilia McConville lives by.
Emilia recounts her beginnings, from moving to Prince Rupert as a young girl to gradually navigating her life in and out of the community. "[My family] came into the train station where the brewery is now. We left Southern Italy in September, which is beautiful. We got to the train station, and it was [a] Rupert day. It was blowing 80 mph. [I asked] what are we doing here? But here we are…. Then it's home." In the ensuing years, she recalls living as normal a life as any person in the town. "I graduated high school in [1979], and then I worked at the [Prince Rupert] newspaper for six years.”
Emilia then left with her partner to explore and live in new places, including Manitoba and Prince George. Although Emilia met great people during her time away, her love for family, the ocean, mountain views, and even the rain, called her back to a place she had known since the age of six. At 27, she returned to Prince Rupert with her partner to start life here again.
Career at Coast Mountain College
Upon Emilia's return, her first order of business was to find work. Although there was no opening at the College at that time, the campus manager saw her resume and noticed that she had worked at the newspaper. Unbeknownst to Emilia, the head of the Prince Rupert newspaper and the campus manager were good friends… a connection that helped launch her career with the College and guided her in serving a community she had never really left. She hadn't realized that during her time away, her candor and presence remained in the minds of all those she had met and would be just as infectious for those who would meet her soon.
Emilia at a staff event in a reindeer nose and antlers, circa 1990s.
Emilia (left) at a Christmas party for staff and their children, circa 2000.
From the time the Prince Rupert campus opened in 1976, Northwest Community College (now Coast Mountain College) relied on the collective wisdom of its staff and community members. Programs were designed with the distinct needs of the coastal town in mind. Whether it was a career in marine mechanics and welding, coastal resource information management, or tourism, Emilia saw firsthand the importance of placing the community in everything the college did. She says, "We were small on starting out. We offered all kinds of courses like aquaculture; we had trades, and we had marine engine repair. We might have been small, but we were powerful, as my boss used to say."
Emilia shaped her career at CMTN by supporting others. Her first position was assistant to the late Captain Ben West. Then, throughout the years she found herself wearing many hats in the service of the Prince Rupert Campus. She says, "There's nothing I haven't done in this building regarding support. I've been marine secretary, receptionist, switchboard, and enrolment services. I have been a bookstore [clerk]. I have been [in] continuing education. I have been [in] contract services. I have been an assistant to managers over the years. "Emilia's positions were not solely a matter of career advancement but reflected the flexibility and experience she mastered in helping others. Ultimately, her years of service led to her last role as the campus administrative officer for Prince Rupert.
Emilia credits her growth at CMTN to her adaptability in meeting the challenges of the day and the support of staff in getting things done. She recalls coordinating with coworkers to design program brochures for the campus while racing against the clock to send those same marketing materials to the College print shop in Terrace via the public bus transit system. In her other role as student records clerk, she described having to go to their records room to manually shift through massive amounts of paperwork to verify each student's certificate request. Emilia saw major changes in administrative technology during her time at CMTN, living the transition from the days of all paper records to digital records and the Internet.
The College has been through many growth phases, and Emilia has witnessed most of them. At the time of her employment, the College operated in the Chatham Building Complex in the Museum of Northern British Columbia. Before that, the campus was in a much smaller building on Third Avenue, only providing office career training from the previous bus depot on Third Avenue. She praises the ability of the staff members to advocate and revolutionize what the College had to offer… such as the Student for a Day event, which transitioned into open house events across all campuses. The campus was small, but it got students through the doors. Emilia says she sometimes misses the smallness, but she understands the need to grow.
Then, in January 2005, when the College transitioned from the Chatham Building to its current facility on Third Avenue, Emilia was instrumental in organizing the undertaking. She saw nothing the Prince Rupert staff couldn't achieve in moving a whole campus 10 days before the start of a new term. Emilia laughs in retrospect. "Oh, my goodness, that was so much fun! The stuff that we accumulated! We had maybe 10 days to get everything set up and ready to go [as] our students came through that door." But everyone came together and got the job done.
Throughout her journey at the College, Emilia did not lose sight of why they did their work, and she maintained her focus on the importance of community. She says the most challenging thing for many students is coming through the front door. Emilia did not take each student's journey in pursuing an education for granted, whether they were local, regional, or global students. She remembers one student who overcame a lot of hesitation and challenges simply to get through the doors of the College, then working her way through upgrading courses, and eventually completing a social work degree which led to mentoring others. Emilia says, “I just assumed [it’s simple] and come on in. But for some of our students, the hardest part is coming through those doors, and we should never forget that."
Concluding Life at the College
Emilia sees the ending of her 35 years at the College as bittersweet. She says, "When you leave this place, it is like leaving your family home because you grew up here…. I'll be 63, which is still young. We've laughed, we've grieved together, and we've celebrated."
Emilia understands the value of respecting each person and being aware of what they genuinely need. She recognizes that each person, whether staff, student, or community member has a story to tell, and you can find common understanding if you are willing to listen. Emilia also knows change is inevitable but has welcomed it throughout her career because nothing is static, and growth comes most easily when you are eager to embrace it.
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