Students wanting to learn more about biology can now do so right here in Williams Lake.
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) is offering two new biology classes at its Williams Lake campus. The introductory biology classes will be options for electives, giving students the chance to explore the world of science alongside their mandatory course load.
Martin Kruss, education coordinator with Scout Island, said this opens doors for the city of Williams Lake, where the labour force is short on workers in roles related to biology. “From our point of view, we’re just watching the whole community short of workers,” Kruus said. With a degree in biology, he said students can work with the government, nonprofits or in industry.
Locally, a career in biology could take students to the work for the government in natural resources, or to organizations like the Williams Lake Community Forest. Kruus said biology is also handy for jobs at mines or with mills, both thriving industries in the area.
Currently, the university is introducing only these two biology classes. Anything more would be “a shot in the dark,” according to Christian Lass who will be teaching the new classes. Lass said there isn’t enough interest to warrant an entire biology program in Williams Lake at this time, but he hopes these classes will generate further interest. For now, students wanting to get a degree in biology will still have to make their way to the TRU campus in Kamloops to do so.
Nevertheless, Kruus said even introductory courses have impact, especially when offered close to home. Access to university-level biology classes makes it easier for students in Williams Lake to explore and consider the subject before jumping into it as a field of study, while also creating a network that could be useful as they build a career locally.
In some cases, these introductory courses could be enough to propel students into an early career with employers in the area that only require a high school diploma. With this extra bit of exposure to biology, students may find the interest and confidence necessary to pursue a career in the subject without needing a full post-secondary degree.
Kruus said even high school students, who have the option to attend first-year courses in trades at TRU, should be able to attend these new biology courses. “One of our issues at the high school level is to get kids to notice outdoor science,” he said. Since lab-centred jobs are less prevalent in the Chilcotin, Kruus thinks youth need to be shown how science is still relevant to the local workforce.
He believes access to university-level courses will help with that, especially with a professor like Lass, whose enthusiasm for biology makes for a great learning environment. “He has a really neat set up to encourage curiosity and wonder,” Kruus said about Lass’ laboratory where students can experiment with genetics or peek at fungi and carnivorous plants.
“Having access to these first-year classes is phenomenal,” says Kelvin Parent. He works as a liaison between local high schools and TRU and said students in Williams Lake are thinking about their future as early as in grade 10. In some cases, students can start work directly out of high school thanks to programs that allow them to attend TRU classes as high school electives.
He said at least one high school student in Williams Lake is interested in taking university-level biology as an elective, and that he is looking into confirming the course's compatibility with the program.
