Reid De Los Reyes took Lakeland College's heavy oil power engineering program  with the goal of kickstarting a new career.

Not only did he achieve that goal, he also achieved one of the college's highest honours.

A surprised De Los Reyes is the Lloydminster campus candidate for the 2021-22 Governor General's Academic Medal. The medal is awarded to the student who graduates with the highest academic standing in a diploma-level program at Lakeland. One student from each campus receives the award.

After completing his final practicum in August 2022, he was welcomed back to the Lloydminster campus In October for a presentation where Adam Waterman, chair of the Lakeland Board of Governors and Dr. Alice Wainwright-Stewart, president & CEO, presented him with a certificate. He'll receive his medal at a later date due to supply shortages.

He credits this recognition to the support of his Lakeland instructors and his family.

“My family gave me the time and space to study, and my instructors were always there to provide support. They're always there all the time. You can even email them or text them after school hours if we need help.

“I had a great experience at Lakeland. Our labs were close to industry experience, which greatly helped my learning. Getting to work with current industry information closely prepared me to do well during my practicums,” he says.

De Los Reyes adds he was able to apply the hands-on learning experiences in Lakeland's Energy Centre during his first-year practicum at ADM Agri-Industries and his second-year practicum at the Cenovus upgrader in Lloydminster.

Nursing vs. power engineering

De Los Reyes' professional journey started in nursing while living in the Philippines. When he and his family received their visas for permanent residency in Canada in 2012, he immigrated with a bachelor's degree in nursing. He continued working as a health care aide and upgraded his credentials to become a licensed practical nurse (LPN).

“After I upgraded to my LPN in 2015, I (contemplated) whether to become a registered nurse or an engineer. I've always had an interest in engineering and liked the idea of switching careers. I knew I couldn't do a four-year program because I had a family to feed.

“Living in Lloydminster for 10 years, I knew of Lakeland College and found its two-year heavy oil power engineering program. It was perfect for my family and me.”

Now working as a process technician at Cenovus, De Los Reyes shares that his favourite aspect of power engineering is the mechanics, learning the principles behind how things work. As a nurse, he was able to learn medicine and provide care. As a power engineer, he gets to apply that skill set to understanding how things work and contribute to society in refreshing ways.

Lakeland's heavy oil power engineering program was renamed process and power engineering earlier this year.

Photos: Top — Adam Waterman (right), chair of the Lakeland Board of Governors and Dr. Alice Wainwright-Stewart, Lakeland's president & CEO (left), award Reid De Los Reyes (centre) with the 2021-22 Governor General's Academic Medal.  Middle—Reid De Los Reyes with Brad Onofrychuk (right), dean of Energy, and Simon Stilgoe (left), chair of Energy. Bottom—A lot of congratulations from Lakeland. From left to right Brad Onofrychuk, Adam Waterman, Todd Sumner, vice-president, academic, De Los Reyes,Simon Stilgoe, Dr. Alice Wainwright-Stewart and Georgina Altman, vice-president external relations and infrastructure.