For three decades, Jason Mills, Class of 1993, has been tying his tie the way instructor Mark Cryderman taught him at Lakeland College.

“I call it the Mark Cryderman,” Mills says, explaining the way some of the smallest lessons have the longest lasting impact. “I literally still use it.”

It's been 29 years since Mills graduated from the business administration diploma program and he still considers his two years at Lakeland the best two years of his educational life.

“I've always said it's people that make the difference and Lakeland has phenomenal people,” explains Mills, who majored in management. “We're so lucky to actually have the quality of education we have right here at Lakeland in Lloydminster and Vermilion. People from out of town are sending their kids here and we're already here.”

Mills, an owning partner and general manager of Westridge Buick GMC in Lloydminster, Alta., followed his father's steps when he chose to study business. He graduated with a diploma in 1993 and that credential is what gave him the edge to get hired in the automobile industry.

“When I started in the automobile industry, I had zero experience of any kind,” he says. “Having that diploma really elevated me as a young person getting into the job. Back then, not a lot of 20-year-old kids got hired into automotive sales but the fellow I worked for - who I'm now partners with - was willing to give me a shot based on seeing my success at Lakeland.”

Now, Mills relies on lessons learned at Lakeland every day.

“I learned (how) to study at Lakeland,” Mills says, a father of two. “I had never really known how to before, but I was really challenged to get to the next level. When I got to the work I'm doing now, there was a lot more on-going studying than I thought there would be. There are more books to read and courses to take. Lakeland actually taught me how to study and I still use those lessons today.”

He calls his study method the Jason Mills Study System, developed at Lakeland College, and his children hear about it all the time.

“It was the first time I realized putting in the extra work was going to get me something extra,” he says.

Since graduation, Mills keeps in contact with the college. Whether it's supporting the Rustlers, hosting company Christmas parties on campus, being a guest speaker in business classes, or hiring graduates, his connection with Lakeland is as strong as ever.

This past fall, Mills' wife, Christy Mills, began a new chapter of the family's connection to Lakeland - starting her studies in the hairstyling program.

“She's incredibly excited to be continuing her education in the hairstyling program,” Mills says. “So if you're wondering if we would say yes to going back, not only would we say yes - my wife started there today.”

He's already excited to celebrate her graduation this year - 30 years after his.

Photos: Top - Jason Mills posing with a truck at the Westridge Buick GMC dealership. Middle - Mills in his office. Bottom - With his wife Christy in Lakeland's hair salon.