Christine S.

Forty-one-year-old Christine was born and raised in Hay River, Northwest Territories, and is a proud member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. She is a mom and a stepmom of two wonderful girls, Clover age three and a half years old and Lucy age 15.

While working for a trucking company, Christine thought it was important for her to understand what their drivers go through on a day to day basis. This led her to attend the Class 3 Advanced Driving and Air Brakes course at the Capilano Truck Driver Training Institute in Edmonton.

A typical day during this course consisted of safety talk, doing a proper pre-trip, air brake test and learning about the truck and how to safely drive the truck. After spending the day learning, Christine was evaluated on her performance to help her understand what she knew and what she didn’t. “I was then able to figure out where I needed to put my focus,” shares Christine.

One of the things that Christine was surprised to learn during the course was that driving the big truck was so much like driving a car. “I was so terrified at first but once I got the hang of it I realized that I was okay and I could do it,” she says.

For Christine, the highlight of the Class 3 Advanced Driving and Air Brake course was completing it, but also learning all the components there is to being a truck driver.

When asked she would tell someone who is thinking about taking the Class 3 Advanced Driving and Air Brake course, here is what she says: “Don’t be scared, we were all you at one point and remember the more you push yourself the more knowledge you will gain.”

Service Canada-Indigenous Skill Employment and Training (ISET) supported this client though Athabasca Chipewyan Prairie First Nation ISETS Department.