Maxine Steel
At the age of 16, I dropped out of school, got married and never thought about my future or my education. When my marriage didn't work, I realized I had two children and no education; only then did I begin to wonder what the future held for me.
I worked in the fish plant in Musgrave Harbour for eight years. Then the fishery failed. With the thoughts of a failed fishery and two small children, I really had no idea what I was going to do.
Before long the government came out with a support package for the people affected by the cod moratorium. It really helped a lot of Newfoundlanders. In this package came funds to retrain people to better educate themselves. I was all for this.
For starters, I went back to school and completed grade twelve. Then I decided to go further. I did a course with Centrac College. At times it was very difficult. It was stressful having to deal with school and to leave my two children for five days a week.
I was really put to the test sometimes, but with the help of my wonderful friend Mary and my wonderful mother, I finished my course in February of 1995. I haven't yet found a job that relates to my course but I am still working in a fishplant, at Beothic Fisheries in Valleyfield. The knowledge that I have a course that I can rely on to back me up in the future puts me at ease a little. I am very proud of my accomplishments and especially proud of myself.
Question:
- Who did Maxine say helped her through the difficult time of dealing with school and leaving her children for five days a week?