Nicole Spence, Program Assistant II, Faculty of Education

Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I was born and raised in Lethbridge; I moved to Banff for a short stint in my 20s, but Lethbridge drew me back. I played a lot of sports growing up — mainly soccer, but also some volleyball and golf. I played both soccer and volleyball at the college and soccer at the University of Lethbridge when I was a student from 1992 to 1994. I also coached soccer at both institutions for 10 years (three at the college and seven at ULethbridge). Right at the tail end of my coaching career in 2006 my husband and I decided to start our family. We have two sons — Jayden (17) and Dawson (14) — who have kept us busy in the hockey and baseball worlds since they were four and a three-year-old Black Lab named Louie.

How long have you been at ULethbridge and what do you do here?
Interestingly enough, I’ve been working at the University more or less since 1990. I was hired in Record Services (part-time) right out of high school (1990). It was the best job because it was flexible and when I attended the University as a student, I could work my hours around my academic and soccer schedules. I left for a few months to go to Banff, but when I returned, I got hired on with the mailroom. The mailroom at the time was located in the Centre for the Arts. I also enjoyed this position, as it allowed me to deliver mail to all the departments and I got to know a ton of people on campus. This then led to my current employment with the Faculty of Education, where I've been since 1997. As Program Assistant in the Student Program Services (SPS) office, I help students from the time of their first inquiries about our programs to the time they graduate.

What's the best part of your job?

I love the people and the students I get to work with every day. I can honestly say that we have the BEST team on campus (I’m not biased). I have been very fortunate to work with some fantastic faculty and staff over the years. 

Things are evolving, as they should, but the ‘team’ system and integrity of the Faculty haven’t changed. It’s also gratifying to watch young students enter the University as 18-year-olds and leave five+ years later as teachers. To know that you’ve assisted these students into becoming professionals is pretty special.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I enjoy spending time with my family and watching my boys play the games they love. Both sports have taken us all over Alberta, Canada and the U.S. I will be sad when it’s over. I also try to spend time outdoors — walking the dog, hiking the coulees or the mountains and playing the odd round of golf. We also have a place in Whitefish where we like to spend family time when we have some downtime.