On track for a degree thanks to NorQuest’s Academic Upgrading
High school wasn’t the place Robbie Morrison wanted to be.
Call it youthful angst, a short attention span, problems accepting authority. The result was typical. In Grade 10 he left school, found work and did okay for himself, but soon realized he wanted more. After a bit of soul searching, a return to school seemed like the only way.
And he found his way back beginning in 2006 through NorQuest College’s Academic Upgrading program. Now a fourth year Bachelor of Physical Education (BPE) student at the University of Alberta (via the University Transfer program at what was then Grant MacEwan College) Morrison remembers his time at NorQuest fondly.
“At NorQuest it was so much of an inclusive learning atmosphere. I liked that because I was allowed to go at my own pace,” he says. “In high school I felt smothered. At NorQuest I felt a lot more independent, but the instructors were there to help if I needed it – without the pressure.”
Classified an adult student when he looked into applying for MacEwan’s (BPE) transfer program, he was able to fast track his high school career at NorQuest.
“One thing that is really good about NorQuest’s Upgrading Program is you are able to pick and choose the courses you want. And as an adult student you don’t have to meet all of the requirements that you do coming out of high school, so my NorQuest learning experience was really accelerated, which is what I liked.”
In the end, Morrision took the prerequisites he needed to attain acceptance at MacEwan before moving on to the University of Alberta. Now, he is poised to graduate later this year with a BPE, focusing on rehabilitation.
At NorQuest it was so much of an inclusive learning atmosphere. I liked that because I was allowed to go at my own pace. At NorQuest I felt a lot more independent.