By: Blace Jackson, PLANS Co-op Student

My name is Blace Jackson and I am 17 years old I was born on July 18th 2005 in Halifax at the IWK. When I was a child I went to B-L-T (Beechville Lakeside Timberlea) elementary school and then during middle school I went to Ridgecliff middle school and I now go to sir John A Macdonald high school which is now called Bayview High. I grew up in Beechville with lots of family around me and ever since I could remember me and my family, cousins, uncles, aunts, and grandparents went to this sort of family event called Beechville days, and it’s so much fun because there’s so many things going on at once. I chose the PLANS co-op because I wanted to explore other careers besides the one I want to become when I get older and understand more about university and how to deal with certain things and who to go to if I need help.

The highlight of this co-op for me was definitely all of it but mainly the therapeutic recreation because I never knew that it was a job and that people took courses under it. Another highlight I would have to say was physio psychology because I also was looking into going into school for it but I just forgot about that idea when I heard about what a psychologist is and what they do and how they help people. These 2 highlights have helped my future goals, they really opened me up to some potential new careers I could go to university for, they also changed my future goals. Because my plan was to go to school to become a psychologist and I was so set on that but after this program and the things I have explored it makes me second guess a little if that is the career I really want to pursue.

Overall, this placement has impacted me in a positive way because it has shown me that even if you think your mind is set on something to still explore outside of that box. It has also impacted my goals in an awesome way because now I’m thinking of applying at NSCC for therapeutic recreation and physio psychology at Dal. This program has given me many opportunities to explore different programs and meet lots of familiar faces and even some I have never talked to before and I am so happy that I got to meet these people and get the chance to know them all better outside of school. And for the final thing I have to say is a big thank you to Mary and Sydney for allowing me to attend this co-op and having all of these wonderful opportunities to do all of these fun activities.