For Ranae Hatch (Special Needs Educational Assistant 2016) and her four children – TJ, Austin, Devany and Brittan – Lethbridge Polytechnic is more than a shared connection; it’s where each family member had the opportunity to pursue their own path, explore interests and gain skills that continue to shape their careers.
Ranae’s path began while working as an educational assistant (EA) in the Westwind School Division. She says a presentation on distance learning sparked a desire to deepen her understanding of the work she was already doing.
“[I thought], if I was going to do this job well, I needed to know as much as possible about the subject,” she says.
Her oldest daughter Devany Sparks (General Arts and Science – Psychology and Sociology 2019) also has an EA background, having worked for the Lethbridge School Division and Horizon School Division. Devany says her initial plan was to become a learning support teacher by first enrolling at the polytechnic and then completing her education at the University of Lethbridge.
“I wanted to have experience working in the schools just to make sure that is where I wanted my life to go,” she says of becoming an EA after graduating from the polytechnic. “I mostly worked one-on-one with students who have high needs or behavioural plans. In the evenings I would work as an at-home respite and care aide as well.”
After the pandemic, Devany became a community resource worker and then shifted career paths entirely. She is now a certified Canadian optometry assistant at a clinic in Taber. “I may not be using my education, but I have something that I am still interested in and skills that I can still use,” she says. “I can always change my mind again and go back to my original goal, or I can go back to school … that’s the great thing about education – it’s limitless.”
After beginning his post-secondary journey with a desire to work in character and environment design in the video game industry, Austin Hatch (Virtual and Augmented Reality 2022, Multimedia Production 2018) cultivated a passion for emerging technologies.
He now works as a junior developer in the polytechnic’s Spatial Technologies Applied Research and Training Centre.
As the youngest to attend Lethbridge Polytechnic, Brittan Hatch (Business Management – Accounting 2022) had a unique advantage: family tour guides. “I got to have my siblings show me around and find all of my classrooms,” she says.
After graduation, Brittan transferred to the University of Lethbridge where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business management accounting. She’s been working at an accounting firm in Lethbridge since last April and is currently enrolled in the Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA) program.
TJ Hatch’s connection to the polytechnic took a different route. After briefly enrolling in Multimedia Production before transferring to the University of Lethbridge to complete a bachelor’s degree in new media, he later returned to the polytechnic campus in a professional role. Today, he works in Testing Services as an invigilator, supporting students through full-class exams.
The Hatch family’s shared connection to Lethbridge Polytechnic also reflects a common theme: a belief in lifelong learning.
“Our family has always put a high value on education – something that started with my mother’s parents,” Brittan says. “My mother instilled in us the same value for education and wanted us to have the opportunity to pursue whatever life we wanted, and the polytechnic was a great place to figure that out.”
