SAIT valedictorian from Blackfalds bounces back after recession
A central Alberta man is sharing his inspiring post-secondary success story which began with him getting laid off from his oil and gas industry job and ended with him as valedictorian.
Kevin O’Brien, who’s lived in the area since 1985 and currently calls Blackfalds home alongside his wife and two kids, was working as a wireline operator when the most recession hit. He’d worked in the industry for more than a dozen years.
Since then, O’Brien has spent two years at SAIT’s MacPhail School of Energy working towards a diploma in Power Engineering Technology, and recently gave his valedictorian speech at the school’s convocation.
“When I was wirelining, I thought I was really happy. I thought I was happy with being able to pay the bills,” he recalls. “I was going away for 15 days, and then back for six, working all over the place. After that all ended, I realized paying the bills wasn’t actually making me very happy.”