Cassie Melenka is the 2020 recipient of the Governor General's Academic Medal. She completed a two year practical nursing program at the Medicine Hat College Brooks campus.--SUBMITTED PHOTO
mcranker@medicinehatnews.com@mocranker
Cassie Melenka didn’t know what a Governors General Academic Medal was a couple months ago.
Last week it was announced she was the winner of this year’s award for finishing at the top of the 2020 Medicine Hat College graduating class.
“I got a phone call from the dean of health and science about a month ago and I thought it was going to be more bad news about COVID and graduation,” she said. “He told me he had some good news for me then told me about the award. I didn’t know what it was so I just said ‘That’s great, is there anything else?’
“He explained how big of an award this is and that’s when it started to sink in.”
Melenka graduated from the practical nursing program after two years at the Brooks campus. She completed a number of job placements while doing her diploma. She says studying hard was the key to getting the highest grades in her year.
“I’m cheap,” she joked. “I try to ring out every cent worth of value out of my textbooks when studying.”
The Andrew, Alta., native is now back at home working on her family’s farm. She says she didn’t get any time off after graduation.
“Being back home is great, but there wasn’t a big rest or break period,” she said. “I’m right back to work on the farm doing pretty long days. It’s rewarding work.”
Now that she has her practical nursing diploma, Melenka says she is hoping to find work in her field.
“There’s a couple rural hospitals near home that I’d love to find work at,” she said. “I’d like to stick close to home for the time being, but I definitely want to stay in the nursing field and help people.”
