Alumna Daisy Jacobs uses her Certificate in Occupational Health, Safety and Environmental Systems to give back to her community, the Tsuut’ina Nation
Daisy Jacobs recently completed the Certificate in Occupational Health, Safety and Environmental Systems (COHSES) program, which has allowed her to achieve her goal of becoming a safety representative for the Tsuut’ina nation. Previously, she worked for Kiewit Corporation for 5 years while they completed a significant highway development project on the Southwest Calgary Ring Road.
During her off-season from Kiewit, Daisy worked for contractors within the Tsuut’ina nation, where she often heard the question, “Why doesn’t Tsuut’ina have a safety representative?” The more this question came up, the more she realized she wanted to fill this role within the community.
“I set a goal to be a safety representative for my nation, for my people, because I wanted to give back to the community and the next generation of Tsuut’ina nation members. I wanted to help them learn about health & safety through my work, experience, and knowledge.”
Daisy’s new position as the Junior Safety Advisor with the Tsuut’ina Nation Enterprise involves developing safety programs and protocols for multiple businesses within the community. Business sectors under her purview range from gas and aggregate suppliers to golf and country clubs. Daisy says the goal of these new programs is to “implement safe work practices in order to minimize incidents within our facilities and any of our job sites.”
The UFred OHS education experience
While searching for a school with an Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) program, Daisy came across UFred. What ultimately led her to choose UFred was reading numerous positive testimonials from alumni.
Since completing the COHSES program in the Winter of 2022, Daisy remains pleased with her choice to enroll at the University. Not only did she gain a host of knowledge surrounding OHS, but she also improved her soft skills.
“Some of the most important lessons I learned from this program were patience, structure, and confidence. My peers and instructors helped encourage me in many ways when I didn’t think it was possible to complete the program during my high-volume career with Kiewit.”
Daisy has also found that her UFred education is highly regarded in the OHS community and has appropriately prepared her for her new position.
Advice to future students
Daisy advises future students to determine why they want to complete an OHS program and then remain focused on that why for the duration of their studies.
“Remain focused on your goals. Whether you have enrolled to better your community or to further advance your current organization’s corporate footprint, UFred offers something new and exciting every day.”