Donor Profile - The Good Family
In the late 1960's Bill and Maura left their home in England, in response to a newspaper ad challenging young English teachers to "come and teach in the land of the moose". Their original plan was to spend one year teaching students in Northern Alberta. What followed were two long and rewarding careers in Education, in three different Northern Alberta communities, with the last four decades spent working with students and families in Grande Prairie.
The Bill and Maura Good Bursary for Teacher Education has been established by their family and friends to honour their contribution to Education in Northern Alberta, the hard work of Northern Alberta teachers and the excellence and commitment to Northern Alberta education provided by Grande Prairie Regional College.
When Bill and Maura settled in the Peace Country in the early 1970's they found the perfect place to raise their growing family and to continue their careers in Education. Both of them spent all of their teaching careers with Grande Prairie Catholic Schools. Bill was the principal at St. Mary's in Sexsmith, St. Clement, St. Patrick, St. Joseph and Kateri Mission Schools as well as serving as Deputy Superintendent. Maura stayed home to raise the family for several years before teaching for over 20 years at École St. Gerard. Upon his retirement in 1999, Bill began working with student teachers in the TEN program at GPRC and continues in that role today.
Throughout their time in Grande Prairie, the college has played a key role both for Bill and Maura and each of their 9 children. All of their children have benefitted from programs at GPRC over the years, with six having attended as full time students. Maura says, "our entire family has benefitted from the wide variety of individual courses, community sports programs, community camps, art, music and drama programs etc. facilitated by the College."
It is because of the important role of education in Northern Alberta, both at the K-12 and post-secondary levels that Bill and Maura's children decided to establish this bursary. The family hopes that this scholarship will continue to support other students who want to take on the challenge of teaching "in the land of the moose".
The Bill and Maura Good Bursary for Teacher Education will be given annually to a third year student from Northern Alberta who is enrolled in the Teacher Education North (TEN) program at GPRC. Consideration will be given to an applicant's financial need, commitment to academic achievement and involvement in community or extra-curricular activities. If there is no suitable applicant in any given year, the award may go to a student entering the TEN program.
The Good FamilyFront row, L-R: Andy, Elizabeth, Louise, Steve |