Different paths meet at Assiniboine for Hall sisters

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Halls sisters at Assiniboine

In the last couple of years, it wasn’t uncommon to look out the window of Assiniboine Community College and see the Hall sisters walking to school together.

Kelsey Hall, 24, Callista Hall, 22, and Krista Hall, 21, grew up in Virden as best friends, they said, taking the same dance classes and hanging out together in high school.

As it turns out, they continued to hang out together in college, too.

“We were all working, getting money saved up and getting some experience, and it all aligned at a time we could go to college together,” Kelsey said.

“We sort of felt ready at the same time,” Krista added. “Growing up we did everything together, so this was just another thing we did together.”

While their paths aligned, their passions did not.

From a young age, Kelsey said she always knew she wanted to work with kids. She also knew she didn’t want to go to school too far from home, and was looking into courses available in Brandon.

Kelsey decided on the Early Childhood Education program at Assiniboine after hearing great things from people who were enrolled in the program or had gone through it, she said.

“They have great instructors who help you grow and connect with your classmates and make sure you build that relationship so when you need the help, they’re there,” Kelsey said. “I also really liked that (the program) had smaller class sizes.”

Callista was more interested in science during high school, she said, and taking part in an event called The Envirothon — an environmental and natural resource high school competition that promotes problem-solving, team building and leadership experience while studying different topics in environmental science — changed her outlook.

“I realized (environmental science) was exactly the path I wanted to take,” Callista said.

After looking at available programs at other institutions across Manitoba, Callista decided to enrol in the Land and Water Management program at Assiniboine, one of the reasons being that she really liked Assiniboine’s hands-on learning approach.

“I think it’s great because it gets you right into the environmental courses and you get to learn by doing, you do all this hands-on stuff that is quite relevant to job experience,” Callista said.

Krista’s interest in business was spurred by a scheduling error in high school, she said.

After being put in a business course she didn’t sign up for and couldn’t get out of, Krista said she ended up really enjoying it and went on to take other business classes throughout high school.

Krista got a job in the accounting field and knew it was where she wanted to be, she said, so she enrolled in Assiniboine’s Business Administration - Accounting Specialization program the following year.

In going into their respective programs, the sisters decided to move to Brandon together, living together while attending college.

“We were used to living together anyway, and I’d rather live with my sisters than by myself,” Kelsey said with a laugh. “People would always ask my mom how it felt to have us go off to college together all at once. She’d say ‘I know they’re better together, they have each other,’ and that was the main thing, she was at peace knowing we were together.”

And the sisters agreed that living together was beneficial, as they were able to help each other and be each other’s support system.

“We all took different things but we were still able to help each other, we’d quiz each other on things, read over assignments, stuff like that,” Krista said.

“We all went to school for something that we were very interested in, and we were able to share our experiences in those classes with each other,” Callista said.

When Covid-19 hit during their second year, the sisters said they also navigated the shift from in-class learning to distance learning together.

“We had to put sticky notes on our doors letting the others know there was a Zoom in progress, because we had the habit of just going into each other’s rooms and talking to each other,” Kelsey said with a laugh.

“It was definitely more challenging during exams because some of the exams were online, so we would be like, 'everybody be quiet for the next three hours,’” Krista said. “We all respected each other though and didn’t have any issues… we were all going through the same thing pretty much.”

Kelsey, Callista and Krista graduated together in 2021, which made the achievement that much more special.

“I was a little disappointed with COVID because we didn’t have the one giant ceremony … but I was still glad we got to celebrate and were able to get cap and gown pictures together,” Callista said.

“We were pretty much the only ones there for each other, and our parents were big supporters of course,” Kelsey said. “They were really proud and I was really proud of my sisters.”

“(Our parents) thought it was greatest thing that we got through school together and that we had each other throughout it,” Krista added.

Both Krista and Callista have since continued their studies. Krista is working toward her Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting through the 2+2 program partnering with Athabasca University, and Callista is continuing her studies at Assiniboine for her Geographic Information Systems - GIS Advanced Diploma.

Taking an advanced credential course through Assiniboine was a no brainer, Callista said.

“I loved my experience and immediately wanted to keep going,” Callista said. “I’m learning so much. I feel like after I’m done this, I’m going to have that much more skill in the environmental industry and its advancing technology … I’ll be able to do more things.”

Kelsey went from learning at Assiniboine to working at the The Assiniboine Early Learning Centre after completing her final practicum there.

“I fell in love with the environment, the children, the families and the staff were just incredible. I knew it was a place my heart was set at,” Kelsey said. “I really like being close to the college and staying involved … hopefully I can mentor future students to help with their practicums and education.”

The Hall sisters said they were glad they not only got to experience college together, but that they all chose programs at Assiniboine.

“I strongly recommend (Assiniboine),” Callista said. “I loved my experience there.”

“I loved my program as well,” Kelsey added. “It made me feel really good that (the instructors) knew who I was and were really supportive … They made my experience a lot of fun.”