Tracy Kittilsen
Balancing a Full Plate
By Katherine Doyle
If you tell Tracy Kittilsen she lives a busy life, she will reply 鈥渋t鈥檚 enough.鈥�
Tracy is a program manager with the Faculty of Agriculture鈥檚 Extended Learning department, the secretary and co-chair of the fund development committee for the Rural Community Foundation of Nova Scotia and the president of her local community centre in Central North River.聽 A passionate fiddle player who has been playing since the age of eight, 聽Tracy is also the proud owner of an appaloosa mix horse named Misty and is a self-described 鈥渂ackyard rider.鈥�
In 1998, Tracy and some of her friends from the Tatamagouche area started the North Shore 4-H club, where she held the position of General Leader for 11 years. In addition to being general leader, she was also a project leader for poultry, gardening and exploring 4-H. She has chaperoned local tours, judged public speaking, organized county rallies and continues to judge when called upon at various 4-H events.
In most cases the general leader of a 4-H club would be someone who has been involved for years, but for Tracy that wasn鈥檛 the case. In 1998 she became general leader without ever being involved in 4-H.
聽鈥淚t was probably better that I wasn鈥檛 in 4-H because as a group we learned everything from the ground up. We didn鈥檛 know the annual schedule, so we just learned as we went, as a group. I believes it made us stronger, as we were all learning together and having fun while doing it,鈥� she explains.
Tracy graduated from Nova Scotia Agricultural College, now 麻豆传媒 Faculty of Agriculture in 1996 with a BSc (Agriculture) in Plant Science. She rejoined the Agricultural Campus 10 years later, in the summer of 2006, when she became a program manager with Extended Learning.
From producers to farm employees, agricultural companies to commodity groups, Tracy works with them all.
鈥淥n any given day I could be working with a corporate client on a new contract or a new development for custom training. I could be working with content experts to build course materials or I could be on the road to PEI.鈥�
Tracy runs the PEI Farm Technician Apprenticeship program, in Prince Edward Island during the winter. This two year program offers a one-of-a-kind experience, combining classroom learning with on-farm experience.
You'll occasionally find her in the Ruminant Animal Centre (RAC) cuddling the lambs and visiting with co-workers.
聽鈥淚t鈥檚 different every day. I really like the fact that I get to network with producers, producer groups and alumni, from all across the region. It鈥檚 never the same thing day in and day out, that鈥檚 probably why I鈥檝e been here for 10 years, it is very rewarding to bring folks in the industry together to learn,鈥� Tracy says.
聽鈥淚 was always one of those who believed, a better opportunity was going to come along. It might not be quite the right one but I never knew that, so I always took that opportunity to go try something different. Eventually it led me here and I think I鈥檝e been here this long because it finally jelled."
If balancing being on a provincial board, community hall, two kids, a full time job, playing the fiddle and riding her horse wasn鈥檛 enough, in April Tracy begins her Master鈥檚 in Adult Education through Saint Francis Xavier University.
But for Tracy, it鈥檚 enough.