Platinum Jubilee Medal Recipient, Alina Hall

What interested you in participating with Techsploration?

Originally, I was just asked to help out a female co-worker with a helicopter tour she had organized. It ended up being a Techsploration visit, and after getting to know the students and teachers and what the program was all about, I was hooked. The following year I took over the planning and organizing for 12 Wing Shearwater tours and have enjoyed quite a few years now as a school role model and most recently as a guest role model.

Did being a role model help grow your own skills? And how?

Being a role model absolutely helped to grow my own skills. My comfort level with speaking in front of people has grown dramatically and I truly think a lot of it can be attributed to my time with Techsploration. Talking with the students and teachers, round robin events, and speaking at the Techsploration events, has made it all become so much easier and it has allowed me to have the comfort level I have in my current position as an instructor.

What do you remember most about your experience with Techsploration?

What I remember most about my experience with Techsploration is the excitement people have for my career. Seeing interest in what I do on a regular basis renews my excitement for the job constantly. It keeps it fresh for me.

What advice would you give your 15-year-old self, that you would also pass along to your students?

What I would tell my 15-year-old self is that you don’t need to figure it all out. I think I was consumed with needing to know what I wanted to do, what I wanted to be, that I forgot to just “be”. I have told all my Techsploration students to ensure they continue taking courses that keep doors open, (like their maths and sciences) but don’t worry about having everything perfectly planned out at all.

Do you have any mentors who’ve helped you on your career path?

I have met and worked with many people I would consider mentors along the way. Not necessarily people that have pushed me in one direction or another, but definitely ones I’ve looked up to for how they’ve mentored people, for how they have supervised and supported others, and just overall for how they are.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

When I’m asked what I enjoy most about my job, I think I may answer this differently every time. I feel that there is so much I enjoy on any given day and in any position I have held. I think, if I had to sum up what I enjoy most today, it would be the ability to grow within my trade and in the military in general. I’m not “just” an Avionics Systems technician, I am also an instructor, a mentor, a supervisor and so much more.

What are your thoughts and feelings about receiving the Platinum Jubilee Award?

I am incredibly honoured to have been nominated and chosen to receive the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal. Receiving this award, with people who have done such amazing things and made such wonderful contributions to Nova Scotia, was, is incredible. I am honoured and honestly a little shocked that those who nominated me feel that I deserve that level of recognition. I do want to add that I am so thankful to those who have supported me and who have seen something in me that maybe I haven’t yet completely seen myself.