Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, January 2022

Coby Herrington: A Career of

Service
I arrived at the doors of Camosun
College in the spring of 1973. I walked
through the doors, as a single parent
with my two little kids, Nicole and Erin,
holding my hands. It was a
monumental day in my life. I had been
taken out of high school to care for
one of my nieces and, thus, never
finished my secondary education. I
was a prime candidate for the
developing and evolving values of the
community college sector, namely,
serving those who had not had the
opportunities, or experienced barriers,
to completing their secondary
education. I knew I was embarking on a journey that would drastically
change my life and the lives of my children, in the most amazing ways.

I was met by Jackie Butters, one of the two counsellors at Camosun at the
time (Les Langdale being being the other). Mrs. Butters guided me
through the steps I needed to take to start on my educational journey.
I must admit that I was totally overwhelmed with my final schedule of
courses. With a background in mostly self taught art, I was flirting instead
with the idea of marine biology. I thought that combining biology and art
would give a good foundation to illustrate biology books.

Then came the hard work of balancing home, family and life as a college
student.

My instructors were fabulous. Ruby Littlepage was amazing and

introduced me to the world of biology, culminating with invertebrate
zoology. I confess, I have never eaten raw fish since completing that
course. Mr. Mugford, standing at the front of my calculus class dressed in
a suit and tie, puffing on a smoke (it was the norm in those days), guided
me through three semesters. At the end, he said, “Well Cobina, I couldn’t
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, January 2022

decide whether to give you a C for Coby or a B for Bradley. I’ve decided to
give you a B for Bradley.”

To support myself and my children I applied for a student loan. Money

was tight! With the help of wonderful people in Student Services and
Community Education, I got a part time filing job. I also taught a CE
summer course called “Bugs and Things”. It was a short course for
children from whom I learned a lot. There were little ones who knew much
more than I and weren’t shy to tell me. The most important lesson I gained
from working with those children was that learning is a two way street
between teacher and student. Never
assume you know more than your
students. They will always surprise
you and enrich the classroom
environment beyond measure.

I recall one day when I was working in

the filing area under a Summer
Student Program when Patty
McKnight, who had also graduated
from cashier to filing commented:
“Wow look at this name Cobina
Gladys Bradley. What a handle that
is!” I looked up and said, “Yes that
would be me.” We became life long
friends and the first two Educational
Advisors at Camosun College.

Mary Ellen King, who managed

Student Services, hired me and Patty.
She was a most beloved mentor,
giving me good advice that helped me
to effectively support students through
the planning and registration process
at Camosun. I felt fortunate that I Patty McKnight with Coby at one of many
could bring my own experience to this Halloween parties
work. I’d participated in the process
first hand: the obstacles for single parents; the complex life experiences
and the pain of life changes; as well as the financial burdens for those
entering into the post-secondary system for the first time.
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, January 2022

My life was like a river flowing and taking me along for the ride. My early
leanings toward art and biology and thoughts of becoming an illustrator
morphed into an appreciation of having a meaningful, interesting and
secure job which provided a regular income, health insurance and a
retirement fund.

However, I never lost the

desire to try new things.
At one point I even tried
my hand at collective
bargaining and headed up
our CUPE local. We
settled for a substantial
raise in pay during my
time as president.
However, I cannot take
credit for the increase as
many other locals in the
Province were settling for
double digits. This was
back in the day when
Coby in 1982 budgets were not as tight
for the college system.

Another position I was asked to take on at Camosun was that of First

Nations Officer. I replaced Isabel Dawson who had moved to Financial
Aid. This was one of the most challenging positions I held at the college. I
worked with local and Yukon Indigenous students. If I had ever felt
overlooked, sad, abandoned these feelings were nothing compared to
what the Indigenous students faced. Very early on I realized that the role
of First Nations Officer should be filled by an Indigenous person. This soon
happened. Prior to leaving the role, I had an experience, that I fondly
remember, of visiting Whitehorse, Yukon and travelling to Haynes Junction
to visit prospective students.

The next step in my career was to follow in the footsteps of Isabel Dawson
to become the Financial Aid Officer. Talk about stepping from the frying
pan into the fire! I remember watching my colleagues on Friday nights
leaving to go to their homes or out for Friday night drinks. Seeing the pile
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, January 2022

of applications for student loans overflowing my in-basket, I knew I had to

finish evaluating them before I left for the weekend. I recall having
students approach me in the washroom, the grocery store and, on
occasion, in the liquor store asking, “Coby, have you received my student
loan application?”. I knew from experience how desperate some of these
students were, so I did my best to get the documents evaluated and
submitted to the BC student loan program as quickly as possible.

While I was in Financial Aid I was seconded to the Ministry to develop the
Adult Basic Education Student Assistance Program (ABESAP). The
program was geared for students who, like me, were accessing post-
secondary education without the usual qualifications required for entry into
their chosen programs.

Camping on Pachena Beach

L to R: Coby, Sally Anvik, Pauline Vining, Faye Cook, Marge Koski

Front: Rae Smith
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, January 2022

Soon, I moved into another interesting project supported by the Ministry.

It involved the opening of the Women’s Centre at Landsdowne Campus.
One of the highlights of that position was to work with Ministry personnel
to develop a Mentorship Program for high school women interested in
learning more about a particular career. This was co-sponsored by an
international business women’s service club called ZONTA ,which I had
joined. Young high school women were were paired with business women
in the community. Many of the mentors were established in their fields
and included members of ZONTA. One particular young women who took
advantage of this program was a friend’s daughter. She couldn’t decide
whether to become a pilot or a photographer. She was paired with the
first female pilot for the BC government and did become a pilot while
keeping her photography as an important past time. She has had and
continues to have a very successful career as a pilot.

Another project in which I was involved was a five day special series for
women called, “Women’s Week”. The program objective was to expose
young women to entrepreneurial occupations using women already
established in their fields as role models, advisors and mentors. This was
another project involving my ZONTA sisters.

During these years, I continued honing my illustration skills by producing

the brochures and posters for many of the projects.

My next project was “Turning Point”, a full-time Continuing Ed program I

developed to help women returning to the workforce. This program was
challenging and fun. I was
able to draw on all my own
experiences to design a
program the focussed on the
specific needs of each
student. In fact, one of my
students eventually became a
full-time employee of
Camosun College.

Around that time, I was back

to Financial Aid under the
direction of the new guy in
town, Ed Fougner. Ed was a

L to R: Graham Matthews, Sally Anvik, Ed Fougner, Meghan

Lindsay, Coby
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, January 2022

delight and worked very hard to lighten my load. We became great friends
and I enjoyed my time working with him. I fondly recall him arriving, with
his wife, at one of our many Halloween parties dressed as Little Bo Peep.
At 6’4” he as quite the sight!

Carey Road Folks in the late 1980s

Back row L to R: Unidentified man, Suzanne Flanigan, Barb,
Bruce Scott, Bill Giglio, Ian Farmer, Patty Beatty-Guenter,
Faye Cook, Rae Smith, Joseph Calado
Front row L to R: Judi Corbin, Coby Herrington,
Victor Pasta, Dorothy Kirk

Later on, Patti Beatty-Guenter, who managed

Carey Road Campus, was seconded to
another project and I was very happy to move
into her position, trying hard to fill her shoes (a
difficult task indeed). That’s where I met the
Carey Road bunch. They were an amazing

Left - The Carey Bunch

Top row L to R: Patty Beatty-Guenter, Pat Hughes, Wendy Shaw
Next row L to R: Nancy Willinganz, Lynda Funston, Rae Smith,
Suzanne Flanigan
Bottom Row L to R: Faye Cook, Mary Ellen King, Cindy Shields
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, January 2022

group of competent and wonderful women.

Rae, Faye and so many others made my job a
joy. Rae and I became long term friends and
still see each other often.

By this time my kids were grown. My

daughter, Nicole, started her own educational
journey at Camosun and is now Madame
Registrar at the University of Victoria.
Between Nicole and I, we covered much of
Camosun’s 50 year history (1973 to 2016). My
son, Erin, opened Ogden Point Dive Centre, a
very successful business which he managed
Nicole Greengoe, Coby’s daughter
for a number of years. and Registrar at UVic

In 1990, I was well roasted when I left

Camosun and headed to Port Alberni to be
with my life partner at the time. I made North Island College my new
home, first developing and teaching a reentry program for women, then
becoming North Island’s first Educational Advisor. After a while my partner
and I moved to Aldergrove where I worked as a Financial Aid Officer at
UCFV before becoming the Manager, Special Programs.

I returned to the Island in 2000 to work at NIC in Financial Aide, replacing

Barry Bateman, an old friend of mine from Camosun, who was off on sick
leave. I then managed Student Services, until I retired in 2004.

So many people I met at Camosun became great friends who helped me

to shape my life. Barb Latham, Etta Conner, Barry Bateman, Al Fraser,
Rae Smith, Colleen Hanley are just a few of the many people I need to
thank for being great colleagues and friends.

Through all my years working in post-secondary education, I continued my

own education and finally earned a multi-disciplinary Bachelors degree
through the Open Learning University.

I have recently, and happily, returned to Victoria where so much positive

change happened for me. I have, once again, started to immerse myself in
my love of art and its many opportunities.
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, January 2022

Some of Coby’s colourful

paintings

Being with my children and grandchildren and wonderful long time friends
makes me whole. My son, Erin, his wife Julie and their two youngest
children (Georgia and Finn), are in Bamfield carving out a life and business.
Erin’s older kids, Coleton, a welder, and Alex, a student in Engineering at
UBC, are charting their own life journeys. My daughter, Nicole, and her
husband, Tim, are pursuing their careers. Their eldest son, Benjamin has
his own construction business, while their youngest, Chris, is a high
school student and high performing athlete.
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, January 2022

Above: Coby’s son, Erin,

with his youngest child, Finn

Upper Right: Coby with her grandson,

Christopher. The painting in the background is
by Coby’s brother, Richard.

And the journey continues. . .