Joshua Langill, Class of 2020, came to Lakeland College hoping to find opportunities to excel in a dynamic industry: real estate appraisal and assessment (REAA).
His father-in-law, Gordon Petrunik, recommended the business administration program, telling Langill appraisal and assessment is a solid industry with many opportunities in it. And as an REAA Class of 1990 grad, Petrunik was speaking from experience.
Before Langill even graduated from the diploma program's REAA major, he secured a position as administrator for the town of Maidstone, Sask.
“Attending Lakeland was a fantastic experience,” Langill says. “The course work is interesting, engaging and wide-ranging. I came out of my program with knowledge not only of assessing property values, but also business and assessing investments. I came out with knowledge that brought a huge value to my life and would bring value to anyone who took that program.”
He credits instructor Ken Rutherford with helping him excel in his studies.
Langill says, “Ken is hands down one of the best teachers I've ever had. He really cares about every one of his students and gives them all the time they need. He never makes you feel like you should already know something.”
Langill also explains that Rutherford tries to ensure his students know of the career opportunities that exist for graduates of the program. When Rutherford received an open letter from the former administrator of Maidstone searching for candidates who might be interested in taking over the position, he shared it with the class. Langill was intrigued by the possibilities and successfully applied.
In his role, Langill explains, “The administrator represents the people of the community to council and represents the council to the people. You're the ultimate facilitator in the community.”
On a day-to-day basis, this could mean handling property and taxation, keeping records and minutes of council meetings, handling bylaws and legislation, filling out grant applications to receive funding for roads and infrastructure, or working with Public Works on upcoming projects. It's an all-encompassing position with a wide variety of responsibilities.
“I'm basically the assessor, treasurer and clerk of Maidstone,” he says. “Lakeland really prepared me so well for this opportunity. The overall business education I received through my first year and then specializing in my second helped prepare me for this. In a sense, a municipality is a corporation in how it operates. Ultimately, council trusts the administrator's advice so they need the advice of someone who knows about business, and my ability to understand all that because of my Lakeland education is absolutely a huge asset to my job.”
After graduating from Lakeland, Langill and his wife relocated to Maidstone. Langill is thriving in his new role and is excited to recommend the program and industry to anyone who might be interested.
“If communities are writing open letters to colleges looking for applicants, there is a lot of opportunity in this industry,” Langill explains. “And it's such an interesting field to work in. I would gladly talk to any student or person who might be interested in learning more about all the opportunities in this field. I never thought I would be the kind of person that would enjoy coming to work every day and solving problems, but I do. It's such a big part of what I do. I am 100 per cent enjoying it. It's the best job I've ever had.”
Photo: Joshua Langill stands next to Maidstone rock.