Follow your intuition and job opportunities will come
By Mallory Cawthra
Christine Broderick loves unique interactions with ferry passengers as an operator at the Estuary Ferry. Located in Southwestern Saskatchewan near the hamlet of Estuary, the Estuary Ferry is a toll-free cable ferry run by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure. The ferry is seasonal (it doesn’t operate when the river is frozen), with a six-car capacity and closes down for the winter months. Christine recounted one such unique interaction of listening to coyotes on a night shift when a ferry passenger approached with his horse to cross over the South Saskatchewan river. Getting to catch the sunrise and take in peaceful views of the river, while listening to wildlife, round out some of the perks. A rewarding part of her shift is recommending local attractions and events to ferry passengers and tourists alike. Christine appreciates each and every interaction and being able to have a conversation with everyone that travels across the river.
In addition to being a ferry operator, Christine is also involved with tourism in Southwestern Saskatchewan. Following her intuition, three years ago she quit a full-time teaching job that she loved - joining Leader Tourism and embarking on blogging, social media content creation and tourism-based writing endeavors throughout the Southwest. This was before she was getting paid for her efforts, and she continued to take on substituting jobs to pay the bills, but she didn’t know where her unique path would lead.
Last year, with the COVID-19 pandemic transitioning teaching to online learning, there weren’t any substitute teaching jobs available for Christine. The ferry operator position became available and she decided to give it a try; working at the Estuary Ferry has afforded Christine interesting opportunities such as recently being contracted out to create a video about the ferry. Always a self-professed “world traveller,” Christine started blogging in order to further explore her own backyard. Christine currently still takes on substitute teaching opportunities while continually networking and building connections within the tourism sector. She has found that many job opportunities have presented themselves since beginning on her tourism journey and she wears many hats, but Christine Broderick wouldn’t have it any other way. Meeting new people, building strong connections and networking within the tourism community have diversified her work portfolio and made it all worthwhile.
Working at the Estuary Ferry has opened up other opportunities for Christine Broderick.
PHOTOS MALLORY CAWTHRA (click for larger images)
