Everybody has that one teacher.
For Sean Coote, it was Nelson LaCroix, the program co-ordinator for Human Resources Management at Niagara College. Retracing Coote’s steps to becoming NC’s Vice-President, International, it may well be LaCroix who set him on that path.
“He was instrumental in my education but also my career,” Coote recalled. “He had a way of teaching and engaging classes that I really liked and admired. I wanted him to teach me.”
So Coote was all ears when LaCroix came to him 25 years ago to tell him about a co-op opportunity in the College’s then-tiny international division running summer programs for students.
Coote already interviewed for a placement with a local school board and was offered the job. Still, the idea of a work term at NC held serious allure when he heard the job description.
“The position was described to me as you get international students coming in and you get to take them to places like Canada’s Wonderland. I was 19 years old. I thought this was a great way to spend a summer,” he said.
Coote got the gig. Now some 25 years later, he’s heading up a division that’s grown significantly since ushering international students to all the attractions all those summers ago.
That summer, the international department had four employees and 45 students; it has now grown to 5,000 students and more than 100 staff. Its focus is no longer just bringing the world to Niagara via college programming. It delivers market-driven, life- and economy-changing education around the globe.
And Coote was there through it all, wearing various hats, including director of International, until being selected as vice-president last December.
In his latest role, Coote plans to continue building his team, which he noted has weathered the pandemic with aplomb. Expanding study and work abroad opportunities are on his to-do list, as are growing Niagara College’s off-shore campuses and operations.
“If we can do that well in the next five to 10 years, we’ll truly make Niagara regarded as one of Canada’s most global colleges,” he said. “ We’ve come a long way and I am really excited about having the opportunity to lead the next leg of the NC International journey over the coming years.”
The impact of Niagara’s international students on the region can’t be understated, Coote added. They’ve transformed everything from the local dining scene to the rental market to the local workforce.
The sky literally was the limit for Coote and his career when he was still in high school in Niagara-on-the-Lake. He had a part-time job working at Niagara District Airport and contemplated becoming a commercial pilot. He decided on something business-related instead, drawing inspiration from his entrepreneurial family.
Coote enrolled in human resources management at Niagara, graduated in 1995, and has been here ever since.
In addition to career advancement, he was encouraged to keep learning and upgrading his skills. A former director suggested he transfer his three-year college diploma into a university degree, so he enrolled at Niagara University in Lewiston, NY.
Studying and working proved a tough balance, however. Coote’s work required a lot of travel. That made attending class difficult.
Coote finished his degree online at Centenary College in Hackettstown, NJ, instead, though he made the trip to the small town west of New York City to walk across the stage for his Bachelor of Science in business management when he finished.
He’ll never forget the celebratory cookies and orange drink he was served afterward. It only made him love and appreciate his workplace all the more for the tapas and other fixings the Canadian Food and Wine Institute serves during convocation here.
Coote was still hungry to learn and grow, going on to do an accelerated master’s degree, all while raising a young family.
Meanwhile, at work, Canada’s policies were changing when it came to attracting international students. In a short 10-year span, international enrolment at Niagara College exploded.
“That journey from a humble Niagara College with 45 (international students) to 5,000 students, and the growth of study-work abroad opportunities, has changed the landscape of the college. It’s truly made us a global college.”
“The cultural diversity and richness our international students have brought to the community is truly phenomenal,” he said. “The richness of the cultural perspective they bring to an employer, the contacts they bring into Niagara region is truly enriching for Niagara region. Our international students have changed Niagara region for the better.”
Niagara’s International division has also made the classroom more accessible elsewhere in the world. Coote and the team in International have taken the Niagara College teaching model to other countries, including reforming technical and vocational education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was the largest overhaul of an educational system ever at the time.
And that’s what’s compelled Coote to carve his career at the college. It’s not just the opportunity NC has provided him. It’s what the College has offered others.
“The problems we help (students) work through is inspiring to me all the time. Seeing that diversity of the student experience — everyone has challenges in their path — and seeing students’ lives change through education keeps me grounded every day,” Coote said. “I really believe education changes lives.”
