Exemplary Young Employee

Brenda Chomyshen
Payroll Administrator – Field project clerk , Doran Stewart Oilfield Service (1990) Ltd.

When Brenda Chomyshen, 23, applied for an office position with Doran Stewart Oilfield Service after working as a field labourer, controller Brenda Herman had some doubts.

But Chomyshen’s drive to grow within the company, plus her background in business administration, convinced Herman she was a good risk. “She showed initiative to improve and knew where she wanted to go,” Herman says.

A goaltender who represented Canada and Alberta at the World Women’s Hockey championship in Prague in 2000, Chomyshen quickly proved herself. She became a field administrator, setting up and managing a remote field office in northern British Columbia, managing payroll for 150 employees and more than 30 subcontractors, logging 10 hours a day, seven days a week under adverse conditions. After successfully completing the gruelling three-month project, Chomyshen soon was hired as payroll administrator for the entire 430-employee company.

“The company gave me a chance to learn, and learn from my mistakes,” Chomyshen says. “They will sit down and talk to you. I get great support from the bosses.”

Herman looks for people who have a spark, those potential employees who have a desire to improve themselves, and who have a goal. “Employees who have a focus tend to stay longer,” she says. “They have a goal, are willing to put the hours in to achieve it, and we work to support them in their goal.”

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