DARYL HOFMANN
News Writer

Three University of Saskatchewan students have been short-listed for what the provincial government has dubbed “the best summer job ever.”

In a bid to showcase the province and boost tourism, the Ministry of Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport has created the province explorer job of “Saskatchewanderer.”

According to the official website, responsibilities will include developing a summer calendar of events to attend, then updating the Saskatchewanderer blog with videos, pictures and stories along the way. The job pays between $16 and $20 dollars per hour, with a minimum work-load of 40 hours per week.

Originally, more than 60 post-secondary students from across the province applied via YouTube video, which was judged by the ministry and narrowed down to just 10. From this stage on, the government will rely on online voting to decide the best candidate.

Devon Hennig, Nathan Thoen and Carley Winter — all currently students at the U of S — made it past the YouTube round and on to the first voting stage. Both Hennig and Thoen are studying at the Edwards School of Business, while Winter is majoring in fine arts with a minor in entrepreneurship.

All three students have their own unique approach to the position.

Hennig, a local of Swift Current, is a seasoned traveller who has lived and blogged in New York City. Presently, he is finishing up the last year of a marketing degree and is the valedictorian of his graduating class. In his Saskatchewanderer profile, Hennig claims that, “marketing complements [his] endless appetite for social media,” and notes his experience writing blogs and editing video.

Thoen, too, has valuable experience running a blog after launching thegrizzlyden.ca more than two years ago. The website is a collaboration between Thoen and a handful of his friends from Prince Albert, which is regularly updated with snowboard videos, music and pictures.

Thoen also boasts skill shooting and editing video, which showed in one of the funnier and more professional YouTube videos out of the candidates.

“We filmed [the Saskatchewanderer video] the day before it was due, and then just tried to make it go viral,” said Thoen, who honed his video creation talent working on skateboarding and snowboarding videos with his brother.

“If I get the job, everywhere I go I will be taking a vehicle, so I want to make a sign-up sheet for friends, family, people I don’t know — I don’t really care. Any one who wants to come with me can come with the crew,” said Thoen.

His all-inclusive mentality comes from his own experiences in the province.

“People don’t go to Rider games, music festivals or lakes alone, they go with a group of friends. If you want to make the province look fun, bring people,” said Thoen.

Winter, who originally hails from Regina and moved to Saskatoon four years ago, has her own skill-set she believes will make for the best Saskatchewanderer. She says studying entrepreneurship has taught her the importance of social media. This, coupled with her background in photography, will let her take the position to the “next level.”

“I think what this job is really about is changing the image of Saskatchewan. Not necessarily because it needs to change, it’s just we need more pride in our province,” said Winter.

“There are so many beautiful places and so much going on that we don’t hear about. We have a diverse group of people, including a huge Aboriginal demographic, so we need to promote this, embrace it and take down those barriers and walls. If I can go to these places, and share with other people the rich cultural diversity, that is huge — that is what this job is about,” said Winter.

Devon Henning

Nathan Thoen

Carley Winter