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Engineering alum delighted to come full circle with Oulton-Stanish Centre

As a student, Nathan Barrett (BEng’17) never thought he might one day help shape Dalhousie’s campus. The opportunity to be project manager of the new Oulton-Stanish Centre was a dream come true.
Barrett standing with arms crossed, smiling under the roof of the construction site of the centre.

Posted: October 4, 2024

By: Emm Campbell

It never occurred to Nathan Barrett (BEng’17) that one day he might return to Dalhousie to oversee a construction project like the new Oulton-Stanish Centre.

“It’s too close to home to think that’s what you’d get to do,” says Barrett, project manager at EllisDon. “It seemed more likely that I’d be off somewhere doing residential or office buildings. So, when the company asked if I would like the chance to run my own job and told me what it was, I said yes.”

Being offered this opportunity was a real honour for Barrett. But he admits conversations with his former Dal instructors about his involvement in this highly anticipated new arena have been a bit surreal. “I took a steel structures course from Kevin Bezanson and saw him at the puck-drop ceremony announcing the groundbreaking,” Barrett says. “I told him I’d be using that knowledge on this project, and he said that’s why he teaches. He loves moments like this where he discovers a student is giving back to Dal.”

Satisfying a lifelong curiosity

In some ways, Barrett’s life has been building up to this project. Both of his parents are Dal alumni and he spent a lot of time on Studley Campus as a youth playing soccer at Wickwire Field.

“I remember we used to park near Memorial Arena, which fascinated me because it had a really interesting roof,” Barrett recalls. “I was always curious about what was in there, but never got to have a look.”

Barrett found another outlet for that curiosity: taking apart household items such as VCRs and TV remotes to see how they worked. “I didn’t always put them back together,” he admits, laughing. “There is something about knowing exactly what something does or how you can make it better that has always appealed to me.”

Based on that interest, Barrett initially dreamed of being a carpenter like his father. He ultimately decided engineering spoke more to him and that brought him back to Dalhousie as a student. “I liked the approach to learning here,” he says. “My professors went over designs in rigorous detail and gave me situations where I had to work out the solution. That encouraged creativity, learning, and understanding.”

Building with pride and purpose

Dalhousie also opened the door for Barrett to do a summer internship with EllisDon in 2013, which led to a job offer upon graduation. Through projects such as Irving Oil’s home office in Saint John, N.B., and the Bayers Lake Community Outpatient Centre, he earned promotions and expertise, as well as the opportunity to project manage the Oulton-Stanish Centre.

“It appealed to me as a full-circle moment, but also because of the challenges involved with an ice surface, such as ensuring that the building envelope is tight enough to keep it cool in the middle of a heat wave,” he says. “That goes back to my passion for problem solving.”

Although there have been learning curves along the way, such as the building’s mechanical and electrical systems, Barrett says all is going well with the project. He credits that to the knowledge he has gained from Dal, his experience on previous projects, and the great team that is working alongside him.

“Everybody is approaching the centre with pride and purpose to ensure that it is built correctly,” he says. 
Barrett standing, smiling from an upper level under the roof of the construction site of the centre.

Barrett is now focused on completing the project, which he believes will be transformative for students, faculty, and the community. “It’s going to be huge for varsity athletes because they’ll have a space to call their own,” he says. “I can see minor hockey players who come in for recreational leagues calling it home. And there’ll be people coming here for physio at the new clinic. I know there’ll be a lot of joy felt in this building and it’s nice to be part of that.”

But the real joy for Barrett will come when he finally gets to share the new centre with his wife, Alyssa (BA’17, BSW’19).

“Just weeks before I was offered this opportunity, we did a rugby-style engagement photoshoot at the far end of Wickwire Field overlooking the job site,” Barrett says. “I cannot wait to take her through and show her what I have been talking about all this time.”

A man and woman hold a rugby ball together behind them overlooking a sports field.