Photo: Miranda (Mir) Guard inspects an eager beaver student's initial efforts at salvaging valuable copper. Rural Alberta Report / David Nadeau

In my 25 years of schooling, no teacher ever let me use her nickname.

Until now.

Meet Miranda Guard, an eager-beaver Rehoboth Christian Ministries client on Main Street in Three Hills.

Mir.

I can live with that.

"Hey, Mir," I asked, "teach me how to strip wire."

Looked easy. Not so much, but after a few, "No, not like that!" exclamations, I got it right, and Mir was satisfied, gently edging me aside to resume her let-me-at-it passion.

Client service worker May Dolores describes Mir as highly focused, saying she would "work on wire all day if we let her." No surprise, Mir was involved with Rehoboth's techno-trash (computer disassembly) for over 20 years and wire stripping for almost as long.

With copper hovering at about eight dollars a kilogram, Mir and Rehoboth won't get rich, but what funds are earned help the vocational center cover some grocery and activity expenses.

My sitting in Mir's "classroom" is a convenient segway from copper wire to an Anderson Park celebration just over a week ago. There's Rehoboth's Executive Director Kevin Martens from Edmonton, helping the group celebrate 50 years of service in Alberta and 30 years in Three Hills. 

"Rehoboth provides services in 50 homes from Grande Prairie to Coaldale," he said. "We have client houses and vocational programs in ten Alberta communities. All that, and 550 staff supporting 235 clients."

While we know Mir enjoyed Anderson Park hot dogs and a decorated cake saying "make a difference every day", we can also be sure she was just as pleased to resume producing "bare bright" copper at the vocational center. Without having to teach me.

"She doesn't miss a day," said Mrs. Dolores.

"Yeah," chimed in Mir, "you have to be smart to do what I do, and you have to work hard!"