After a day of classes in the Business Administration Program deepening his knowledge and prepping for his future, Selkirk College student Brady Stocks hits the books. Sharpening his pencil for homework is one part, but making sure his newly purchased small business in the Chahko Mika Mall is running smoothly is a brand new after-class priority.
At the beginning of 2025, Stocks made the bold move to purchase one of Nelson’s beloved small retail outlets. Stuart’s News has been a go-to stop in the city’s main shopping mall for decades, selling newspapers, magazines, lottery tickets, tobacco products, puzzles, games, trading cards and knick knacks.
“It kind of feels like a lab,” the 20-year-old says of his fresh endeavor. “During the day, I’m in school taking notes and learning, then I come here and use some of what I’ve learned in this business. It makes me understand the course material way better because I’m not just studying for a test. When I come here, it’s a real-life situation and everything counts. It makes it ten-times easier to understand and helps me problem solve when different situations come up.”
Raised to appreciate the value of hard work, Stocks has been balancing several jobs with school since he was attending LV Rogers Secondary in Nelson. When he started working at Stuart’s News in Grade 11 with very little retail experience, he quickly embraced the satisfaction of customer service.
Previous owner Darlene Struty took the reins of Stuart’s News in 2019 and in late-2024 informed her small staff of three that it was time to retire from the business. Seeing an opportunity to keep a community mainstay bustling along in the mall, Stocks decided to take the plunge into business ownership. With support from family, he transitioned into the new elevated role in January.
“It’s big jump from employee to owner, but Darlene did a really great job showing me the back-end of the business,” Stocks says. “I have a lot of support from my family and my friends who are with me 100 per cent, which has made me more confident. I have the resources with my dad, with Darlene and with my teachers at Selkirk College. If I need to reach out, these people are here for me.”
Stocks is easing into ownership, but has already started to put fresh ideas into practice. Staying loyal to the needs of long-time customers, he’s sticking with the traditional offerings of a good old-fashioned newsstand, but is expanding in areas that appeal to a demographic that’s more familiar. With a resurgence in sports trading cards, the continued popularity of items such as Pokemon cards and the growth of role-playing games, Stocks is expanding that part of the business.
Opportunities Enhanced Close to Home
A member of LVR’s Class of 2022, Stocks pondered leaving the region to pursue his first steps in post-secondary. When he took a closer look at his local community college and realized he wasn’t exactly sure of his direction, the choice to attend Selkirk College was simple.
Like many local students, Stocks wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when he arrived on the Castlegar Campus. It didn’t take long for him to realize he made the right choice.
“Many of my friends from high school did go to different schools across BC, so I was worried that I would be taking notes at the back of the class and then just going straight home,” says Stocks. “That certainly wasn’t case, I have met so many new people from Castlegar and Trail that I didn’t even know. With the small classes, I even had a chance to build connections with the teachers. Student life at Selkirk College is phenomenal because there are so many opportunities to meet new people and you build lifelong connections.”
Other than cutting post-secondary costs by staying close to home, the decision also helped fuel Stocks’ other primary passion of hockey refereeing. Stocks played rep-level hockey as a goaltender, but his parents pushed him to understand the game better by becoming an on-ice official. Turns out he was good at it and continued to stay involved even after hanging up the competitive goalie pads.
Between balancing being a full-time student and new business owner, Stocks spends most weekends refereeing Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) games that can take him from Kelowna to Invermere and everywhere in-between. He’s also referee-in-chief for the Nelson Minor Hockey Association, where he’s charged with tasks such as mentoring young officials and making schedules. It’s a passion he plans on continuing with hopes of getting to even higher levels of the sport.
Stocks will graduate this spring with a Business Administration Accounting Finance Diploma and then plans on transferring to a degree-granting university—Selkirk College has tremendous transfer partnerships—where he will complete his bachelor’s degree on-line. The ultimate goal with his education is to earn his Chartered Professional Accounting (CPA) designation.
“It’s going to be a lot of work, but once school is over it will set me up perfectly for the next step,” says Stocks, who is clearly excellent at time-management. “Getting a chance to be a business owner while going to school is teaching me more than I could have hoped. My favourite part is the customers and I am proud to be a business owner in the community that I grew up in.”
Learn more about opportunities in the School of Business.
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.