Ninety per cent of Cypher Environmental’s employees are RRC Polytech graduates. That’s not a coincidence.

The company has built a strong connection with the College and actively seeks out grads who are ready to tackle real-world challenges—a must in the manufacturing industry.

“Red River is home for a lot of us,” said Dr. Teaghan Wellman, Executive Vice-President and Vice-President of Research and Development at Cypher.

“The College does a fantastic job of giving students the opportunity to get their feet wet—not just in a perfect situation, but what might actually take place—on a manufacturing floor or in a research project,” adds the 2016 grad, who completed a post-graduate diploma at RRC Polytech in Quality Assurance and Quality Control in the Pharmaceutical Industry.

Wellman knows this firsthand. What started as a short-term research role at Cypher turned into a decade-long career leading one of Manitoba’s most innovative environmental companies.

Today, she helps develop sustainable road solutions used in more than 60 countries—and it all began with an unexpected opportunity at RRC Polytech.

The Road to Real-world Exposure

Wellman’s path to Cypher wasn’t part of some carefully laid-out career plan. It happened because she stayed open to opportunities.

After earning a Bachelor of Science from the University of Manitoba, she wasn’t sure what was next. A master’s degree felt like the obvious choice, but she wanted something more applied to bridge the gap between theory and industry.

That’s what led her to RRC Polytech’s Post Graduate Diploma in Quality Assurance and Quality Control in the Pharmaceutical Industry.

“The program had a diverse course load,” she said. “There were different courses in not only the pharmaceutical industry but also general manufacturing and quality control.”

She describes her time at RRC Polytech as creative, hands-on, and motivating. Unlike traditional academic programs, where learning often stays theoretical, RRC Polytech provided Wellman with real-world exposure.

“When you have to do something, don’t think, ‘I have to do this’. Look at it as an opportunity and say, ‘I get to do this.’”

This motto guides Shannon Bunn, Funding Officer at Treaty One Nations, in her work, family life, and community involvement.

A proud member of Brokenhead Ojibway Nation with family ties to Sandy Bay Ojibway Nation, Bunn has spent her career serving urban Indigenous communities and helping build self-reliance and strength for First Nations in Manitoba.

In 2012, as a young parent, Bunn planned to enroll in the Early Childhood Education program at Red River College Polytechnic (RRC Polytech). When the program was full, an advisor recommended the Business Administration program, which then offered a flexible, three-year option for students returning to education.

“I was able to commit to my education and my family at the same time because of that program,” Bunn said.

The program’s supportive environment made a big difference. Bunn appreciated the small class sizes, hands-on learning, and inclusion of Indigenous knowledge. “There was a high rate of Indigenous students in the classroom, which made me feel more comfortable venturing into something new,” she said.

Bunn recalls a communications class with instructor Lyall Krahn as a turning point. “I remember questioning why I was in the program and what I wanted to do after,” she said. “He gave me good words of encouragement, shared his experiences working with Indigenous communities, and told me how well I was doing. That gave me the confidence to continue with the program.”

A Career in Community

The skills Bunn gained at RRC Polytech became the foundation of her career. After graduating in 2015, she brought her skills to the non-profit sector, working to support and strengthen Indigenous communities. Her desire to make a difference comes from her upbringing in Winnipeg’s North End.

“I grew up there and could relate to many of the stories of the youth and children in the area and wanted to make a positive impact on their lives,” she said.

Katherine Westwood first joined Relish Ideas as an intern.

Little more than a decade later, they’re stepping up to big responsibilities as a principal and Director of Product Development with the Winnipeg design and digital-strategy firm.

“It happened gradually, then all at once,” quipped Westwood, a 2013 Digital Media Design honours graduate, reflecting on the still-fresh promotion. “It’s a little surreal.”

“I advanced in fits and starts. I took on tutorials and then more duties as a junior and then senior web-developer.”

Hired off their internship, Westwood knew right away Relish was the place for them.

“When I filled out my work-placement form at Red River, I said I wanted to go someplace quiet. That’s Relish; everyone is focused, using headphones. It was my dream workplace. It was where I belonged.”

“From the start, I was given my own project as an intern. I was fortunate to get coaching from (Relish principal) James Black.”

It was during their annual review two years ago that Westwood was asked what they wanted to accomplish at Relish.

“I turned it around and asked ‘What do YOU want to see from me. What is YOUR long-term goal for me?’”

So began the career-development conversation that led to Westwood assuming new roles this past August.

Westwood has worked more closely with Black during their time with the firm. Now, as a principal, Westwood is also collaborating with Suzanne Braun, who founded Relish as a one-person studio in 1998.

The firm has grown since then, expanding its business from graphic design to a broader set of digital capabilities. Relish now employs 29 people.

Westwood will aim to keep that momentum going. As Director of Product Development, they are working to commercialize technology, lead special projects, and develop unique applications for Relish clients.

Kevin Wasylenko has the ability to reach into the future through his life’s work.

The Winnipeg-based landscape horticulturalist has turned his lifelong passion for plants and trees into a rewarding – one might even say blossoming – career with the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF), the National Government of the Red River Métis.

“In the realm of horticulture, and with positions in the green industry, you get this really profound chance to leave a legacy,” Wasylenko explained, seated in a trendy coffee shop.

“As long as you’re planting things and following the right systems or protocol to make sure those plants are able to succeed, you can leave a mark that may last hundreds of years. I think that’s powerful for the entire green industry, and anyone who works with plants,” he said.

“Trees aren’t going out of style anytime soon,” he said with a smile.

Wasylenko is a 2019 graduate of RRC Polytech’s Landscape Horticulturalist apprenticeship program. He earned his Red Seal designation with Apprenticeship Manitoba the following year.

Today, as Green Initiatives Coordinator for the Energy, Infrastructure, and Resource Management Department of MMF, he is leading the Métis government’s ambitious pledge to plant 2 million trees and shrubs across the Red River Métis national homeland. He also sits on the Board of Directors for the Manitoba Nursery Landscape Association, and even teaches horticulture workshops.

In November of 2024, Apprenticeship Manitoba recognized Wasylenko as Rural Journeyperson of the Year at its 18^th annual Awards of Distinction at the RBC Convention Centre in Winnipeg, celebrating the work he has done to educate and develop Manitoba’s skilled trades workforce.

Red Seal apprenticeship appealing

Wasylenko grew up near Richer and Ste-Geneviève, southeast of Winnipeg.

“I’ve always had a close connection to nature,” he said. He remembers many daytrips berry-picking with family and neighbours, many of whom were also Métis.

In his youth, Wasylenko grew up in the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets program and had plans to join the Royal Canadian Navy. “But, at 18, I wanted to take some time to see what was out there,” he remembered.

He picked up a landscaping job and worked it for a year or so. “A family member reached out and told me the landscape work I was doing actually qualified me for the Apprenticeship Manitoba Landscape Horticulturist trade. My hours could be put towards eligibility for technical training,” he said.

Gavin Taylor is not only “Polytechnic Proud” – he’s Portage la Prairie proud as well.

“Portage la Prairie produces lots of bright, young people who can make a positive impact on this community,” said Taylor, 27, of his hometown.

“Some chase their dreams elsewhere but they can always come back and make this community a great place to live. We need them here.”

You can say as much of Taylor, a 2021 graduate of RRC Polytech’s Business/Technology Teacher Education program.

He’s now in his fourth year as an Applied Commerce Teacher at Portage Collegiate Institute (PCI), where he was once a student.

“I always said I’d take the best job available that suited me. I wanted to be a full-time business teacher. I wanted something rural. I thought it would be somewhere else; it turned out to be Portage.

“My second year, I became the lead business teacher. And the room I inherited was the same room where I studied when I was a student. A lot of the staff were also the same – except now I was calling them by their first name.”

More than 1,100 students attend PCI. As Portage la Prairie’s lone public high school, it reflects all the challenges, opportunities and potential of the city itself.

“Our students are from all walks of life. The demographics are similar to those of Winnipeg’s inner-city schools. We have challenges but there are really great things coming out of our classrooms.”

Taylor teaches a range of business courses for grades nine through 12. The school store plays a big role in the learning. Students order products, take inventory, launch promotions and generally learn how a business operates.

Meanwhile, a venture development course has students seeing their own business ideas to fruition. The course builds up to a tradeshow day in May when students show off their work to the public, including local media.

“We make things as real-world as possible. And whether a student goes on to establish their own enterprise or become an employee, they’re gaining skills that really transcend business.”

Family and nature have profoundly influenced RRC Polytech grad Erin Ringland’s artistic journey. Drawing from these inspirations, she partnered with the College to design the 2024 Orange Shirt in support of the Mínwastánikéwin Award and to honour the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, otherwise known as Orange Shirt Day.

Ringland, born and raised in Winnipeg and a member of Kistiganwacheeng (Garden Hill) First Nation, is a Digital Media Design alumna and currently works as a front-end application developer for the First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba. Her work in graphic design and layout programming is rooted in her love of art, recreating scenes from nature, and following in the footsteps of many family members.

“I was surrounded by art growing up – whoever’s house I was at, whether it was my parents’, my kookoom’s, my cousins’ – there were always paintings hanging on the walls along with family portraits,” said Ringland.

She credits her auntie Irene Miller for nurturing her passion for drawing at an early age. She spent hours with her auntie, watching her sketch images and providing prompts for what she wanted to see on paper. Miller died in 2003 when Ringland was six years old – the time she spent with her, though, profoundly impacted Ringland, and she continued to draw even after the loss.

“She was the driving force behind my art,” said Ringland. “I always think of her when I draw – in a way, it’s how I keep her with me.”

Jacques Lavergne was on a snowboard in Whistler, BC, when he fell in love with the hospitality and tourism industry.

“It caught me by surprise to be honest,” admitted the 2001 graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s popular Business Administration program. “Growing up, working in a hotel just wasn’t on my radar.”

Now the General Manager of Delta Hotels by Marriott Winnipeg, Lavergne left his hometown of Winnipeg for the slopes of Whistler after finishing high school at École Précieux-Sang in St. Boniface.

“I decided to head to Whistler for a season of snowboarding, and I stayed for four years,” said Lavergne with a wink, seated in the Blaze Restaurant and Lounge off the Delta Winnipeg’s lobby.

To cover his rent and living expenses, Lavergne found a job bussing tables at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler resort and spa. “It’s a beautiful hotel in a nice setting,” he remembered. “That job was my first taste of hospitality and tourism, and I quickly became completely enamored. I fell in love with the industry.”

His passion still burns brightly after some 30 years in the business. “I love the fact that every day in my job is completely different from the last. You get to meet some phenomenal people,” he said.

The Delta Winnipeg welcomes more than 200,000 guests on an annual basis. “We host sports teams, people from the film industry and big concerts; we host international conferences,” he said.

“I know it’s a cliché expression, but again, every day is different here,” said Lavergne, who started in his current leadership role in 2022.

As head of the hotel’s five-member executive management team, Lavergne oversees approximately 220 staff. Associate engagement is a top priority at all Marriott Hotels, he said.

“Making sure our staff are happy and want to work here is paramount. Everything we do focuses on making them happy first, with the idea that everything else will follow.”

Business Administration program the best fit

Lavergne packed up his snowboard and returned to Winnipeg in 1998, working for a year as a bartender. He came home with his eye on the Business Administration program at RRC Polytech, although he considered the Hospitality and Tourism Management program as well.

“I had some great hospitality experience from my time in Whistler, but I felt like I needed some more education,” he said. “I wanted to get into something more at a hotel management level.”

Golf can be a relaxing pastime for some and a frustrating obsession for others. But for Business Administration grad Guido Cerasani, golf has been the beating heart behind 31 years of community and family at Shooters Family Golf Centre.

Shooters is well-known in Winnipeg as the city’s only privately-owned 18-hole course. Open year-round, it features a par-57 course, a driving range that includes grass tees, a miniature golf course, and a pro shop. The 2731 Main Street location sits at the edge of the city and also boasts a restaurant and outdoor patio.

It’s an impressively diverse business. For Cerasani, though, having family involved at every level is the best part. His son Eason runs the pro shop and daughter Amy leads the restaurant operations and food services. Both are also RRC Polytech graduates.  Cerasani’s wife, Sue, is also a big part of the family aspect behind the ‘Family Golf Centre’.

“We’re fortunate because our kids were born and raised at the golf course, so they spend every day of their lives with us,” said Cerasani. “One of the pre-requisites of them taking over management operations is that they had to graduate from the Business Administration program at RRC Polytech, and they both did. So yeah, it’s a family affair.”

Cerasani graduated from the College’s Business Administration program in 1978. Shortly after, he began a successful 20-year banking career with TD. While he originally thought of himself as handy man in high school and envisioned a future as an electrician, success in early computing — and a bit of luck — changed everything for Cerasani when he decided to divert from a friend group attending university and instead opted to fast-track his financial career with hands-on learning at RRC Polytech.

“Everybody says ‘you know what you’re going to do’, but I really had no idea what I was going to do,” he said. “In high school, I took typing classes and it turns out it was the best class I ever took in my life because I could type 65 words per minute. Then when I got into banking, we had to do a lot of our own typing.”

“That said, I like to fix things and build things, I like to tinker and make electronic devices, and because of that I thought I’d be something of a mechanical guy, doing something with my hands and not working in an office. But you just never know – at least, I didn’t know right away.”

“Going to RRC Polytech was the best decision I ever made, because if I hadn’t gone there, I don’t think I would be the businessman I am today.”

Guido Cerasani, RRC Polytech graduate (Business Administration, 1978)

On the big stage, the moment was not too big for Julie Sundara.

Weeks after being one of the alumni guest speakers at RRC Polytech’s Spring Convocation, the Medical Radiologic Technology (MRT) alum and now clinical instructor for MRT students recounted the emotional experience.

“I was terrified beforehand,” she said, laughing. “I walked into the room early and I saw all these empty seats and felt the pit in my stomach. If you know the Eminem song ‘Lose Yourself’, that’s how I felt. This was my moment to step up.”

The nerves went away as Sundara shared hard-earned wisdom as the daughter of Laotian immigrants, as a student who struggled at times, and as an MRT professional.

“Your careers and your achievements are not only for you,” Sundara said at the convocation ceremony, speaking to a huge audience that included the graduating students of health sciences and information systems programs. “They’re a tribute to those who supported, encouraged, and mentored you. Honour your teachers, friends, and family by finding joy in your careers.”

After completing the two-year MRT program in 2008, Sundara began working with Shared Health at Health Sciences Centre (HSC). As a frontline radiologic technologist at Manitoba’s busiest trauma hospital, she gained experience ranging from in-patient treatment and the emergency department to the operating room and the morgue. Day shifts, night shifts, and double shifts were all part of the mix.

It’s a challenging field and there’s more to taking an X-ray than many people know, Sundara said.

“There’s an art,” she explained. “It’s not just pushing buttons. It’s like shooting pool – you think about the angles to shoot. Since bones are not square – they’re round, curved, sharp – you have to demonstrate the bones with different views. It takes proper positioning and an understanding of pathology, diseases, and what that looks like on an X-ray. You need to determine how strong and how many X-rays are necessary.”

Sundara loved the hands-on, technical work and interacting with patients. She took on extra responsibilities, building skills and demonstrating her competence.

Feeling she’d reached her potential in the field, though, Sundara was set to return to school to become an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) technologist when an opportunity arrived.

She moved into a .7 part-time position as a clinical instructor.

The part-time position had her working alongside then full-time instructor Christine Preachuk, whose support Sundara remains grateful for.

RRC Polytech Bachelor of Nursing graduate Melissa Williams had a secret behind her smile as she had her photo taken earlier this year. The photo was being used as a part of RRC Polytech’s Proud Partner billboard campaign showcasing grads across the province.

“In the billboard, you can’t tell, but I’m pregnant—I mean, like first trimester pregnant,” Williams said on a phone call. But before she begins her next adventure as a first-time parent, she shared her journey of being in school during a pandemic and how she found herself caring for the sickest of the sick in the hospital.

“I work in the resus room [resuscitation or trauma room] of the emergency department, taking care of the most acute patients. I really love doing that type of nursing,” said Williams.

Williams is familiar with people who’ve needed acute care. Both her sister and brother have almost died and have needed to have emergency services at hospitals.

“They both survived and have made full recoveries, but I understand the importance of emergency services,” she added. “I think I’ve always been interested in medicine; learning about the human body and ways to improve our health. My mom was a nurse and just such a nurturer – that helped inspire me to become a nurse.”

When asked why she was driven to work in the emergency room, she took a moment before she responded with, “I guess it’s that you’re using all of your skills, right? You really have to think critically. You have to run multiple infusions. Sometimes you’re intubating patients and putting central lines in. And it’s really interesting to see everything that we can do to save a patient.”

From Health Care Aide to ER Nurse

Williams started her career in health care after graduating from the Health Care Aide program at RRC Polytech in 2012.

“Choosing RRC Polytech [in 2012] was a positive experience and was the starting point of my post-secondary education and helped to bring me back in the future,” she said.

Williams had been working as a Health Care Aide when she decided to continue her education and took a two-year Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) program, graduating in 2016, after which she was able to join the LPN to Bachelor of Nursing Pathway program at RRC Polytech, which she completed in 2022.

“RRC Polytech really does have the best reputation for the nurses that graduate here,” Williams said, “and I wanted to graduate with that same reputation.”