Kyle Goertzen has been sober for three and a half years. He attributes part of his recovery to helping others overcome the disease of addiction.

“Working in addictions, being able to give back in that capacity is huge for my recovery,” says the 29-year-old. “Being in recovery, for me, is about helping other people get well and eradicate the stigma associated with the disease of alcoholism and addiction.”

A graduate of the Applied Counselling program at Red River College, Goertzen now works for three addictions recovery organizations: Addictions Foundation of Manitoba and Tamarack Recovery Centre, where he’s a residential care worker, and 210 Recovery, where he’s a peer support worker. His own experience getting sober is a big help in his work.

“I can put myself in others people’s shoes. I’ve been in that same situation, so I think in that sense it’s an asset. I have a solid understanding of what the illness is all about and am able to approach it with compassion [and] non-judgment.” Read More →

Profile by Stacy Cardigan Smith (Creative Communications, 2006)

As a woman working in a male-dominated trade, Alicia Demare has faced her fair share of hardships. But if you ask her, it’s all been worth it.

“I was lucky enough to find something that I love to do,” says Demare of working as a cabinetmaker.

She’s loved woodworking since the age of 10, when she and her younger sister made picture frames and “bedazzled them out” with assorted gems and jewels.

She’s come a long way since then; at just 24-years-old, the Red River College Cabinetry and Woodworking grad is about to receive her Red Seal in Cabinetry.

Despite excelling in her trade, she’s come up against many who discredit her based on her gender. As the only female employee at her last job, every day she would leave work “upset with what someone had said.”

“I’m going to be honest with you, [it’s] very difficult,” says Demare. “One guy – he’s retirement age and he’s just set in his ways. He would get right in my face and tell me he [didn’t] want to babysit me and it’s very hard for me not to take that personally because it’s not me, it’s my gender.” Read More →

Casey Ludwick helps at-risk youth find a voice.

“Who’s there for these children when everyone they care about or look up to… is ignoring them or not there?” says Ludwick, a 24-year-old graduate of Red River College’s Applied Counselling program. “You can’t tell a child to ‘Just get over it,’ because a child takes what they’re experiencing and accommodates it into how they think and see the world.” 

According to Ludwick, the best way to help kids find their voices is to avoid labeling them.

“We’re so quick to label children in a certain way due to diagnoses or what we see presenting, and then we set the tone for them. How often do you think a child gets undivided attention to really speak and tell the world who they are without being told who they are first?”

Ludwick works as the girls coordinator and youth counsellor at Wahbung Abinoonjiiag Inc., a North End-based domestic violence support centre for children and families. The facility provides opportunities for holistic healing using culturally appropriate teachings.

“It is a safe, positive place where girls who live in the North End can come to have fun, relax, and learn more about themselves and their culture.”

Despite the challenging nature of the work, Ludwick loves her job; she utilizes a strength-based perspective and sees resiliency and positivity in all of her clients, who range in age from nine to 13. 

“Rather than seeing these kids [according to the negatives] – they could be involved with criminal activity, they’re lacking basic food and shelter, they’re involved in tons of maladaptive behaviours – you can either focus on that, or you can look at them for their strengths.” Read More →

Kirk Mann thrives on helping Aboriginal businesses realize their potential through effective marketing and communications.

“It’s good to see a business that’s Aboriginal come out and be successful,” says the entrepreneur from Peguis First Nation. “[Helping Aboriginal businesses flourish] has always been a goal of mine, and it makes me feel good when I help a business that’s Aboriginal get to the next level.”

According to Mann, many First Nations-led businesses don’t realize the importance of polished marketing and communications strategies, nor do they utilize the resources available.

“There’s a pretty big learning curve for Aboriginal businesses,” he says. “Simple things like logos: [Aboriginal business owners] just make one up and get it down, not realizing that if you think about it at first and get a good logo and have some meaning behind it, later on it evolves.”

Which is where Mann can help. The 2005 graduate of Red River College’s Business Administration program is a founding partner and client development director at Modern Clan Marketing Communications, a full-service marketing, design and digital technology firm with a strong focus in the values and traditions of First Nations communities.

“We bring an Aboriginal perspective, that’s the way we look at it,” he says. “When we meet a new client we let them know the issues and struggles they’re dealing with, we’ve dealt with through our company already.” Read More →

Big rigs and bite-sized burgers drove a road-worthy crowd to Red River College’s 2014 Alumni Reception, where former grads, current students and RRC supporters celebrated decades of success and forward momentum.

Certainly no one minded the traffic at the College’s Heavy Equipment Transportation Centre (HETC), where this year’s “GO!”-themed event — with its focus on transportation trades — gave our growing network of grads a chance to re-connect with old friends, while toasting the achievements of their peers.

Held Sept. 27, the event drew an estimated 250 guests to the HETC space, where the centerpiece was an elevated semi cab put on display by presenting sponsor Maxim Truck & Trailer. Manshield Construction (Yellow Light Sponsor) and Assiniboine Credit Union (Red Light Sponsor) also came on board to help make this year’s signature celebration a success.

Guests enjoyed performances by local artists Luke Reimer (RRC grad), Rhia Rae (current Creative Communications student) and Matt Worobec (RRC grad who’s part of the group Alyx Knight).

During the evening, they also sampled culinary creations by RRC Chefs of Distinction Craig Guenther (Urban Prairie Cuisine) and Barbara O’Hara (Dessert Sinsations Café).

Also on tap: beverage tastings courtesy of Banville & Jones Wine Co., Crown Royal, Farmery Estate Brewery, De Luca’s Coffee, and Green Carrot Juice Company, and the much-anticipated Slider Contest, featuring mouthwatering mini-burgers created and served by industry partners from Freightliner, Bison Transport, Turk Enterprises, Custom Transport and Payne Transportation. The winner of the contest was Freightliner’s Ken Talbot, whose smoked meat slider won his team top honours.

Click here to see a video of the event, or here to see a photo gallery.

Shown above, from left: Angela Chambers, alumni council member; Tom Payne Jr, President of Payne Transportation LP; David Rew, Interim President and CEO of Red River College; Dave Tyrchniewicz, President of Turk Enterprises; Harry Dornn, Vice President of Marketing, Maxim Truck and Trailer; Ken Talbot, President/Dealer Principal of Freightliner Manitoba Ltd.; Steven Orbanski of Bison Transport; Kirk Warren, President/Owner of Custom Transport.

Finding your new career can be as simple as strapping on a virtual reality helmet, thanks to a Winnipeg-based new media startup company.

The Campfire Union specializes in e-learning using digital learning resources, games and virtual reality. Their latest creation is Tower Crane VR, designed with the Manitoba Construction Sector Council to help prospective students decide whether they’d be interested in a career as a crane operator.

“[Tower Crane VR] gives access to people who might not want to get into an actual crane right away,” says Rachael Hosein, Chief Creative Officer and co-founder of The Campfire Union. “They can try it out before making that investment in furthering their education

The Tower Crane simulator uses Oculus Rift, the world’s first consumer virtual realty helmet, and allows users to control the crane’s hook, trolley and rotation using a video game controller.

“One of the things we always say is, ‘Practice makes perfect.’ So with any sort of training instance, the closer you can get to reality, the better – taking someone through an experience where they react to a situation that’s as close to real life as possible.”

Luckily for Hosein, a 2009 grad of Red River College’s Digital Media Technology program (now called Digital Media Design), deciding what to study wasn’t difficult.

“I’ve always enjoyed combining art and technology. A friend of mine… suggested that I look into the DMT program. As soon as I read up on the program, I decided that I wanted to learn how to make games and applied.” Read More →

How many philosophers does it take to change a light bulb?

If the philosopher in question is Daniel Blaikie, the answer is one. Blaikie – the son of former Elmwood-Transcona MP Bill Blaikie – works as an electrician with McCaine Electric Ltd., but also holds a master’s degree in philosophy from Concordia University in Montreal.

Blaikie is a recent graduate of Red River College’s Pre-Employment Electrical program and is currently working towards completing the Electrical Apprenticeship program. The 30-year-old, who lives in Transcona with his wife Janelle and his 18-month-old son Robert, said the decision to move from philosophy to electricity was made in order to stay in Winnipeg.

“My wife and I decided we wanted to stay in Winnipeg and raise a family, so I needed to figure out something else, and I had actually started out in the Carpentry program [at RRC],” says Blaikie, who’d attended carpentry classes in 2006 and 2007.

“I wasn’t able to do the second half of that program, but it whet my appetite for the trades and I realized I like working with my hands, so when I was contemplating what else to do when we moved back to Winnipeg, the trades were high on the list. One of the great things about the trades right now is you can get paid to learn, and you’re learning something that other people value and are willing to pay for.” Read More →

She’s the director of community relations at the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN), and a proud member of Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation.

But there was a time when Vera Houle kept her indigenous identity to herself.

Before graduating in 1991 from Red River College’s Aboriginal Journalism program, a Creative Communications spinoff funded by the province and Winnipeg Core Area Initiative, Houle faced discrimination from employers because of her background. She recalls traveling to Winnipeg for a job interview at a library.

“I thought (the interview) was really good but of course I put down my address as being on the reserve and during my interview I was informed I wouldn’t be competent due to drinking,” says Houle, 51.

Completely new to the city, Houle says she took “drinking” to mean water, pop or tea, inferring that there was some sort of danger of those liquids getting on the library books. That was until she returned to Sandy Bay and her grandfather set her straight.

“When he told me that I was really upset,” Houle says. “When I came back for another interview I did not admit I was Native. I did not say I was on the reserve, and when they asked me my nationality, I didn’t say anything. They said ‘Oh, Portuguese?’ and I’m like ‘yeah.’ I wound up getting a very good job at the Health Sciences Centre in payroll.”

“For many years I didn’t admit who I was. Then when I started working with ACFS (Anishinaabe Child and Family Services) and when this program (Aboriginal Journalism) came around, it was really easy to come forward and say, ‘Yes I am this, but here’s why I had to hide it – because society had labeled me before I had even opened my mouth.’” Read More →

Some might shy away from sewing their own wedding dress, especially if they’ve never made one before. Not Monica Jones.

“It was very stressful. I had actually never made a dress before – maybe that’s why I didn’t realize how hard it would be – so I just dove right in,” she says with a laugh. “It actually turned out pretty good but I needed a little help from my aunt who knows how to sew.”

It’s not that Jones had never sewn before – she’d been making purses for some time. It’s just that she’d never taken on such a large – and important – project.

Despite some initial hiccups, Jones – a saxophonist with a degree in jazz performance – quickly found she was hooked on sewing.

“I’ve always had an interest in the eye of design as well as auditory art, so I think it’s just that I’ve always been a bit of a multi-disciplinary artist,” she says.

Today, the Red River College Apparel Design grad has come a long way, recently launching a line of high-end leather handbags.

Called Barbara & Cecile (after Jones’ grandmothers), the line features high quality leather and hardware, and Jones even designs the printed textiles that line the purses. Read More →

Ever look at a major construction project and think, ‘I wonder who’s running the show?’ In the case of the new Health Sciences Centre Diagnostic Imaging complex, it’s Red River College grad Jorge Laba.

Laba is the HSC project’s Assistant Site Superintendent. He’s the guy that makes sure things are running smoothly, whether overseeing subcontractors, coordinating logistics, maintaining safety, recording payroll, documenting progress, or more. He enjoys being able to see a project’s many sides.

“My favourite part is having the freedom and flexibility to learn all the paperwork involved in a complex construction project, as well as the practical side by seeing what is on paper [being] built in real life,” he says. “It gives me the chance to leave the desk to walk around the job site and observe the subcontractors perform their associated works.”

Laba, 29, works for Bockstael Construction, the contractor for the $39-million Diagnostic Imaging project. When completed, the seven-storey building will house a full range of state-of-the-art imaging technology and include a rooftop helicopter landing pad.

He accepted the position with Bockstael even before graduating from RRC’s new Construction Management degree program earlier this year. The training ensured he was prepared for the job’s multifaceted nature.

“Training at RRC prepared me on a technical level – hard skills – and personal level – soft skills – both equally as important in a leadership role. I mastered blueprint reading and some of the complexity that comes with specific work of the trades on site.” Read More →