Sabrina Rogers, a Continuing Education student in Red River College’s Youth Recreation Activity Worker program, wasn’t so sure she’d make it to graduation after she received some unexpected news months before starting her program.

“I found out I was pregnant coming into the program,” says Rogers. “Because of that, I wasn’t sure if I’d even finish or if I was going to have to drop out. I almost felt bad because it was as if I was taking the seat from someone else who deserved it.”

Fortunately, she put all her doubts behind her and surpassed her own expectations. Today Rogers is not only a new mother to a beautiful, healthy daughter, Sophia, but is also only a handful of practicum hours away from completing her program.

“As my stomach kept growing it gave me more incentive and motivation to finish,” says Rogers. “I also wanted to do this for my family, instructors and everyone who supported me. My family wouldn’t let me drop out, no matter how much I wanted to at some points.”

The 22-year-old was born and raised in Selkirk. She moved to Winnipeg at the age of 18 to live with her aunt, who then introduced Rogers to the program.

“I was working as a hairdresser and I wasn’t doing much. I was doing the same thing everyday,” admits Rogers. “I did a program at the Aboriginal Centre for Policing and Corrections and I had a practicum at the Manitoba Youth Centre, which is where I eventually want to work.”

When asked what inspired her to pursue a career supporting youth at the Manitoba Youth Centre, Rogers recalls a special memory where she says it all clicked.

“There was a young girl who was being released during my practicum at the Youth Centre. She lived in the North End and lived with six siblings in a one-bedroom house with her grandfather. Her parents didn’t even come visit her the whole time she was there.”

“She had no clothes to leave with, so I brought her clothes from my closet. She promised she’d finish her school because of what I did for her. Knowing I gave her that little bit of hope made me want to continue,” says Rogers. Read More →

Mike Shillinglaw, a recent graduate of the Web Site Development certificate program at Red River College, has come a long way since last summer. After 12 years, the father of two was left jobless after being let go from his federal government position as a graphic designer when budget cuts were made at his research centre.

“It was interesting because I was actually looking for a change,” says Shillinglaw. “Working for the government, you often had certain responsibilities and it made it difficult to branch out. I felt my skills were lacking, and in order to be employable I knew I had to upgrade my skills.”

Thanks to an incentive program run by the government for past employees, Shillinglaw was eligible to receive an education allowance to help support his next career path.

Naturally as an RRC alumnus (he graduated in 1990 with a diploma in Advertising Art, now known as Graphic Design), Shillinglaw looked into RRC’s Continuing Education programs.

“I looked online and I liked the course offering. In the end I thought the Continuing Education program was the right fit because not only could it meet my training needs, but also my timing needs. I was able to work with the coordinators to fast track it and be done in nine months.”

Shillinglaw credits a big part of his success to physically being in the classroom with his instructors.

“My instructors went out of their way to make sure we were up-to-date with the current trends and new technology,” he says. “They know a lot about the industry and they’re not just giving you the book stuff.” Read More →

“When you’re working on a plane, fix it to the degree you would if the most important person in your life is flying on it next.”

By the time Dylan Pereira was a few weeks into Red River College’s Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME) program, each of his instructors had given him a version of this piece of advice. The 20-year-old Winnipegger, who graduated his program this spring and is now working as an educational assistant at RRC’s Stevenson Campus, said the maxim stuck with him.

“It makes you think … it reminds you of the importance of the work you’re doing,” he said.

Pereira, a Sisler High School grad, is happy he’s tackling that work. It’s clear Pereira is in his element as he runs through the different systems – hydraulics, electrical, plumbing, turbines, steel – that come together in the complex machines he gets to “tool around with” each day. After studying the theories behind modern airplane systems in a classroom, Pereira and his fellow students got their hands dirty working on College-maintained aircraft at the Stevenson Campus hangar, which is perched on the western edge of the Winnipeg airport. Course work grew in complexity as Pereira added more skills to his tool kit, until his final projects had him assessing and repairing a full airplane – though not by himself.

“It’s more of a team kind of class,” says Pereira of the AME course. “When you work on a plane in the real world, you’re part of a crew, so the class is set up the same way.”

The small team – in Pereira’s class, about a dozen students – almost didn’t get Pereira as a crew member.

“I originally planned to study dentistry in high school,” he says. “It was my father’s idea. He wanted me to get into something that makes good money … both my parents didn’t want me to work too hard and only live paycheque to paycheque.” Read More →

Each year, a maximum of four Lieutenant-Governor Medals are awarded to Red River College students who best combine academic and technical achievement, involvement in College and/or community activities, and good character.

JOCELLE CUVOS — Business Administration, 2013

A graduate of Red River College’s Business Administration program, Jocelle Cuvos first enrolled in the hopes of one day becoming an entrepreneur, and of eventually starting her own photography studio — a passion since high school.

Having now completed her studies at RRC (while maintaining a very busy extra-curricular schedule), she plans to continue her education by obtaining a degree from the University of Manitoba’s Asper School of Business.

While at RRC, Jocelle served as president of the Students’ Association, and played on both the soccer and volleyball teams. The experiences allowed her to give back to her community, as both an ambassador for the College and a volunteer in such initiatives as the RRC Shinerama, a charity event that raised funds for cystic fibrosis research.

Jocelle’s involvement in student life had a positive impact on her time here, and she plans to continue her involvement with the College as a volunteer Student Ambassador (who’ll promote RRC to prospective students) and by attending as many Rebels games as her schedule will allow!

She attributes her success in part to the love and support of her family and friends, and to the encouragement and support she received from her RRC instructors.

ABBY SILVA — Business Administration, 2013

A fellow graduate of RRC’s Business Administration program, Abby Silva was at first drawn to the College by the flexible and diverse career opportunities that awaited her in the field of business.

Like Jocelle, she also plans to leverage her RRC training as an entry point to further accreditation, by pursuing a designation as a Chartered Accountant (CA) while also seeking part-time employment in the accounting industry.

Also like Jocelle, Abby was heavily involved in athletics while attending the College (and twice won tournament MVP honours at the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference). A member of the Rebels Women’s Basketball team, Abby says her involvement in sports kept her motivated and determined in her academic pursuits, by allowing her to develop an active routine that kept her healthy, focused and constantly striving for success.

She plans to maintain that routine as a member of an outside basketball league that also affords opportunity for community outreach, through fundraisers, tournaments and other volunteer-driven events. She attributes her success at Red River College to a combination of hard work, patience, and — most importantly — a positive attitude.

Made up entirely of Red River College grads, the marketing department at Sunova Credit Union proved a force to be reckoned with at this year’s Achievement in Marketing Excellence (AIME) Awards Gala, where they picked up a whopping 10 honours, including Best in Show.

The awards gala took place May 28 in Whistler, B.C., and was hosted by the Marketing Association for Credit Unions (MACU) to celebrate the best in credit union marketing from across Canada.

Sunova’s marketing team is comprised of four RRC grads: Marketing Director Vanessa Foster (Creative Communications, 2000), Marketing Coordinator Alexandra Rachey (CreComm, 2009), Graphic Designer Angela Taylor (Advanced Graphic Design, 2009) and Communications Coordinator Tim Horn (CreComm, 2012).

“Having an in-house marketing department has always given us the freedom to truly experiment and have fun with our brand,” says Foster. “I think that our success at MACU’s AIME Awards Gala further speaks to Sunova’s fantastic culture and the talent of our staff.”

This is the third year in a row that Sunova has taken home awards from the AIME event, which drew more than 170 entries in 16 different categories from credit unions across Canada.

Shown above, from left: Alexandra Rachey, Marketing Coordinator; Tim Horn, Communications Coordinator; Angela Taylor, Graphic Designer; Vanessa Foster, Director, Marketing

Kris Hancock has a few axes to grind. Then he’ll get them signed by rock stars and auction them off for charity.

The Ecole Selkirk Junior High teacher and Red River College grad (Industrial Arts/Technology Teacher Education, 2007) is the creator of the B.O.S.S. Guitar Works program, an afterschool course where Grade 7 and 8 students design and build custom electric guitars. (The program’s title stands for Building On Student Success.)

The guitars are then painted and sent to celebrities – among them Gene Simmons, Roger Waters, William Shatner and Jann Arden – for signatures before being auctioned off to support the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and other Manitoba charities.

When Hancock and other teachers planned the first auction in 2010, the goal was to raise $1,000. For this year’s event on May 30, the target is a hundred times that.

“It’s turned into something that’s truly amazing,” Hancock says. “It started as a small idea and the next thing you know, we’ve had celebrities sign over 100 guitars.”

Hancock says he had the first inklings of the fundraising plan while he was still studying to be an industrial arts teacher at Red River College. As his instructors and classmates discussed projects that would capture the attention of future preteen students, his own enthusiasm for playing electric guitar came to mind.

“You have to find something that engages, something that’s fresh and new. If a project is boring or not interesting, they’ll turn off. Your class won’t be fun for them and it won’t be fun for you.” Read More →

Students from Red River College’s Business/Technology Teacher Education program extended their reach clear across the globe last month, while taking part in an international conference on emerging classroom technologies.

The students, all pre-service teachers in Eva Brown’s second-year Teacher Ed. ICT and Multimedia classes, were participants in the 2013 Flat Classroom Conference, held March 8-10 at Yokohama International School in Japan.

Only Brown was actually present in Japan, invited to the conference as a presenter; the pre-service teachers participated via Google Hangout sessions and as online presenters during one of the conference’s three keynote addresses. Prior to the conference, all six students worked as a group to produce a video on the topic of “How We Can Help Others”. (Click here to watch.)

Their project — showcasing humanitarian initiatives on a local, national and international scale — was presented alongside 14 others, and representatives from Brown’s class were given the opportunity to speak to the 200-plus students and educators in Japan as well as many other virtual participants.

“It was amazing to see the work they did here presented on the other side of the world … so that other people could see their work, and they could connect with other students and educators,” says Brown.

“Now when they go into the classroom (as teachers), they’ll have personal experience in how they can connect their students, so that collaborations like this one become real for them, too.”

Having completed the project and taken part in the conference, Brown’s students agree that emerging technology tools — such as wikis, blogs, social networking, and digital storytelling — have had a drastic impact on the educational landscape.

“It’s a pretty surreal experience … just the fact that we can connect with people on the other side of the world, and show them what we can bring to the table,” says pre-service teacher Anita Lesage. Read More →

Imagine leaving your home of 40 years – the house where you threw down your bags after long days at work, raised your children, held your loved ones and, years later, wept at their passing.

For seniors downsizing to apartments or assisted-living facilities, the act of leaving their home can be a traumatic experience. Fortunately there are people like Lauren Cooke (Business Administration, 2004), owner of Leapfrog Moving Specialists, to make the transition easier.

“When I’ve recreated their living space in a smaller room,” Cooke says, “The look on their face, the happiness at keeping their ‘home’ even though they moved, that’s very rewarding.”

Cooke and her staff of three take care of “the finer things” when helping someone move to a smaller home, consulting with clients and using their own experienced judgements to pack just the essentials while disposing of a life’s worth of flotsam. The job, Cooke says, requires her to balance the roles of mover and counsellor at the same time.

“You have to be understanding and compassionate while still doing your job of getting them moved. I don’t try, I don’t force it, it just kind of happens. I’m attentive and sensitive to what they’re going through.” Read More →

Congratulations to the above team of RRC Culinary Arts students, who took top honours in the 2013 Manitoba Mission: ImPULSEible competition.

Hosted by Pulse Canada at RRC’s Paterson GlobalFoods Institute, the event aims to develop innovative food products containing whole pulses (the edible seeds of plants in the legume family) or pulse ingredients. Students present their products at provincial competitions where judges evaluate them based on sensory and health attributes, the innovative use of pulses, feasibility and marketability.

RRC’s team — consisting of students Hayley Walker, Scott Ball and Ian Gerbrandt — won their provincial competition with a “Power Pulse Ice Cream Sandwich,” comprised of lentil cookie and chickpea ice cream. They now move forward to the national competition in Calgary in June.

Click here for more info on the Mission: ImPULSEible competition.

He’s had a healthy obsession with technology since he was a kid, when a childhood friend got his very first computer as a birthday present.

Good thing Continuing Education grad Andre Bisseck has found a way to parlay that passion into a career, as a Senior Business Analyst with the Province of Manitoba.

Bisseck, who graduated from the Business Analyst program in 2011, says RRC provided the structured theory and framework to complement his existing knowledge. He also credits his instructors with helping to prepare him for his current role.

RRC: Where were you born and raised?

André Bisseck: I was a North End kid, born and raised.

When did you first become interested in technology?

A good friend of mine got a computer for his birthday one year and I was hooked. I think I used it more than he did, but ultimately it was responsible for my near-obsession with computers and technology.

What prompted you to enrol at RRC? Why the Business Analyst program?

After doing similar work for a major corporation for a number of years, I realized that I had fragmented knowledge of business analysis, but lacked the structured theory that provides the necessary framework. Also, I was looking to make a job change and wanted to shore up my experience with recognized education. I researched the available schooling options and chose Red River College for its reputation and course content. Read More →