Red River College celebrated the achievements of its Aboriginal graduates at the College's 11th Annual Graduation Pow Wow.

Hosted by RRC's School of Indigenous Education, the event (held May 6, 2011), drew more than 800 graduates, family members and friends.

On June 3, 2011, the SIE will host the College's first ever Aboriginal Art Auction, in support of Aboriginal-focused programming for students. Tickets will be sold until June 2, 2011, at both the Notre Dame Campus and Exchange District Campus bookstores.

For more information or to view images of the available artwork, see www.rrc.ca/aboriginalart.

Something tells us Nadine De Lisle's son wishes he'd been a little more neat and discreet as a teen.

De Lisle, a graduate of RRC's Creative Communications program, recently released a self-published memoir detailing her experiences as a single mom raising a sometimes surly, sometimes sloppy teenager.

There's a Basketball on my Buffet! is a collection of first-person essays about De Lisle's relationship with her son, 25-year-old Brett Delisle-Boughen (now a linebacker for the Manitoba Bisons).

The Winnipeg Free Press described the essays as "honest, self-deprecating snapshots of motherhood during Brett's teen and young-adult years, interwoven with memories of (Nadine's) own Winnipeg childhood and interior monologues of worry, guilt, pride and bewilderment."

De Lisle, a provincial government employee (shown at right with Brett in a Free Press photo), launched the book in April with a reading at McNally Robinson Booksellers. She's encouraging other mothers to share their stories at her blog: http://motherofason.wordpress.com.

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After months of careful consideration, Red River College’s Alumni Board is proud to announce the recipient of the 2011 Distinguished Alumni Award: Regina resident Wayne Morsky, president and CEO of Morsky Group of Companies.

Inspired in equal measure by his passion for his family and for family-run businesses, Morsky has been working for his own family business since the age of 13, and now oversees a thriving infrastructure development operation that for 55 years has been involved in diverse sectors of the industry, including general contracting, highway construction, railway maintenance, industrial services, HySpeed soil nailing, and oil and gas development.

Born and raised in Virden, Man., Morsky graduated from RRC’s Business Administration program in 1981, having attained skills he now describes as vital to his success as an entrepreneur.

“I could take the things I learned at Red River College and put them into daily effect quite quickly after getting out of school,” says Morsky, “especially because I was involved with a family-owned business.”

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Kirk Johnson, Blair Fraser, and Yanik Sourisseau, at PMI Manitoba's annual conference.

Recent Red River College graduate Blair Fraser has been recognized by the Manitoba arm of the Project Management Institute (PMI), having earned a $1,000 award from the organization at its annual conference last week.

Fraser was acknowledged just months after receiving his certificate in Project Management from RRC's School of Continuing and Distance Education. The award from PMI Manitoba recognizes his outstanding achievement as a student.

"We ask the instructors to think about the graduating class, and nominate the student that they would be most likely to refer to a colleague.  Naturally this nomination is partially based on student grades, however it also recognizes attitude, drive, determination, initiative and teamwork skills,” said Kirk Johnson, the College's Program Manager, Information, Technology and Professional Studies.

For the second year in a row, Red River College served as Title sponsor for the event, which drew upwards of 150 participants — many of them RRC graduates who were attending on behalf of corporate Manitoba. This year, the College was proud to show off its newly-earned PMI Registered Educational Provider (R.E.P) status — a recognition that lets people know PMI has reviewed RRC's material and recognizes it to be on par with their high standards of training. At present, R.E.P status is recognized in over 70 countries worldwide.

"Red River College is a massive influence on PMI, because they offer the Project Management accreditation process — where you receive the training required to qualify you to write your certification exam," explained Yanik Sourisseau, chair of communications for PMI Manitoba.

"Not only do those courses give you the tools to become a better project manager, they are recognized internationally as the certification steps toward being qualified to write your exam."

Fraser, who currently serves as aproject manager and senior structural engineer for Stantec Consulting, credits his time at RRC with allowing him to take on more responsibilities at work.

"In most companies, they do have a project management philosophy, but nothing that's formally in place," said Fraser.

"Taking the program gives you the ability to go forth and learn the formalities behind the skills — to learn additional skills, and how to implement them in the workplace."

Click here to learn more about RRC's Project Management course.

Now here's a mafia you wouldn't mind messing with.

Several decades' worth of Creative Communications students (known in local media circles as the "CreComm Mafia") gathered yesterday to pay tribute to a colleague, mentor and friend: departing Red River College instructor Steve Vogelsang, who'll be moving to British Columbia at the end of the school year.

The combined send-off and reunion, held at The Roblin Centre downtown, drew upwards of 250 people — many of them current CreComm students who were taping their final "Live At Five" newscast of the year. The majority, however, were recent graduates and media colleagues who'd returned to thank Vogelsang for the impact he's had on their careers.

"It was in second year that Steve said to me, 'Martin — you should try anchoring,'" recalled recent CreComm grad Shannon Martin, who entered the program intending to study print journalism, but now works as Global Winnipeg's late-night anchor.  

"I didn't want to do it, but I did — and I loved it. Steve was the turning point in my broadcasting career."

Vogelsang joined the RRC team in 2002, following a long and distinguished career with CKY-TV (aka CTV Winnipeg). In the ensuing years, CreComm students have benefited greatly from his knowledge and experience, and from the countless curriculum-related initiatives (among them, the aforementioned "Live At Five" newscasts) he's had a hand in implementing.

"Being able to share that experience with enthusiasm and humour has made him a favourite here on campus," said RRC President Stephanie Forsyth.

Vogelsang, for his part, seemed genuinely touched by the tributes. While addressing those gathered, he referenced common qualities among the so-called mafia, including "a certain hunger, a certain desire, and certain self-destructive tendencies that cause you — against your better judgment — to put up with instructors like me."

"When you survive something like that, you're bound together with all those people who survived it right along with you," he said. "That characteristic is what brings us together as alumni. It's what makes it easier for me to go, because I'll be taking that with me."

Click here for more information on RRC's Creative Communications program.

A pair of Red River College graduates are featured prominently in the first-ever Canadian Culinary Federation calendar celebrating junior chefs from across the country.

Culinary Arts grads Natasha Dyck and Jesse Friesen — now working at Tre Visi and Lobby On York, respectively — are both featured in the inaugural edition of the Federation's Made in Canada: A Collection of Recipes from Canada's Junior Chefs, an 18-month calendar highlighting the accomplishments of junior chefs from coast-to-coast.

The calendar features images of (and links to recipes for) Dyck's pan-seared Atlantic salmon and Friesen's lobster salad, along with a number of additional mouthwatering entries. Proceeds from the sale of the calendar go towards the 2011 Bidvest World Cooks Tour Against Hunger in South Africa (click here for more info), as well as the Junior Chefs Initiative in Canada.

Click here to view biographical information for all the junior chefs featured in the calendar, or to print out the monthly recipes. (Don't worry if you can't find Dyck's or Friesen's recipes just yet — they're being rolled out slowly, on a month-by-month basis.)

Click here for more information about RRC's Culinary Arts program.

RRC grad Bryan Ursell (right), with Culinary Arts instructor Tim Appleton (left) and Sysco's Marketing Associate Sarah Anseeuw, at the Canadian Culinary Federation's 2011 Provincial Junior Culinary Challenge. (Photo courtesy 100 Acre Woods Photography.)

A recent Red River College grad will advance to the Canadian Culinary Federation’s national championships this summer, after serving up a smorgasbord of award-winning fare at a provincial competition last week.

Bryan Ursell, a recent Culinary Arts grad now working at Bergmann’s on Lombard, earned the gold medal at the CCFCC’s 2011 Provincial Junior Culinary challenge, held Thu., Feb. 24 at RRC’s Notre Dame campus.

Current RRC students Tasia Antoine and Claire Snowball earned silver and bronze medals, respectively.

In total, nine students took part in the annual contest, which requires entrants to prepare a three-course meal for eight, using ingredients from a list provided a month in advance.

Winners were selected by Kitchen Judges Melissa Hryb and Rain Ragalado — both RRC grads who’ve taken part in the Culinary Challenge in the past — and by Tasting Judges Ron Dobrinsky, President of the CCFCC in Winnipeg, Jon Hochman, Chef at the Lobby on York, and Luc Jean, a new RRC instructor who joins us from the Fairmont Hotel.

“It gives students a chance to improve their skills, first and foremost,” says event Chair (and Culinary Arts instructor) Tim Appleton. “They’ve got to think about menu design, they’ve got to think about work plans, and about the practical skills they’ll be utilizing. So it’s a very competitive thing.But really, you’re competing with yourself and your own abilities. That’s what excites them the most.”

Ursell moves on to the CCFCC National Junior Chefs Challenge, which will be held June 15, 2011, as part of the CCFCC National Convention in Vancouver.

Several decades’ worth of accolades and achievements were celebrated in style last week, as former students and current faculty — along with a host of community partners — gathered at Red River College’s 2010 Alumni Dinner.

The event — held Friday, Nov. 19th at The Fairmont Winnipeg — gave those in attendance a chance to pay tribute to their peers, among them entrepreneur John Gale, the recipient of this year’s Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Gale, a 1980 graduate of RRC's Mechanical Engineering Technology program, was one of the driving forces behind the creation of a diamond drill bit that revolutionized the drilling industry in the mid-1980s. He’s currently overseeing a development plan that aims to turn the city of Kenora into a world-class business and tourist destination.

“It was definitely the most successful alumni dinner to date,” says Dale Oughton, RRC’s Alumni Coordinator, of the event, which drew more than 400 attendees.

“John Gale had the entire room in stitches, He was absolutely priceless, and very eloquent.”

As always, the event helped RRC raise awareness of its Alumni Program, the purpose of which — as Oughton explains — is to maintain relationships between the College and the graduates, while celebrating the achievements of alumni.

Emceed by Creative Communications instructor Steve Vogelsang, the event also featured tributes to RRC students Nikki Brown and Andre-John Camara, winners of this year’s Alumni Spirit Awards.

Money raised by the event will be used to support RRC’s Alumni Scholarships. A portion of the funds raised will also go towards the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute, the rooftop deck of which will be reserved for Alumni Association functions.

On Thursday, September 30, join us for the Red River College Alumni Wine & Cheese event at the Exchange District Campus (formerly Princess Street Campus). The annual event is a great opportunity to connect with friends, former classmates and instructors. This year, alumni will have the opportunity to meet RRC's new President, Stephanie Forsyth.

Event Details

Date: Thursday, September 30, 2010
Time: 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Location: Loewen Atrium, Exchange District Campus
160 Princess Street, Winnipeg

Please confirm your attendance by contacting Melissa Warden at 632-2118 or e-mailing smwarden@rrc.mb.ca. 

It was hot, humid beyond belief, and bugs of every shape and
size were crawling and buzzing around, but Red River College Medical
Radiological Technology instructor Jennifer Stayner couldn’t have been happier.

Stayner and MRT student Brandi Pollon traveled to Nicaragua during
the summer of 2009 with the Flying Doctors of Canada (FDOC), a
non-governmental, not for profit organization comprised of doctors, nurses and
other health care workers.

Doctor Benjamin Cavilla formed FDOC along with three other
doctors in 2006. During his medical training he traveled around the world
helping remote communities. It was in these situations that he noticed a
disconnect between non- governmental agencies and the communities they were
helping.

“Basically, what I saw was that these groups weren’t
addressing why the people were sick in the first place. If you don’t treat the
source of the illness and cure it, the people keep getting sick, so I started a
new sustainable approach to humanitarian efforts.”

This sustainable approach is key to the FDOC’s mission.

“We have a real goal of sustainability — at no point in time
do we want to go into a community and have that community rely on us,” says Dr.
Cavilla. “We want to go in and fix what’s wrong and leave knowing they’re on
their way.”

Since their vision of sustainability involves more than just
treating the illness, FDOC builds water filters, gives lessons on proper hand
washing, and they also involve a diagnostic aspect. That’s where Stayner comes
in.

Stayner has always believed in helping her community, so
when she was approached to work with communities within Nicaragua, she jumped
at the opportunity.

“It’s always been a goal of mine to find a way to do all
things I love which is teach, to x-ray, and do community work,” she says.

While in Nicaragua, Stayner and Pollon worked with the FDOC
doctors and volunteers in small clinics they set up. People would walk,
sometimes for hours, to get medical treatment.

“Some mornings there were 100 people there waiting for us,
mostly women and children. They would come from far distances to get health
care for their children,” says Stayner.

The partnership between FDOC and Red River College allows students
to gain valuable international experience, and Stayner is excited for her
students. “Getting here was hard work but rewarding, so rewarding,” she says.
“It’s a labour of love, and the students are so enthusiastic.”

One thing Stayner took away from the trip last August is the
positive spirit and generosity of the people she met.

“On one of the last days we were in a small town, one of the
women cooked for us. She killed a chicken, and made rice and beans; it was
clearly a lot for her, and she made a wonderful meal. It was very touching to
have people in the community care for us as we were caring for them.”

Want to read more stories from RED magazine? Visit the Red
River College Alumni Publications page.