The support and care of Manitoba’s most vulnerable populations will be top of mind among students this week, as Red River College’s Community Services department hosts its third annual Student Symposium.

The event takes place Thursday, Jan. 17 at the Notre Dame Campus, and will be attended by more than 250 students in RRC’s Community Services programs — including Child and Youth Care, Disability and Community Support, and Early Childhood Education (full-time and workplace), as well as students taking those programs off-site, including those in the CYC Certificate program out of Ndinawe.

The theme of advocacy will be addressed through workshops focusing on accessibility, self-care/self-advocacy, and justice, as well as those touching on advocacy through music and health promotion in child care centres. Workshop presenters include Community Services faculty and students, as well as representatives from a number of local community agencies, including Graffiti Gallery, Just TV, and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.

This year’s keynote speaker is the Robb Nash Project — a local band whose multi-media presentation covers a range of youth-related topics, including bullying, addiction, suicide and substance abuse.

The symposium is made possible with funding and support from RRC’s Community Services program and the RRC Students’ Association, as well as the Independent Living Resource Centre.

Red River College students can avail themselves of financial advice from one of Canada’s leading experts, when TV host Gail Vaz-Oxlade stops by the Notre Dame Campus next week.

The no-nonsense host of TV’s Til Debt Do Us Part and Princess, Vaz-Oxlade will visit RRC on Wednesday, January 16 from 2:30pm – 3:30pm in the South Gym. Her appearance can also be viewed via video-stream in Room 107 of the Exchange District Campus.

If you want to learn more about how to break free from student debt, how to keep your finances under check, or how to build a strong financial foundation that will last a lifetime, come visit Vaz-Oxlade as she swings by RRC as part of her Canada-wide tour to promote the new book Money Rules.

From the official announcement: “Money management doesn’t have to be full of tricks. Although money management isn’t rocket science, having discipline and making sound money decisions often feels more complicated than it should.”

Vaz-Oxlade is one of Canada’s most successful and respected financial writers and has authored several bestselling books, including Debt-Free Forever, Never Too Late, Money-Smart Kids, and It’s Your Money. In addition to her TV work, she’s a radio host on Newstalk 1010.

Earlier this month, Red River College’s Paterson GlobalFoods Institute opened its doors for a very special “sneak peek.”

Donors, partners and supporters of the College were invited to spend an evening in the Exchange District’s newest gem. Guests shared drinks and laughs while admiring the restoration of the historic Union Bank Tower.

They also took tours of the new facility, visited state of the art kitchens, classrooms, labs and even the new student residence — all while learning more about the equipment and sustainability features on campus. Andrew Paterson (shown, second from left), President and CEO of Paterson GlobalFoods was on hand to welcome the crowd and to announce the heart of PGI — upscale restaurant Jane’s, which is located in the building’s breathtaking former bank hall — was a special tribute to his mother.

PGI is scheduled to open its doors in January 2013, and will serve as the new home of RRC’s Culinary Arts, Professional Baking and Patisserie, and Hospitality and Tourism Management programs.

Students and staff at Red River College got into the Christmas spirit a little early this year, with help from a Students’ Association initiative that gave them some face-time with Santa Claus himself.

From Dec. 5 to 7, Students’ Association staff and reps paired with Professional Photography students from RRC’s School of Continuing Education to host a “Photos with Santa” fundraiser in support of the SA’s Food Bank.

The photos were taken in Lockers Lounge, and helped to raise nearly $450 for the Food Bank.

Click here for more information about the Red River College Students’ Association.

Story by Elizabeth Catacutan, second-year Creative Communications

What would you do with a three-year supply of the world’s finest chocolate?

Red River College’s Paterson GlobalFoods Institute (PGI) is sharing it with their culinary students to teach them the art and science of chocolate making.

The in-kind donation comes from a partnership between PGI and Cacao Barry and Callebaut, the world’s leading manufacturers of high-quality cocoa and chocolate products. Cacao Barry and Callebaut are recognized around the globe as innovative masters in chocolate products.

“Chocolate isn’t cheap,” says Chantalle Noschese (shown, above), Chef and Culinary Arts Instructor at Red River College.

Noschese returned from training with a master chocolatier from the Barry Callebaut Chocolate Academy late October. This valuable experience is another extension of the partnership agreement with Callebaut, which will see one RRC Culinary instructor sent to Quebec each year to train at the Chocolate Academy.

“It’s important that if I’m teaching students, I need to be as educated as I can be,” says Noschese. “I feel better prepared and more knowledgeable, and I can pass that down to the students.”

The partners have also put in place an agreement that Callebaut’s technical advisor will visit RRC every second year to run a demonstration for aspiring chefs. Callebaut’s master chocolatier was at RRC in early November 2012 for his first visit.

“We’re on trend and that’s only going to enhance the experience for the students,” says Noschese. “They’re getting the best education we can provide thanks to these partnerships.”

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

Red River College student Jamie Mckay has been recognized by the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, with a Shaw Media Award presented by the Foundation for the Advancement of Aboriginal Youth (FAAY).

Mckay, a second-year Creative Communications student at RRC, is one of thousands of Canadian students who’ve received support in the form of FAAY scholarships and bursaries over the years.

A public relations major, Mckay is currently working as an intern at poetry magazine Contemporary Verse 2. Her goal is to use her new skills in the service of a career that allows her to benefit the Aboriginal community.

“I want to spend my life being creative and using my gifts to help others,” Mckay told the CAAB. “Above all, I want to help Aboriginal people — reach them, inspire them, and lift them up so they will be able to do the same.”

Click here for more info about Mckay’s award, and here for more info on RRC’s CreComm program.

As a participant for the last 15 years, Red River College grad Sean Grassie brings a unique perspective to his time with the MCA Bonspiel, the biggest and longest-running curling competition in the world.

So it’s no surprise Grassie, a 2009 Creative Communications grad, and skip of both the 1999 Manitoba junior champion and 2009 Canadian Mixed champion teams, has put all that inside info to good use via a new book chronicling the Bonspiel’s 125-year history.

Kings of the Rings was completed as the major project for Grassie’s final year of CreComm, and is the result of more than 100 interviews and untold hours spent poring through the Winnipeg Free Press archives. The book was published by Great Plains Publications, with an initial print run of 3,000, though given the level of curling’s popularity in Manitoba — not to mention the Bonspiel’s pending 125th anniversary — Grassie might soon need a second run.

First launched in 1887, the Bonspiel has become a cultural institution in Winnipeg — and remains unparalleled in sport as an event where amateurs might find themselves competing against world champions.

“It’s unlike any other bonspiel you’ll see in the world,” Grassie told the Winnipeg Free Press. “Most bonspiels feature either the really elite teams of the next tier, but the MCA is that rare event that brings together the whole fabric of the curling community — from the world champions to the once-a-week curlers. That’s what attracts me.”

Grassie himself came within one game of winning the entire bonspiel last year — skipping his team all the way to the finals before losing in the last game to a team from Wisconsin.

Click here for more information on Kings of the Rings, and here for more about RRC’s Creative Communications program.

A Red River College student with a distinguished military record has again turned his attention to a different form of service — by launching a foundation to raise scholarship money for students with developmental disabilities.

Andrew McLean, a former Warrant Officer who retired from the Canadian Forces last summer after 22 years of service, recently donated $25,000 of his own money to start the Canadian Torch Foundation — which will provide its first $1,000 CTF Award to an RRC student next year.

The award is available annually to a full-time student with a developmental disability (physical, mental or documented learning disability, or visual or hearing impairment), who’s studying one of the following RRC programs: Child and Youth Care, Disability and Community Support, Early Childhood Education or Early Childhood Education Workplace.

McLean’s goal is to eventually raise $2.5 million in funding for similar post-secondary scholarships at 10 colleges and universities, and to complement them with annual grants for rehabilitation efforts benefitting children and youth across Canada. Read More →

(From left): Ryan Garriock, Past President, RRC Alumni Board; Bob Tallman, Owner and CEO of Princess Auto; and Dale Oughton, RRC Alumni Coordinator, at the 2012 Alumni Dinner.

Red River College raised a glass to success stories of the past, present and future this month, as RRC alumni joined with students and staff to celebrate their roots at the 2012 Alumni Dinner.

Held Nov. 16 at The Fairmont Winnipeg, the event gave RRC’s growing family of alumni the chance to re-connect with old friends and toast the accomplishments of their peers — in particular those of Bob Tallman, owner and CEO of Princess Auto, and recipient of this year’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

A 1976 graduate of RRC’s Business Administration program, Tallman has since built Princess Auto from a family business into a national retailer, cultivated a passionate base of customers through a tireless focus on service, and devoted himself to revitalizing his community and helping dozens of young people pursue their own dreams. Read More →

Red River College joins the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority in celebrating the accomplishments of the most recent graduates of its Health Services Leadership and Management program.

Available in class and online through RRC’s School of Continuing Education, and delivered in partnership with the WRHA, the program targets current health services workers who wish to further their careers by developing or upgrading their management skills.

Employees come from a wide range of services, including acute care, community programs, diagnostic, personal and long-term care facilities. The program allows them to build the knowledge, skills and networking connections required to succeed in the WRHA’s dynamic and evolving health care environment.

“The beauty of this program is that it couples tangible financial support with a sense of identifying and acknowledging potential in our future health care leaders,” says Nish Verma, vice-president and chief human resources officer for the WRHA.

The collaborative WRHA/RRC model of the program has grown steadily since its inception in 2003, and is now a widely recognized and established component of the WRHA’s management and succession planning strategy. It was developed through collaborations with the Manitoba Chapter of the Canadian College of Health Leaders; curriculum is based on that organization’s Certified Health Executive competencies.

Those taking the program receive instruction from some of the most respected names in the health service industry, as well as expert guidance as they apply their practical skills in the workplace. Participants in the joint WRHA/RRC program have to be sponsored in by their employers, who in turn must be a health organization under the WRHA.

Click here for more info on the Health Services Leadership and Management program at RRC.