Students and staff at Red River College pledged to continue serving as sustainability leaders this week, during activities timed to coincide with Earth Day celebrations taking place the world over.

On Monday, April 23 (one day after the actual Earth Day), RRC held a “State of Sustainability” forum to inform the College community of the results of a recent environmental assessment.

Over the past year, RRC became the first Manitoba institution to take part in the Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System (STARS), a comprehensive process to measure post-secondary sustainability performance — including operations, academics, social outreach and long term planning — and to benchmark those results against other post-secondary institutions.

College officials also launched Sustainability 365, a one-year work plan that outlines 42 specific and measurable targets to advance sustainability, including developing a Green Catering program, enhancing sustainability awareness through faculty development, and forming a Paper Reduction Task Force. Staff and students were invited to make their own sustainability pledges, by setting eco-friendly targets they plan to achieve within the coming year. Read More →

From left: Vida Reader (2012 Conference Committee Co-Chair, PMI Manitoba), Debbie Wilgosh (President, PMI Manitoba), Kirk Johnson (Program Manager, IT and Professional Studies, RRC), and RRC grad Scott Hinkson.

Red River College alum Scott Hinkson has been honoured by RRC and PMI Manitoba, having received a $1,000 student achievement award at the organization’s annual conference last week.

Hinkson, who earned his Project Management certificate through RRC’s School of Continuing and Distance Education in November 2011, works as a project manager for the Western Canada Lottery Corporation. But he’s also well-known in certain local circles as an acclaimed singer and songwriter.

“Every year, we ask all of the Project Management instructors to nominate a student for this award based on a combination of academics and attitude,” says Kirk Johnson, RRC’s Program Manager, I.T. and Professional Studies. “This year, the clear winner was more than just a good student — he’s actually an all-out rock star!” Read More →

(From left): Melissa Chaboyer, Alyssa Blanco, and Kristie Johnson.

Students from Red River College’s Business Administration program got some cross-border networking experience under their belts while taking part in the University of North Dakota’s Giants Entrepreneurship Challenge.

The third annual business plan competition — hosted by the university’s Department of Entrepreneurship and held April 13 and 14 on the UND campus in Grand Forks — was open to student teams from all colleges and universities in North Dakota, as well as from elsewhere in Canada and the U.S.

Judging panels were comprised of experienced entrepreneurs and business development specialists, and prizes were awarded to the top three teams, as well as for Best Elevator Pitch, Most Improved, and Most Innovative Idea (separate from the business plan competition).

The RRC team behind Re.Style — a proposed women’s consignment shop — came fourth in the general competition, behind teams from UND, Ball State University, and Johns Hopkins University. All of the RRC students in attendance benefited from the competition’s focus on innovation, entrepreneurship, and the development of future business endeavours.

“Red River College is a college of applied learning, and participating in this international competition was experiential learning, which will surely be applied by those who participated,” says Gordon Mackie, a Business Administration instructor at RRC.

Click here for more information about the Giants Entrepreneurship Challenge.

Red River College students were the dominant force at last week’s Skills Manitoba Skills Competition, sweeping the gold, silver and bronze medal categories in a number of post-secondary contests.

All told, RRC students earned 15 gold, 14 silver, and 15 bronze medals, for a total of 44. (Competitors Winnipeg Technical College and Assiniboine Community College both took home 14 medals each.)

The event was held April 12, 2012, at Red River College. Over 475 high school, post-secondary, and apprentice students competed in 42 skilled trades and technology contests in six industry sectors. Read More →

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Red River College’s annual industry night/open house for graphic design will be held on Thursday, May 3. It will be an opportunity to view the work of talented students in the Graphic Design, Advanced Graphic Design, Digital Media Design and 3D Computer Graphics programs.

Join the event on Facebook to get the latest updates and see photos from last year’s Graphic Design Open House.

Some services, including online registration, will be temporarily unavailable while RRC’s Information Technology Solutions department conducts server upgrades on Thursday, April 19th at 11:30am.

This process is expected to take approximately one hour, and will affect the following online student services:

• Program and Course Information
• Case Log Systems
• Online Registration
• Parking – Student Service Centre staff will be unable to process parking requests while upgrades are being completed.

All other systems, including e-mail, Learn, Student Portal and WebAdvisor will not be affected.

A graphic design student from Red River College created a logo that was chosen from among 50 options to be used for the 2013 Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Winnipeg.

Click to learn more about the Graphic Design diploma program at Red River College.

Creative Communications student Daniella Ponticelli and Hannah, a dog who had to have a leg amputated and an eye removed before being adopted.

Students from Red River College’s Creative Communications program are putting their talents to good use in support of the Winnipeg Humane Society this weekend.

On Sunday, March 18, 2012, CreComm students will produce and host the “IAMS 1001 Donations” telethon, airing live on Shaw TV from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The second-year students — representing all four streams of the CreComm program (journalism, advertising, public relations and broadcasting) — have already produced a series of pre-recorded pieces that will air during the telethon, and will also serve as technical crew and on-air talent while broadcasting live from the Humane Society on Sunday.

“Our students are extremely talented, and this telethon will give them a well-deserved opportunity to showcase those talents and help a great cause at the same time,” says CreComm instructor Joanne Kelly, a former Shaw TV producer and on-air personality.

“We are always looking for opportunities for the students to gain real-life experience so they will be that much more prepared for the workforce upon graduation. This telethon also helps teach them the value of being connected to your community, and how important it is to give back.”

Read More →

Red River College student Tori Doell is one half of a musical duo that recently won the 2011 Radio Star National Talent Search. Their composition “Still Love You” — which is already playing on some radio stations — earned Tori and her musical partner, Ross Roteliuk, top prize in the contest aimed at emerging artists performing original material.

Tori and Ross will receive a prize that includes $10,000 in cash, studio recording time, plus a spot in the Canadian Music Week festival, which is being held in Toronto later this month.

Tori is currently a Red River College student in the second year of the Medical Laboratory Science diploma program.

Rebels guard Abby Silva accepts her MVP award from RRC Athletics Director Ryan Ratushniak on Friday.

It was an uphill battle until the very end, but both the men’s and women’s Rebels basketball teams emerged victorious over the weekend, clinching their respective top spots at the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference (MCAC) Final Four Championships.

The Rebels men’s team entered the tournament — held Friday and Saturday at Red River College — as the #3 seed, while the women’s team was ranked #2 going in.

For the Rebels men, the win represents their fourth straight MCAC basketball title. This might have been their toughest test, though, as they upset the #1-seeded (and winner of 12 straight games), Canadian Mennonite University Blazers.

The Rebels women, meanwhile, employed full-court defense and a quick offense to defeat the #4-seed Providence University College, who had knocked off the juggernaut #1 College Wesmen on Friday. Read More →