News

Armando Galindo (right), with Heather Black, Director of Volunteers and Events for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg.

(Originally published on our Going Places blog)

Congratulations go out to Continuing Education student Armando Galinda, who was recently named Outstanding Student of the Year by the Boys and Girls Club of Winnipeg.

A student in RRC’s Youth Recreation Activity Worker program, Galinda served as a volunteer for the Boys and Girls Club before enrolling at the College. He’s continued to work for the organization while pursuing his studies — completing his practicum there (at two different locations) and serving as a special events planner in his off-time.

The Outstanding Student of the Year Award recognizes commitment to the Boys and Girls Club’s vision, community involvement, and dedication to children. Galinda received his award at the Club’s volunteer reception on Thursday, May 10, 2012, where he also picked up the Jacques Nollette Memorial Award for Outstanding Volunteer Leadership. Click here for more information.

Red River College is pleased to announce that Kim Jasper has been appointed as its new Chief Development Officer. In this position, she will manage our development and alumni relations staff, direct capital campaigns for projects like the new Skilled Trades and Technology Centre, and lead the creation of a comprehensive fund development plan.

A 1979 graduate of RRC’s Creative Communications program, Kim has extensive experience in the communications and marketing field, working with organizations like Friends of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, United Way of Winnipeg, Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba, Teachers Retirement Fund of Manitoba, and Boeing Canada Technology. Most recently she has been the Director of Brand and Business Development for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, responsible for visitor services, earned revenue, special events and brand development.

Kim was instrumental in the development of the University of Winnipeg’s continuing education communications program and taught strategic planning and communications writing for the program for several years. She is currently a board member for Manitoba Film and Music and is Past-President of Skills Canada Manitoba. She was the Marketing Chair for Manitoba Homecoming 2010 and a member of the Task Force for the Human Rights City initiative of the University of Winnipeg’s Global College. In 2008, she was named (together with Gail Asper) Communicator of the Year for the Canadian Public Relations Society of Manitoba.

Kim will begin her new position on July 2nd, and will be located at the Notre Dame Campus.

A pair of Red River College students are among the trio of competitors who’ll advance to the 42^nd World Skills Competition in Leipzig, Germany in 2013.

Jacob Bell (Bricklaying) and Dylan Pereira (Aircraft Maintenance) were named World Skills Competitors at the 18^th Canadian Skills Competition in Edmonton last weekend, along with Steinbach Regional/University of Manitoba student Ingrid Wieler (I.T. Software Solutions for Business).

In total, Team Manitoba brought home 22 medals: eight gold, six silver, and eight bronze. Of those medalists, the following were from Red River College:

Gold:

• Jacob Bell (Brick Masonry)
• Leonhard Derksen (Cabinet Making)
• Dylan Pereira (Aircraft Maintenance)
• Kevin Russell (Electronics)

Bronze:

• Colin Dewitt (Landscaping Gardening)
• Mackenzie Harman (Landscape Gardening)
• Michael Walmsley (Refrigeration)

The 62 members of the Manitoba team earned the right to represent the province by winning gold medals in their respect trade or technology area at the Provincial Skills Competition. Click here for a full list of last weekend’s medalists.

Red River College’s Aboriginal Student Support & Community Relations department will host an event to connect Aboriginal LGBTT* people and RRC in a meaningful way that honours the voices of Indian Residential School Survivors.

On Thursday, May 17, 2012, the department will partner with Two Spirited People of Manitoba Inc., and the organizers of RRC’s LGBTT* Initiative, to host “Gakina Awiiyaa — We Are All Related,” an event celebrating both communities’ participation in post-secondary education.

The event will feature presentations by Kelly Houle, a two-spirited residential school survivor, and the University of Saskatchewan’s Dr. Alexandria Wilson, a member of the Opaskwayak First Nation who will speak about the effect of residential schools on Aboriginal gender identity, as well as the repercussions on education, communities and ceremony.

Held to coincide with the International Day Against Homophobia, the event stems from earlier presentations organized by Aboriginal Student Support & Community Relations for RRC students and staff, exploring the impact of Western viewpoints on Aboriginal gender identities, as well as an overview of pre-colonial roles of Two-Spirit (LGBTT*) people.

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Red River College’s School of Indigenous Education hosted the 12th Annual Graduation Pow Wow last week, honouring the achievements of our Aboriginal graduates and paying tribute to their personal triumphs.

Held Friday, May 4, at RRC’s Notre Dame Campus, the event celebrated the accomplishments of 93 Aboriginal graduates, and attracted more than 850 friends, family members and dignitaries to a day-long event that included a pipe ceremony, traditional dancing, and a feast.

Another highlight of the event was the presentation of the Jules Lavallee Award, named after a former RRC Elder-in-Residence. This year’s award went to Corey Bear, a student from RRC’s Biindigen College Studies program.

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RRC alum Sean Trembley (right), with judges at the Barry Callebaut Canadian Intercollegiate Chocolate Competition in Toronto.

Congratulations go out to Red River College grad Sean Trembley, who represented the College at this year’s Barry Callebaut Canadian Intercollegiate Chocolate Competition in Toronto.

Trembley, a recent graduate of RRC’s Professional Baking and Patisserie program, placed first in the molded bonbon category at the third annual chocolate-makers’ contest — a junior version of the World Chocolate Masters competition, launched by Callebaut to help young chocolatiers develop their skills.

This year’s event, held at Humber College in Toronto, also featured mouthwatering entries from students at Humber, Cambrian, Canadore, Fenshawe, George Brown, Georgian, and Vancouver Community Colleges.

Click here for more info on RRC’s Baking and Patisserie program.

Red River College’s acclaimed Science of Early Child Development project has contributed to a new video calling on global leaders to renew their commitment to ensuring quality care and education for children around the world.

Footage shot by the College’s eTV department as part of the Science of ECD — an online multimedia resource developed by RRC’s Early Childhood Education (ECE) program — was included in Rights from the Start: Early Childhood Care and Education, a five-minute video launched recently by the U.K.-based Global Campaign for Education.

Introduced by Graca Machel (wife of Nelson Mandela), the video includes an array of international footage, some of which was filmed in Egypt and Pakistan by RRC in partnership with the Aga Khan Foundation. As well, one of the men profiled in the video (Shafique Sekalala, who appears at 1:02) was part of a recent round of online Science of ECD training, and was also part of a group that worked with RRC in Istanbul last January.

The launch of the video coincides with the release of a new report — also entitled Rights from the Start — that highlights the disastrous impact of neglecting early years care and education. The report was written on behalf of the GCE by Vernon Munoz, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, with contributions from Emeritus Professor Peter Moss, of the University of London, and Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO.

Click here for more information on the Science of ECD.

Rob Neufeld, Executive Director, North End Community Renewal Corporation

Representatives from Red River College joined a host of North End advocates and community organizations in celebrating a newly-announced housing and retail development on Selkirk Avenue yesterday morning.

Following news the notorious Merchants Hotel is now being managed by a coalition comprised of 20 government and community agencies, RRC President Stephanie Forsyth commended those involved on their collaborative vision of renewal and revitalization.

“This is what Red River College is all about — meshing the needs of the community with the community’s educational goals, so that we can move forward,” said Forsyth. “That constant renewal is so critical to initiatives like the one announced today.”

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Renovations continue at the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute, future home of Red River College’s Hospitality and Culinary Arts programs.

Earlier this week, local media outlets were treated to a tour of the facility, which is scheduled to be operational by January 2013.

The $35-million makeover of the historic Union Bank Tower is considered one of downtown Winnipeg’s most ambitious revitalization projects. Once complete, the new facility will boast state-of-the-art classroom and lab space, two street-level restaurants, a rooftop patio and garden, and seven floors of student residences.

Click here to see video footage of the progress at PGI, and here for the print version of the Winnipeg Free Press’ coverage.

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 →