Some people while away the workday daydreaming about their happy place. Not Kristin McPherson. The founder of Happyland Print Shop mixes business with pleasure — day and night.

As communications manager at urban nature preserve FortWhyte Alive, the 2004 Graphic Design grad spends her weekdays where other people like to spend their weekends. When she goes home after work, Happyland is there waiting for her.

Since 2012, the 33-year-old entrepreneur has been increasingly successful at minding her own business, designing and selling prints, tote bags, pins and patches that celebrate Winnipeg’s quirks and customs — socials and salami shoulder, perogies and “majestic” Transcona’s pink flamingos, to name a few.

But McPherson doesn’t want to give up her day job.

“It’s a great gig. The role I’m in now I’m kind of like a one-person marketing department,” she says.

“I run the social media accounts, so every so often I get to go out and take photos of seasons changing or the wildlife that’s out there. It’s really nice; it’s nice to start my day with a walk on our trails with my camera. It’s a pretty incredible place to work — I like to go to work every day. It’s like going to a cabin in the woods, basically.”

Her dual roles are due to a combination of hard work and serendipity. After graduating from Graphic Design, a previous employer supported her professional development by funding a series of RRC Continuing Education marketing courses in Business Administration from 2007 to 2010.

“Design school was obviously very important. It gave me skills that I still use, but equally important was learning about marketing and how to manage your brand,” she says.

Read More →

After receiving many beautiful submissions for the Iconic Manitoba Photography contest, we are hosting a Gala night to showcase the chosen winners.

The chosen winners’ work will be displayed throughout our buildings across our many campus locations.

Please join us as we unveil the winning photographs and toast the brilliance and creativity of the people behind the lens.

Please RSVP for this event.

Date: June 15, 2017

Time: 5:30 – 7:30 pm

Location: FM65 Photography Studio, 2055 Notre Dame Avenue

Convocation ceremonies will be held at the Centennial Concert Hall, 555 Main Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba

Tuesday June 6, 2017 at 7:00 p.m.
• School of Continuing Education

Live Stream of Ceremony:
Family and friends who are unable to attend the ceremony can view the live webcast of the ceremony. A link to the live webcast will be made available at www.rrc.ca/convocation on the day of convocation.

For more information, visit: http://www.rrc.ca/convocation

Congratulations Grads!

She’s spent her entire career working with at-risk children and youth.

But in her current role as an instructor for the Red River College’s Youth Recreation Activity Worker program, Kerry Coulter gets to re-connect with many of those same kids as they prepare to make a similar difference in the lives of others.

“My students are youth with multiple barriers, so often times they’re kids I used to work with, but now they’re all grown up and seeking access to post-secondary [education], and a supportive environment in which to be successful,” says Coulter.

“It’s full circle. These students want to go back and be helpers in their own communities … They grow up, come to college, and are trained and educated in how to be helpers themselves.”

The recipient of this year’s RRC Students’ Association Teaching Award of Excellence, Coulter has been a Youth Rec instructor since 2002. Before that, she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Manitoba (and later, a Masters degree in Education from Central Michigan University), and worked for a number of child and youth care organizations, including Child and Family Services and adolescent treatment centre New Directions.

Each year, the College’s Youth Rec program trains 16 participants — many of whom face socio-economic barriers themselves — to work with inner city youth as recreational leaders. Graduates of the program often find jobs with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg (a program partner) and other inner city youth agencies, or as childhood educators and teachers’ aides. Read More →

Between them, they have a combined 32 years of experience as instructors for Red River College’s School of Continuing Education.

And this year, they find themselves the very worthy recipients of ConEd’s Teaching Excellence Awards, presented annually to those who demonstrate innovative and effective teaching practices, a willingness to assist and mentor students, and an appreciation for (and response to) diversity among students.

Debbie Phythian, 2017 Teaching Excellence Award winner

The first of this year’s winners, Debbie Phythian, has taught ConEd’s Aboriginal Child Care post-diploma certificate for more than two decades.

A dedicated mentor who is student-centric in her approach, Debbie is known for going above and beyond to ensure her students get the most from their learning experiences.

For their part, students tend to appreciate how quickly Debbie responds to their questions and concerns, and how committed she is to providing helpful and informed feedback on their assignments and their progress.

“She is passionate about the program, the content and her students — and it shows,” according to her nominators. Read More →

Whether you’re a beginner or expert, Microsoft Master Instructor Janet Epps shares three tips to help you excel:

1. Today’s date
   Want a date that updates to the current date automatically every time you open the workbook? Type this formula =TODAY() and then press the Enter key. Format in the way you want under the Number group on the Home tab as usual.
2. Mysterious cell behaviour
   The cause could be many things but frequently it is simply unwanted formatting left behind (feels like a haunting sometimes). On the Home tab go to the Editing group and select Clear Format from the Clear drop down arrow. Format is removed but your content is retained.
3. Increase worksheet readability
   By printing with gridlines, heading and rows, it makes it easier to match up the cells when editing from a printout. Go the Page Layout tab and Sheet Options group, select Print.
   

Learn more about Excel with Janet: Excel 2016

This spring and summer she will be teaching Access 2013, Outlook & OneNote 2016, and Word 2013. Register today to make your Microsoft Office skills sharper this summer.

About Janet:
Janet is a professional trainer in the computer field. She holds internationally recognized Microsoft Master Instructor and Expert level certifications and provides training for corporations, colleges, and government. She also has extensive experience in business and has written several computer training manuals. Learners at all levels enjoy her down-to-earth teaching style. Janet is the winner of the 2016 Red River College Continuing Education Excellence in Teaching award.

Dimitrios Athanasiou, 2017 Walter Kenneth Morris Memorial Scholarship winner

Congratulations to Red River College Continuing Education student Dimitrios Athanasiou, winner of this year’s Walter Kenneth Morris Memorial Scholarship Fund, which recognizes the province’s top Transportation Systems student.

Awarded annually by the Canadian Institute of Traffic and Transportation (CITT), the $500 scholarship recognizes a Manitoba student who excels in the organization’s Transportation Systems course (online or in class) and who goes on to excel in Transportation Processes.

A Winnipeg resident for the last three years, Athanasiou worked until recently as an inventory clerk at Piston Ring Service. He has completed six out of 11 courses required for his CCLP (CITT-Certified Logistics Professional) designation, all of them with honours.

He also has a BA (Hons) in Marketing from the University of Wolverhampton in the U.K., and seven years experience in the fields of international trade, customer service and logistics from prior employment in retail, transportation and manufacturing/trading in Greece.

“I wish the CCLP designation to update my knowledge of the Canadian logistics industry, and to upgrade my professional credentials as a permanent resident of Canada,” he says. “The Walter Kenneth Morris Memorial Award and Scholarship is very welcome — a nice feeling, for which I am very thankful.”

CITT is Canada’s leading professional development organization in the supply chain and transportation logistics sector, and serves as a collective body of knowledge in the field.

Through joint efforts with post-secondary institutions such as RRC and the University of Manitoba, students are able to earn professional designations in Logistics. The College is considered to be an integral part of CITT’s Level 1 and 2 programming.

The Walter Kenneth Morris Scholarship fund was established in 2006 to honour Morris, who taught both Transportation Systems and Transportation Processes in Manitoba, and who held CITT council positions at both the provincial and national levels.

Learn more about the Transportation and Logistics Management Certificate offered at RRC.

Rodney Braun (Professional Photography Lead Instructor), Nichole Valgardson, Joe Kerr (Professional Photography Instructor)

After an intense day of shooting, editing and judging, a Red River College Professional Photography student brought home a gold medal from last week’s Skills Manitoba Competition.

Congratulations to Nichole Valgardson on her Gold medal finish. This is the second year that a RRC Professional Photography student won gold in this category.

More that 500 students show off their trades- and technology-related talents, as they compete in hands-on, Olympic-style contests. Many of the individual competition winners will advance to Skills Canada National Competition, being hosting this year in Winnipeg from May 31 to June 3.

Read more about Skills Manitoba and 2016 photography medal winners.

Talk about a stitch in time. Jan Bones has been teaching clothing design for nearly 40 years.

An instructor teaching Apparel Design courses at Red River College, Bones began her teaching career in 1978 at the University of Manitoba.

In 2008, after courses at the U of M were discontinued, Bones seamlessly transitioned to RRC, albeit with the help of a human ecology lab at the university for the first two years. Now, the Apparel Design courses are housed in the Heritage Room at RRC’s Princess Street Campus.

Bones says teaching students about pattern design and garment construction is still spools of fun, even four decades in.

“For me, it’s the giving of information and watching people take that information in a way they can fit it into their choice of design work,” Bones says. “It’s watching the lightbulbs go on in class.”

“I enjoy the students immensely. I enjoy the classroom setting, I enjoy their questions, and watching them shine, watching them learn something new and shine.”

“Everybody has a creative spirt. They might be a fabulous bread maker or great mechanic or a great house painter — everyone has something in them that is creative. I have the joy of helping students figure out if designing patterns is their creative spirit.” Read More →

Ready to start or advance your career? Maybe finish your certificate or diploma a little faster? Or learn something new for fun?

Our Spring/Summer course schedule is now online. With several new courses and programs available, you can make difference in your career and community.

Review the 2017 Spring/Summer Program Guide to see what courses are required in each program and the fall course schedule. Always review the online schedule as the print schedule is subject change.

The difference is here: http://blogs.rrc.ca/coned/explore/