Articles tagged "Inside OC"
OC remembers Steve Robinson
January 25, 2022
Flags have been lowered and this notice is shared in memory of former Okanagan College Director of International Education Steven (Steve) G. Robinson who passed away on Jan. 22, 2022. Robinson served as Director of OC’s International Education department from June 2009 until his retirement in June 2012. He oversaw the launch of international student recruitment in India and the Middle East, helping to raise awareness of the College’s reputation internationally. When he left O...
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OC supports Gitxaala Nation with vital trades training for economic and cultural growth
January 24, 2022
In one northern village, Indigenous cultural needs and massive construction projects combined to create demand for specialized Okanagan College Trades training to support community members. Located on the north coast of British Columbia, the Gitxaala Nation’s main community is in Kitkatla. It identified the need for skilled trades people several years ago, as projects such as the LNG Canada in Kitimat and port expansion in Prince Rupert were announced. But it was a smaller project closer to home that inspired Gitxaala Nation to empower it...
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Generous gift will advance OC health-care education
January 19, 2022
A local family foundation is investing in the future of health-care education with a generous gift to Okanagan College. The Merrifield Family Foundation is donating $100,000 to the Our ɫɫɫƬ, Your Health campaign for a modern Health Sciences Centre on the College’s Kelowna campus. The gift will support technology upgrades and new equipment for eight professions ranging from Pharmacy Technician Assistants and nurses to Therapist Assistants. Lane Merrifield, a well-known entrepreneur, says he values the College's focus on applied learni...
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Meet Courtney Koga
January 18, 2022
Eight years ago, Courtney Koga and her sister Meiko started CrAsian Food Truck. Today, they continue running a successful food truck business in addition to two brick and mortar kitchens in tasting rooms of two popular Kelowna breweries: Kettle River Brewing and BNA Brewing. Recently Koga was nominated for two Kelowna Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards for Young Entrepreneur and Social Leadership. We caught up with her to hear more about what she’s been up to since grad...
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OC Business Professor's stained glass portrait honours Indigenous students, colleagues
January 14, 2022
If you have visited the Kelowna campus’ Centre for Learning and looked up at the second-floor offices, you may have seen colourful stained glass art hanging from the windows. Those pieces were created by OC Business Professor, Devin Rubadeau. During the day, he teaches business administration and in his spare time, he is a stained glass artist. His father taught him how to make industrial art at a young age and since then, stained glass art and woodworking have been two media he always comes back to. While working on his doctorate, howe...
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Partners launch resilient housing solutions project at Kanaka Bar to assist with rebuild of fire-ravaged Lytton, B.C., region
January 13, 2022
Kanaka Bar Indian Band, SAIT, Okanagan College, Foresight Canada and Seko Construction partner to harness innovation to provide options for the rebuild of the region Kanaka Bar, B.C. (Jan. 13, 2022) — Patrick Michell, Chief of the Kanaka Bar Indian Band, announced today they have entered into an agreement with the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) on a pilot project focused on climate-resilient housing options for evacuees who lost their homes in the June 30, 2021 Lytton, B.C., wildfire. The project is expected to reveal sust...
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Award-winning Water Engineering Technology grad breaks barriers for women
January 6, 2022
An Okanagan College student’s passion for protecting the environment not only earned her a prestigious award, but is also serving as an encouragement for other women. Meghan McCreight, who grew up in Coldstream, first started her Okanagan College journey in Salmon Arm where she did the first year of her Associate of Science. There, one of her professors told her about the Water Engineering Technology (WET) program at the Kelowna campus. “My family is very outdoorsy, skiers, campers, always kind of outside, and I grew up in nature,” McCr...
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OC business students seek community support to launch investment fund
January 5, 2022
Justin Rantucci and Steven Fiust speak highly of their education at Okanagan College, but there is one thing they would like to change. When networking with other finance students at post-secondary institutions across Canada, they learned that schools with a student-run investment fund seemed to result in a better transition to finance careers for their graduates. Seeing an opportunity to provide hands-on experience for more OC students while building capacity locally, Rantucci, Fiust and fellow student Riley Dunsmore are looking to...
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Dec. 6 Candlelight Vigils return to OC’s Vernon and Salmon Arm campuses
December 2, 2021
Candlelight is returning to Okanagan College’s campuses, as a symbolic commitment to end violence against women. Communities in the Okanagan and Shuswap are marking the 32nd anniversary of the École Polytechnique Massacre, in addition to the ongoing cases of missing women from the region, with a Candlelight Vigil on Dec. 6 co-hosted by a network of organizations and volunteers. “The SAFE Society has been partnering with Okanagan College and students for over a decade to offer the Dec. 6 event, as an important way to remember and honour wo...
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OC graduate soars toward gold in Aero Skills tournament
November 30, 2021
An Okanagan College graduate is flying high after winning gold at the 2021 Aero Skills Tournament in Kelowna. Desarae Craig currently works at KF Aerospace as a structures technician, but before she got there, she was an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer – Structures (AME-S) student at Okanagan College. Since graduating in October 2020, her work at KF has included converting old passenger planes into cargo planes, using everything that was taught during her program. “All the skills I learned have helped me so far,” Craig says. “Everyth...
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OC professors win back-to-back North American Case Conference award
November 23, 2021
Business Professors Dr. Kyleen Myrah, Kerry Rempel and Stacey Fenwick continue to put Okanagan College on the map when it comes to case research and writing. Myrah, Rempel and Fenwick took home the bronze from the recent North American Case Conference, hosted by the North American Case Research Association (NACRA) virtually Oct. 14 to 16. NACRA is an organization made up of case writers, researchers and teachers from all over the world. It holds an annual North American conference and publishes a top-level peer-reviewed journal of educa...
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ECE department celebrates National Child Day
November 19, 2021
Education is a powerful tool to advocate for those who can't advocate for themselves, which was why Early Childhood Education (ECE) students spent National Child Day talking to peers about the difficulties children face in Canada and around the world. National Child Day is officially observed on Nov. 20, but ECE Instructor Rebecca Ayotte said she and her students wanted to do something this week to bring awareness not just in the ECE department, but throughout the College as well. The class set up presentations in the CFL Atrium in Kelowna...
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International Education Week highlights diversity at Okanagan College
November 19, 2021
Okanagan College translated its diverse student population into a learning opportunity during International Education Week (IEW) as students and staff celebrated cultures and encouraged each other to experience what other countries had to offer. On Tuesday, Nov. 16, the Kelowna campus held language lessons at the Centre for Learning atrium, where student volunteers set up booths that others can visit to learn a bit more about various languages and cultures. Languages represented included Spanish, Punjabi, Hindi, Japanese, Chinese, Ko...
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New year brings new career by starting studies in January
November 15, 2021
The coming year brings new career training opportunities for Shaylyn Douglas. Douglas will be returning to the classroom in January with her sights set on training to advance her career in health care at Okanagan College. In addition to beginning the Practical Nursing Diploma program at the Penticton campus, Douglas received a financial boost to aid her studies when she won the $5,000 OC Tuition Giveaway Contest. “I wasn’t sure what career path I wanted to pursue until I had the opportunity to interact with patients in the physician’s ...
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New funding connects people to tourism careers in the Okanagan
November 15, 2021
The Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction has announced a program that will provide skills training to as many as 30 eligible British Columbians to prepare them for jobs in the hospitality industry in the Okanagan and Shuswap regions. “Graduates of this skills-training project will be qualified for a variety of jobs in the hospitality and tourism sectors,” said Nicholas Simons, Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction. “The training participants receive will prepare them for exciting careers and give them an oppo...
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TOTA award remembers George Hanson, supports OC viticulture student
November 8, 2021
Winemaker George Hanson, who passed away in February, was widely acknowledged for his efforts to grow the B.C. wine scene. A new award funded by the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) will commemorate his legacy, while helping a viticulture student at Okanagan College to cultivate their future in the industry Hanson so dearly loved. TOTA has donated $1,500 to create the George Hanson Memorial Bursary, which will be open to students in the College’s Viticulture Certificate program starting in January. “We are very pleased to be ...
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