OCNews

Logos of SAIT, Kanaka Bar Indian Band and Okanagan College

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 susta...

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 its ...

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 Students, 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 learning ...

Jewell Gillies stands in front of the stained glass portrait modelled after them.

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, howeve...

OC student receives an award from MLA Anne Kang.

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,” McCrei...

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 launch...

More news...

After an intense wildfire season, heatwaves and droughts, the need for Canadians to conserve water is more crucial than ever. That’s where OC alumnus Sean McFetridge comes in. He and his wife, Alisha McFetridge, co-founded RainStick Shower, a WiFi-enabled smart shower system that aims to solve water and energy waste by up to 80%. We caught up with Sean to hear more about what he’s been up to since graduating from OC in 2011. Where is your hometown and where are you located now?Kelo...

kinSHIFT: a powerful—and local—way to learn about Truth and Reconciliation

September 27, 2021

Kelly Terbasket of IndigenEYEZ has created a new sister organization for allies—kinSHIFT. Launched this spring, kinSHIFT is a tailored set of workshops for non-Indigenous allies who want to take the next step. Designed in response to increasing requests from people who want to be genuine allies, kinSHIFT is a safer space to do the work. ------------ As a person of mixed heritage, I've always felt the divide between cultures and wanted to be part of bridging awareness a...

English Professor Hannah Calder reads while sitting in her home office by a window

Why We Write: Poets of Vernon

September 10, 2021

The writing community of Vernon is taking centre stage in a new film produced by OC English Professor and self-proclaimed budding filmmaker Hannah Calder. For the last four years, Calder has been collaborating with Curtis and Silmara Emde on Why We Write: Poets of Vernon, a film project originally sparked in 2017. Curtis, an OUC alumnus, has stayed in touch with his first-year English professor, Tom Wayman, since completing his studies. When Wayman released his collection of music-...

Ty Sideroff

September 3, 2021

“I have always been interested in our anatomy and exercising so I enrolled in OC’s Kinesiology Diploma program. My first year was going really well, then COVID-19 hit. I was able to finish the first year in an online format. However, starting school in September completely online, I was struggling to stay engaged with my studies. Before COVID, many of our classes would be active and in the gym. I found it hard to stay present with everything online and not having the same convers...