OCNews

Articles tagged "2021 Year in review"

Juliette Cunningham and Dale Safinuk
New Chair, Vice Chair for College Board

November 30, 2021

Okanagan College’s Board of Governors has a new Chair and Vice Chair. Juliette Cunningham, who has served as Vice Chair since November 2019, has been elected Chair. She succeeds Gloria Morgan whose two-year term has now completed. “It has been very inspiring working alongside Gloria and I am deeply honoured to be succeeding her in the role,” said Cunningham. “Gloria is an incredible champion for her community and for the College. I’m proud of the work we’ve accomplished at Okanagan College, and with a new strategic plan to be finalized ear...

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Three Okanagan School of Business professors pose for a photo after winning the bronze medal at the North American Case Conference
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 educati...

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Four Food Chiefs Sculpture
Soaring Indigenous sculpture unveiled in OC's new Health Sciences Centre

November 3, 2021

A nine metre (30 foot), hand-cut metal sculpture by local Indigenous artist Clint George is now installed and proudly on display in Okanagan College's new Health Sciences Centre. The sculpture represents the Four Food Chiefs, and depicts the Syilx Okanagan oral history (or captikʷɬ) on how food was given. James Coble, Director of Student Services and Indigenization Task Force Chair at Okanagan College, says the sculpture demonstrates the College’s commitment to creating welcoming spaces for Indigenous students. “The opportunity to create a ...

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Melissa Munn and Chris Clarkson
Okanagan College professors pen in-depth book on history of Canadian corrections

October 22, 2021

Discourse about the lived experiences of those behind bars is about to break free across the country, with a special virtual book launch event next week. Okanagan College Sociology Professor Melissa Munn and History Professor Chris Clarkson joined forces to co-author Disruptive Prisoners: Resistance, Reform and the New Deal, published this fall by University of Toronto Press. The book is a collective biography that reconstitutes the histories of Canada’s federal prison system in the mid-20th century – constructed after years of extensive r...

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Tourism Management Diploma student, Stephanie Sonsona
OC student wins completion grant as part of inaugural Tourism Management Diploma program

October 14, 2021

For one Okanagan College student, embracing Tourism Management Diploma (TMD) studies at the Revelstoke Centre has truly paid off. Stephanie Sonsona has been named the recipient of the Revelstoke Accommodation Association’s completion grant for 2021, receiving $1,000 to support her education. She first began exploring post-secondary study options while in her home country of the Philippines, and was introduced to the TMD program through Okanagan College’s International Education department. She was drawn to the new tourism-focused program, ...

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OC Serves Up Thanksgiving dinner
OC Culinary Arts students serve Thanksgiving meals to students in need

October 8, 2021

Okanagan College Culinary students and instructors helped to spread Thanksgiving gratitude to students on Friday with a holiday inspired meal. Students pulled out all the stops to prepare a Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings for students in need as part of the innovative OC Serves Up program. The program was launched in the middle of the pandemic last year to combat food insecurity and has just relaunched this past week for the new academic year. “OC Culinary Arts students serve 50 meals a day to students in need as part of the OC S...

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Kailee McGuire, Audio Engineering and Music Production student
OC Audio Engineering and Music Production grad finds her groove through music during the pandemic

August 18, 2021

It didn’t take a pandemic for Kailee McGuire to realize that she should follow her lifelong passion for music. With her heart set on writing and releasing original music, McGuire decided to shadow an Audio Engineering and Music Production (AEMP) class at Okanagan College to get a feel for what the program was all about. After connecting with Instructor Corey Bell and AEMP students, McGuire was hooked. She was inspired by the energy of the class and felt connected to the students, sharing the same passion for music and desire to express them...

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Edible Garden
Edible garden project at OC’s Penticton campus to feed students, community members

June 29, 2021

A partnership between Okanagan College's Penticton campus and the Medical Arts Research Group is helping to root out food insecurity amongst students and local families. An edible garden program is being established on the north end of the Penticton campus, with the aim to provide fresh vegetables to OC students and food bank patrons in the community. Medical Arts Research Group donated the wood and fence material for the project. Raised garden beds were built in May by students in the Women in Trades Training program, and installed outside...

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GIS grad, Sarah Gravel
OC Advanced GIS grad dives deep into data to map shark population growth

June 18, 2021

When Sarah Gravel decided to sign up for geographic information systems (GIS) training, she was looking to broaden her skills in a way that would serve her Master of Marine Biology degree in a productive way. Now she is using those GIS mapping skills to understand the effects of climate change on sharks, rays and other fishes, along with developing models for population growth rates among those creatures. Okanagan College’s Advanced GIS Certificate program teaches students to structure, manage and analyze data within a map. The maps we’re...

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Guessy Wang at Pond Inlet, Nunavet
The road to Harvard: Okanagan College graduate continues her quest for knowledge

June 3, 2021

Dr. Guessy Wang is no stranger to the graduation stage having already secured a Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Dental Surgery. Wang will be adding a third degree to her name, graduating from Okanagan College with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, an impressive feat that has propelled her to Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health where she will begin her search for a solution to help address dental obstacles within Canada’s northern population. Wang came to Canada from China as an international student. She attended the...

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Saige Girouard
OC grad honoured for contributions to inclusion, democracy and reconciliation

May 20, 2021

When Saige Girouard arrived at Okanagan College to have her photo taken during a grad experience event this week, she took home much more than a snapshot. She left with provincial recognition of her outstanding efforts to bring people together. Girouard, a Bachelor of Business Administration student, became the first OC student to ever receive the Lieutenant Governor’s Medal for Inclusion, Democracy and Reconciliation. The Lieutenant Governor’s Medal has been a symbol of academic excellence since 1979. In 2019, eligibility for the Lieutenan...

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English and Fine Arts Professor Corinna Chong enjoys a break in nature.
OC professor Corinna Chong national winner of CBC Short Story Prize

April 30, 2021

Corinna Chong has been named the winner of the 2021 CBC Short Story Prize, for her piece “Kids in Kindergarten.” “I’m thrilled to receive this incredible honour,” said Chong. “I was so impressed by the other four shortlisted stories that to hear mine was chosen as the winner was a total shock.” Writing by the Okanagan College professor has received renewed attention this week, after she was shortlisted in the prestigious competition. Her piece explores themes of pregnancy loss and the trials of conception, and how women often suffer silentl...

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Allan Coyle and Nick Melemenis OCAA
Alumni Association honours essential workers; provides support to next generation

April 12, 2021

For 18 years, the Okanagan College Alumni Association (OCAA) has honoured OC graduates whose extraordinary contributions have positively impacted those close to home and around the world. In a year like no other and for the first time in the awards’ history, the OCAA is celebrating multiple recipients of this prestigious award: essential workers. “This year we decided to do things a little differently and honour all alumni who have been working hard in our community to keep us all safe,” says OCAA Vice President Nick Melemenis. “This pandem...

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OCSU members
Students invest in Health Sciences Centre

April 7, 2021

It’s an investment in future students and community health, and one the Okanagan College Students’ Union (OCSU) says is even more important in light of the ongoing pandemic. OCSU is donating $15,000 to the Okanagan College Foundation’s Our Students, Your Health campaign to complete construction of a new Health Sciences Centre on the Kelowna campus. “It’s always good to invest in education, but the pandemic has really brought to the forefront how important nurses and other health care providers are," says Joseph Welton, OCSU board member. “T...

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One male and one female student sitting at a round table with notebooks and calculators
Long Night long on benefits for Okanagan College students

April 1, 2021

If there is power in numbers when fighting procrastination, then Okanagan College was fully plugged in last week. Long Night Against Procrastination, held Thursday March 25th, was organized by Penticton Librarian Eva Gavaris, in concert with several Okanagan College instructors and staff members who volunteered their time to slay the beast of procrastination. More than 230 students registered for access, and at the peak, Gavaris said there were approximately 100 students in a variety of break-out rooms.  “Over the past year, Okanagan Colle...

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ACSW certificate graduate Shannon Peltier
OC Aboriginal Community Support Worker grad reflects on making a difference

March 31, 2021

Upcoming info sessions spotlight learning and career opportunities for students Shannon Peltier was inspired to train to provide support to Indigenous youth and families by her Nohkom (grandmother). She found that opportunity through the Aboriginal Community Support Worker Certificate program at Okanagan College. The Aboriginal Community Support Worker (ACSW) program is just one of the College’s Continuing Studies certificate programs on display during info sessions this spring. The virtual sessions are designed to provide students with th...

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