OCNews

Keegan Pereira will be taking part in a momentous occasion next week, as he and his Okanagan College peers cross the stage at the first in-person Convocation ceremonies to be held at OC since the pandemic began. 

Growing up in the region, Pereira has always known Okanagan College will provide him with the educational opportunities he needed, especially when the Bachelor of Computer Information Systems Degree called to him.

“I heard amazing things about the program,” he says about why he chose OC. “The widespread opportunity between practical and theoretical research at the College was something I was looking for. Similar to Kelowna Secondary School, it has a lot of small class sizes and I prefer the one-on-one, more personal experiences compared to having 100 people in a room.”

Pereira was always drawn to technology in high school: courses in computer programming courses, audio and visual volunteer work for teachers, filming events, and even background work for their Indigenous Graduation Ceremony. 

“Technology has always been a huge part of my life and I’ve always been interested in programming, like learning what actually makes a computer tick. How a processor is essentially a rock that we tricked into doing stuff,” explains Pereira. “It’s interesting to see how it operates and how we work with a computer by telling it what to do.”

The more intimate college environment supported his success. He was always able to go to his professors for advice, and they would occasionally approach him with opportunities.

“They came to me with certain positions such as student researcher. I also worked as a peer mentor and a teaching assistant. I acquired a lot of experience just through those roles alone,” he continued.

Convocation will mean a lot as he crosses across the stage with the friends he made along the way.

“I have always enjoyed working with my peers. One of my favourite experiences at the College was how I’ve acquired so many friends, pretty much the whole class. We would go figure out how to accomplish labs and tackle assignments together,” says Pereira.

“Creating meaningful and high-quality educational opportunities is at the heart of what we do, and Convocation represents the culmination of the student experience at Okanagan College,”  says Dr. Neil Fassina, Okanagan College President.

“We are eager to see graduates apply their newfound skills and knowledge to transform lives and communities throughout the region.”

Pereira and fellow Arts, Science, Technology, Business and Health graduates will be recognized at ceremonies on June 3, 4 and 29 at the Kelowna campus. The ceremony will be the first of the ceremonies that Okanagan College will host this summer. For information about ceremonies and livestream, visit the Convocation and Commencement website.