Community Support
Empowering Employment: College to host virtual employment fair in Feb
January 18, 2021
Okanagan College is powering up a new virtual employment fair next month to help connect students, alumni, job seekers in the community and employers from across the region. Empowering Employment is a virtual career fair to be held on Thursday, Feb. 4 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Anyone interested in attending as a job seeker or showcasing their business as an exhibitor can learn more at www.okanagan.bc.ca/empowering. Exhibitor space, although virtual, is still limited and so interested organizations should plan to register soon to ensure their s...
Read more...OC Enactus helps young females navigate the future
January 15, 2021
Okanagan College’s nationally recognized Enactus team is kicking off the new year with new community-initiatives, including a program preparing local young females to navigate their future with confidence, positive self-image and the know-how to tackle the world of job hunting. The project, Ivy Collective, is a free skills development program that supports females aged 15-18 through a series of one-hour online training workshops. Topics include public speaking, job application skills and confidence-building strategies. The first workshop...
Read more...Loved nurse honoured with a major gift to the College
December 23, 2020
She was the type of nurse who was working even when she was off. If the phone rang in the middle of the night, Mary Miller would go to the hospital to help her colleagues. In celebration of all the love she gave her patients and especially those closest to her, the Miller family are making a $150,000 donation to Okanagan College’s new Health Sciences Centre. The gift honours Mary, who passed away in October at age 83. “My Mary would be so pleased and so honoured that we’re doing this for her,” says Dean Miller, her husband of 62 years and...
Read more...Zahra Salon takes a cut for College fundraiser
December 18, 2020
Experience in – and experience of – health care services has led management of Zahra Salon and Spa to turn their attention until the end of January to supporting the education of health care professionals at Okanagan College. Zahra Salon will be inviting its customers to make a holiday or New Year donation to the College’s Our Students Your Health campaign, along with selling raffle tickets for a gift basket valued at $1,000. The salon’s medical spa will also be donating 10 per cent of all laser treatments services to the campaign during t...
Read more...Collegial effort cooks up a recipe book for student support
December 16, 2020
After compiling recipes into a delectable read, the What We Cooked: A Compilation of Recipes During COVID Times cookbook is available for purchase. The idea for the book started when a team of College library staff members noticed their online daily conversations constantly reverted to food. With a hunger to support the community in a time of isolation and invite others to connect on a relatable subject, What We Cooked was born. All proceeds raised from book sales will go towards the Okanagan College Students’ Union and the Vernon Stude...
Read more...Season’s Eatings fundraiser surpasses fundraising goal
December 10, 2020
An evening celebrating festive cooking virtually is resulting in a very real-world impact for Okanagan College health care students. Season’s Eatings, a virtual cooking class and wine tasting fundraiser hosted by the Okanagan College Foundation, raised $315,000 on the evening of Dec. 3, surpassing its $250,000 goal. The virtual cooking and wine tasting class featured Okanagan College Culinary and Pastry Arts instructors and their students who walked participants through how to cook a gourmet dinner consisting of mouth-watering stuffed tur...
Read more...Enactus’ FruitSnaps transitions into social enterprise
December 8, 2020
The award-winning Enactus initiative FruitSnaps is now running as a social enterprise after the student-run team recently launched apple juice boxes. The direct result of an abundant number of apples over the fall semester, the five-litre boxes of fresh apple juice are now available locally and online for purchase. All proceeds go back into the program and help to keep it sustainable. OC alumni, staff and community members were among the first people who showed up to help the Enactus team pick the approximately 13,000 pounds of apples that...
Read more...Inaugural Student Chef Dinner and Pie Fundraiser winter highlights for Culinary Arts program
December 4, 2020
Okanagan College’s Culinary Arts program is serving up good cheer during the last month of 2020, with two new events that will showcase student creations and support the community simultaneously. On Dec. 10, Infusions Restaurant at the Kelowna campus will open its doors to welcome a limited number of guests for the inaugural Student Chef Dinner, a seven-course tasting experience. The evening gives students an opportunity to showcase their skills and the very best of Okanagan region cuisine. “The Student Chef Dinner is a fantastic opportu...
Read more...OC Vernon student donates artwork in memory of instructor
December 2, 2020
An Okanagan College student has donated a beautiful piece of artwork which she hopes will inspire others as much as the instructor who inspired her. While it might not be uncommon to find a periodic table adorning the hallways of a post-secondary institution, Okanagan College’s Vernon campus is now home to one unlike any other in the world. The unique piece of artwork is in honour of former instructor Donna Leigh Goodman, who taught Adult Basic Education (also known as Adult Upgrading) programs including science and mathematics courses f...
Read more...OC joins Vernon and Salmon Arm communities to hold vigil against violence against women
December 1, 2020
Many activities stopped as a result of the 2020 pandemic. Violence against women, however, is not one of them. This is why communities in the Okanagan and Shuswap are paying special attention to the 31st anniversary of the École Polytechnique Massacre, in addition to the ongoing cases of missing women from the region, with a Virtual Candlelight Vigil on Dec. 6 co-hosted by a network of organizations and volunteers. “The SAFE Society has been partnering with Okanagan College Students’ Union and Aboriginal Services for over a decade to offe...
Read more...Thorpe and Friends Scholarship recognizes three South Okanagan students
November 25, 2020
Isaac Halverson was visiting a friend when he learned he was a recipient of this year’s Rick and Yasmin Thorpe and Friends Scholarship Fund, but this did not stop him from running around the house screaming in excitement after reading the news. “It was incredible. I’ve heard about the award before, and I know friends who’ve received it,” says Halverson, who previously attended Princess Margaret Secondary School in Penticton. Halverson is now in his first year at Okanagan College taking engineering. “It’s a lot of money, and it means a lot...
Read more...Culinary Arts students help take a bite out of food insecurity, one apple at a time
November 24, 2020
As the Okanagan days start to get shorter and orchardists wrap up their harvest for the year, Culinary Arts students at the College’s Kelowna campus are busy transforming apples into healthy snacks for the community. Earlier in the fall semester, the Okanagan Fruit Tree Project (OFTP) approached the College’s Culinary Arts team with an idea: could culinary classes somehow help process apple donations into snacks, going into backpacks for local students in need? The answer was a resounding yes. With some creative thought on how to best me...
Read more...College launches Applied Bachelor of Arts degree
November 23, 2020
New four-year degree focuses on community research and evaluation Who will be the future change-makers in our communities? Who will help organizations tackle the most pressing social issues we are faced with as a society? The answer might just be the graduates of a new program unlike any before it in the region. Okanagan College has received provincial approval for its first new degree program in more than 15 years – and its focus couldn’t be timelier. The Applied Bachelor of Arts: Community Research and Evaluation is a four-year baccala...
Read more...OC Foundation and Jane Hoffman Realty present Season’s Eatings, a virtual cooking class fundraiser
November 17, 2020
On Dec. 3, fire up your oven and your laptop to join a festive, virtual cooking class and wine tasting fundraiser. The Okanagan College Foundation and Coldwell Banker Jane Hoffman Realty are presenting OC Cooks: Season’s Eatings, with ticket sales benefitting the Our Students, Your Health campaign to complete a new Health Sciences Centre on the College’s Kelowna campus. “Season’s Eatings is an opportunity to come together virtually, enjoy good wine and cook alongside the College’s award-winning chefs,” says Okanagan College Foundation Exe...
Read more...Jacobs support frontline health care education with a major gift
November 13, 2020
Touring Okanagan College’s new Health Sciences Centre and seeing the modern education spaces that will help attract and retain health care professionals compelled a well-known Kelowna family to give a major gift. Mike and Kim Jacobs are donating $80,000 to the Our Students, Your Health campaign to support the completion of the $18.9 million Health Sciences Centre. The state-of-the-art Centre will educate eight frontline health care professions. “It’s incredible to see such a modern facility with all the technology and great detail put int...
Read more...College hosting region-wide virtual open house
October 16, 2020
Participants eligible for $5,000 tuition giveaway While the pandemic means prospective students can’t stop by to explore campuses physically this fall, Okanagan College is pulling out all the stops to host an interactive virtual open house to ensure students can still get questions answered. On Sunday, Nov. 8, from 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., future students, parents, high school counsellors and anyone looking to learn more about the College and its programs will have a chance to experience OC from the comfort of home. All those interested can...
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