OCNews

Articles tagged "Vernon"

Day of Mourning
Day of Mourning BC 2022

April 25, 2022

A gathering that honours the memory of workers who have been killed, injured, or suffered illness because of work-related incidents is taking place at the end of the month.  In 2021, there were 161 work-related deaths in B.C. This is the highest it has been in the past six years, with the most dangerous subsector being General Construction. Three work-related death claims have been filed in the Okanagan-Similkameen region.  Day of Mourning BC hopes to renew our commitment to creating safer workplaces.   First recognized in 1984 by The Canad...

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English Professor Hannah Calder reads while sitting in her home office by a window
Gala screenings for Why We Write: Poets of Vernon showcase work of OC faculty

April 21, 2022

A documentary that began in 2017 will screen next week with its first screenings.  The project, produced and directed by OC English Professor and self-proclaimed budding filmmaker Hannah Calder and Curtis Emde is having upcoming gala screenings at the end of the month in Vernon.  Why We Write: Poets of Vernon features the thriving writing community in the North Okanagan community. Calder and Emde wanted to showcase poets who were born in Vernon, who have chosen to live their lives in the valley and the Syilx storytellers who have long been ...

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Candlelight Vigil text overlay on an image of candles lit in the background
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 wome...

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Two Early Childhood Education students showcase their presentation during National Child Day
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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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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FruitSnaps Team
Volunteers needed for a sweet cause: Enactus OC students invite community to join them in picking apples

September 17, 2021

A group of Okanagan College business students are once again putting the call out for volunteers from OC and the community to help them harvest fruit that will be used to make healthy snacks for children and others in need. Launched in the fall of 2018, Fruit Snaps is a Vernon- and Penticton-based project co-ordinated by Enactus OC students in partnership with the North Okanagan Valley Gleaners Society facility. It’s focused on taking unused apples from local orchards and dehydrating them into snacks for local schools. The Fruit Snaps team ...

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Entrepreneurship Professor Andrew Klingel hangs out with Chewbacca during a holiday break
Meet Andrew Klingel, Business Administration Professor

April 27, 2021

Q: What is your education and background? A: I have a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master's of Business Administration from Queen’s University. Q: What is your area of interest? A: Prior to joining Okanagan College, I consulted for major corporations such as Telus, TD and General Motors — but my true passion is entrepreneurship. I have been involved with many new ventures as an operator, investor and advisor.  For example, I joined a software start up that grew from $0 in sales to ov...

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Vernon Trades student
Knuever Legacy Fund makes major investment in Vernon students

March 30, 2021

A new awards fund at Okanagan College will more than double the value of annual support available for students attending the Vernon campus. Kurt and Jutta Knuever have donated $210,000 to create the K&J Knuever Legacy Awards, which will provide up to $70,000 annually in tuition and living support to students entering trades programs or the Health Care Assistant program over the next three years. The awards reflect the value the Knuever family place on education, especially hands-on skills training that can add value to an individual’s l...

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Aja Zeniuk, Esthetics and Nail Technology graduate
College Esthetics grad lets creativity shine

January 20, 2021

Grads celebrate educational achievements with virtual ceremony Jan. 23. Aja Zenuik knew she had an artistic eye and wanted to apply her creativity to an industry that would keep her skills in demand in the Okanagan and beyond. She found that opportunity through the Esthetics and Nail Technology certificate program at Okanagan College. On Jan. 23, she will join more than 2,000 OC students being recognized during the College’s first-ever online convocation ceremony which celebrates the efforts of students graduating from June 2020 to this Ja...

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Masked elementary student with a hat on picks an apple in an orchard
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 ...

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Kendra Scarrott and her artwork titled, Palimpsest
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 for...

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United Against Violence Against Women Online Candlelight Vigil
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 offer ...

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HCA student
Revelstoke, Vernon student access improves with special Health Care Assistant program intake

November 23, 2020

Training for one of B.C.’s most in-demand professions is coming to Revelstoke and Vernon this January, in a special intake designed to make the most of Okanagan College’s blended learning opportunities. “The need for health care assistants across B.C. has never been greater. Join the frontlines and be a health-care hero for our most vulnerable citizens while also building a career for yourself,” said Sandra Hohmann, Recruiter, Interior Health. The intake will feature OC’s signature hands-on learning in labs, allowing students to build their...

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Long Night Against Procrastination poster with a map showing all the ways we distract ourselves, plus the Nov. 26 date of the event
Pizza over procrastination: OC students power through deadlines together during annual event

November 19, 2020

Long Night Against Procrastination is back – even with the pizza – and all from the comfort of home. An Okanagan College rite of passage, Long Night Against Procrastination has helped countless students kick procrastination to the curb and get assignments in on time. In recent years, the popular Penticton event had spread to multiple campuses, as students converged on campus for a late-night cram session, surrounded by faculty, librarians and Success Centre coordinators who would help with final assignments, papers and projects due at the e...

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Creative Writing Professor Kerry Gilbert stands in a field of flowers
Meet Kerry Gilbert, Creative Writing Professor

October 19, 2020

When did you know you had found your discipline?  When I took my first Creative Writing class with John Lent, at what was then Okanagan University College, I knew that I had found my ‘zing.’ Why did you choose to work at Okanagan College? I told John Lent, when I was a first year student, that I wanted to come back to take his job when he retired. What do you like the most about the work you do? I love to see student excitement and growth. Favourite teaching experience? My favourit...

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Culinary Arts student, Ruby Pahtayken
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 fi...

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