Assiniboine Graduates More Than 1,300

Johanne Ross

CANADIAN AGRICULTURAL HALL OF FAME

“No matter what career you’re looking at, we can connect it back to agriculture and food production.

Agriculture is moving so fast in terms of innovation that we can’t keep up. There is a labour shortage, big time, in agriculture—everywhere. On the farm and off the farm, past the farmgate; everywhere, we need people.

We have a big job ahead to inspire high-school aged kids to get curious about agriculture and food as a career option. Students want a job in science, technology, engineering and math, but they don’t necessarily think about agriculture in those core subject areas.

The biggest challenge we face is people not connected to food production are listening to information about where their food comes from that may not be accurate. We bring authentic conversations and experiences to the classroom so students and teachers can be empowered to be informed consumers who think critically before they make choices and decisions.

This is one reason I am so excited about the Prairie Innovation Centre! The state-of-the-art Centre will serve as a venue to help turn kids’ heads towards careers in agriculture and food. The first of its kind in Canada, right here in Western Manitoba, the Centre will go a long way to help connect science and other core subject areas back to agriculture.

The world is feeding 7.7 billion people now and 10 billion by 2050. There are exciting and dynamic jobs emerging in the agriculture and the food industry that we don’t even know about yet! We must foster meaningful connections to agriculture for young people that will inspire them. This will enhance the sector’s capacity to be more productive, innovative and stronger.

We need to get the Prairie Innovation Centre built to get young minds engaged and working for our industry and for our future.”

Assiniboine is proud to congratulate Johanne Ross on being inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame.

Ross is the Executive Director of Agriculture in the Classroom Canada, advocating for agriculture education at all grade levels and showcasing ag career opportunities to K-12 students.

The college is fortunate to have this remarkable champion of agriculture in our midst as a member of our Board of Governors and as the co-chair of Assiniboine’s Prairie Innovation Centre campaign.

Assiniboine announces tuition winners from

ARMED FOR FALLCONTEST

Assiniboine announces tuition winners from ‘Armed for Fall’ contest

Congratluations to the the grand prize winners of free tuition in the college’s Armed for Fall contest:

•Nolan Slate, Power Engineering

• Mengting Zhang (Marissa), Food Processing for Animal Proteins

• Bradley French, Culinary Arts

The contest, announced in May, aimed to encourage students to get vaccinated and help protect themselves and Manitoba in the fight against COVID-19.

“Winning this contest was an awesome experience and I was excited to find out I won. It was pretty unexpected and It will help me out through my second year,” said Slate.

Secondary prizes, including college prize packs and book store gift cards, have gone lucky winners across more than 10 other programs.

“Vaccines are an incredibly important response to our global fight against COVID-19. We feel a pronounced responsibility to do our part as an organization to encourage vaccine uptake across Manitoba, and particularly among students,” said Mark Frison, president of Assiniboine in announcing the contest this spring.

The college drew the initial winner on the September 6, made a second grand prize draw after an extended on September 30, and a final draw on November 5. All students who had received at least one dose of vaccine by the draw. dates were eligible to enter to win tuition up to $4,000.

Top: Nolan Slate (centre) stands with Lloyd Carey, Chair or Mechnical Trades (left) and Kevin Poirier, Dean of Trades (right)

Bottom: Bradley French (right) stands with Mark Frison

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Tricia Ciglar

Prairie Horticulture

My name is Tricia Ciglar, and I’m from Winnipeg, MB. I’ve worked in finance as an accountant for over 25 years. In 2017, I was at a point in my career where sitting at a desk all day was getting tiring; I needed to find something else I could engage in.

One day, I was chatting with a friend about gardening. She’s a big gardening hobbyist, and she mentioned her experience at Assiniboine taking a landscaping design course in the Prairie Horticulture program, which piqued my interest. I initially considered registering for a short course in the Master Gardener program, but my friend suggested I try the Prairie Horticulture program as she thought it would be more suited towards my interests. One course led to more, and five years later, I had completed all courses and the entire program.

GET TO KNOW OUR STUDENTS

Meet more Assiniboine students by visiting assiniboine.net/SPOTLIGHTS

Prior to being accepted into the program, I had never taken any online classes. It was definitely different and challenging at the start, but Assiniboine provided such great support right from the instructors, IT and everyone else along the way. The support was there when I needed it most and gave me the push I needed to keep going. I really enjoyed the flexibility of online classes at Assiniboine. I took one course at a time so that I could dedicate the time to engage and understand the course material. I received very high grades in each course I took.

The Prairie Horticulture program itself was amazing and very informative. My stream of study within the program was Landscape Design and Arboriculture. I’ve been able to apply the skills from the program into everyday gardening activities. Not only my own gardening, but I’ve had the privilege to design spaces for my co-workers and landscaping for family members. Last summer, I was able to use my knowledge from the program and apply my skills to a new project working with a client to consult, plan and draw the entire landscape of their front and backyard for a new build. Working with them to discover their wants and needs was such a great experience, and I enjoyed making our vision for the space a reality that fit within their budget.

Currently, I’m now leading an initiative at work to celebrate the business’ 50th anniversary by planning a tree planting event. I’m in charge of organizing and planning the layout. I’m really excited about the project.

My goal is to retire in a few years and begin volunteering for different organizations to gain experience and network within the industry. Following retirement, the initial idea was to focus on landscaping; however, after completing the Prairie Horticulture program, my interest has shifted a bit. I’d love to be able to eventually work with the City of Winnipeg, parks or other clients.

ALUMNI CHECK-IN

SPORT: SOCCER PROGRAM: HOTEL AND RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT (‘15) BEST COUGARS MEMORY:

All the training days. I loved the feeling of being done school for the day so I could go and train. Also, all the trips and moments I spent with my team— we became a big family. And I can’t forget the game days in Brandon—they were a like huge barbeque where all the friends and families got together.

BEST COLLEGE MEMORY:

Great Grey Owl Restaurant for sure. I loved the feeling of being in the middle of a rush where everyone was running around doing their best to give the best service in town. My classmates I still keep in touch with have also become part of my family and have been there in my journey. And of course, Kyle Zalluski—he was there in the good and the bad moments for every single one of us. He’s such a great mentor, instructor and friend.

WHAT ARE YOU UP TO NOW?

I am nearing the end of a journey I wanted for a long time. I had to opportunity to travel to the Caribbean and to work in Isla Mujeres, Mexico as a mixologist at a Steakhouse. I then moved to Tulum, Mexico where I spent the last three months working as a bartender at a Mexican restaurant and a server at a beach club. I was just recently offered an Assistant General Manager position at Trolley 5 in Calgary, so that’s where I’m heading now.

Carlos Luciano Ibarra

Erin Doherty

SPORT: HOCKEY, SOCCER, FUTSAL PROGRAM: BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (‘19) BEST COUGARS MEMORY:

Meeting lifelong friends and winning the National Hockey Championship.

BEST COLLEGE MEMORY:

Getting to know my classmates and instructors thanks to the smaller class sizes, and getting a further understanding of Business Finances.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR TIME AT THE COLLEGE?

I am very grateful for the years I spent at Assiniboine. The combination of classmates and being a student athlete ensured I met many people and was involved in campus life. I miss the college atmosphere and being able to see everyone on campus.

WHAT ARE YOU UP TO NOW?

I work at Access Credit Union, I was a Member Service Representative during the summers I was going to school and for a couple years after school, too. This resulted in me being able to secure a permanent full-time job. I am now a Financial Service Representative for Access Credit Union.

ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD?

I’m still involved with hockey— only now as a coach. I’ve started my role as Assistant Coach for the AAA U15 female program in Pembina Valley. I’m confident my experience playing at Assiniboine will help me teach these players both skills and team sportsmanship.