LEARNING IN ACTION
BRINGING
BAND IN THE SAND HOME Student organizers turned Lakeland College’s annual Band in the Sand into a streamed concert series everyone could enjoy throughout the month of March. COVID-19 made the traditional Band in the Sand experience – 2,000 people attending a live concert at Lakeland’s Equine Centre – impossible last fall. The agribusiness students tasked with planning the event as part of a class project decided to get creative and Band in the House was born. “People were excited to see that we persevered and adapted to the circumstances that we were faced with rather than just treat the event like something that couldn’t happen this school year,” says Jessa Dumkee, project lead for Band in the House. After completing an animal science technology diploma, Dumkee enrolled in the agribusiness program and built her skill set with this immersive student-managed project. “We weren’t trying to compete with what Band in the Sand usually is, instead we created a new opportunity for everyone to connect. Fostering a sense of community is more important than ever this year, and we had very positive responses from the students.” The temporary, pandemic-driven rebranding saw a series of live and pre-recorded performances streamed digitally every Thursday evening in March.
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BUILDING CONFIDENCE IN THE FIELD STUDENTS SHOWCASE SKILLS IN virtual competition Five Lakeland College business students competed against 50 of the province’s brightest post-secondary business students in the first virtual Alberta Deans of Business Case Competition. While the competition was hosted in a different format, the virtual experience didn’t hinder what Mary Novick describes as a worthwhile opportunity to put their business knowledge to the test. “It definitely brought the best in all of us. I surprised myself that I could sit for eight hours and power through the case. It forced me to think outside the box and be creative,” says the second-year business administration student majoring in accounting. The team of Novick, Jeru Lopez, Fernanda Martinelli, Gabriella Fea and Maxime Lebo, were tasked with developing a case for Servus Credit Union. They had eight hours to apply a diverse blend of business knowledge in marketing, management, finance, accounting, and human resources to research, analyze, and articulate recommendations to a group of judges.
