Wider Horizons - Fall 2007

Say it loud and Say it proud President Tracy Edwards shares a vision for the College’s future - Pg 2

LEGENDS OF THE FALL OF ‘57 – Pg 6 • FROM DRYLAND TO PAYDIRT - Pg 10 • WINDS OF CHANGE - Pg 14

Construction ruckus at all hours of the day, a funky new fountain in the front yard, loud parties on the lawn: what must our neighbours be thinking about the new tenants at 3000 College Drive.

Get used to it, people. We’re Lethbridge College and once we get all the boxes unpacked and the attitude uncrated, we’re going to be making a lot more noise: noise about education, and how the community, still very much a part of our plans, can be involved in making our institution a leader in the field.

Say it lou The introduction in August of our new brand identity and the gala start to our 50th Anniversary celebration, are merely the first spade-turnings as we cultivate a vibrant educational landscape at Lethbridge College. It’s one we intend to seed with innovation and purpose, one we shall nurture with exuberance, enthusiasm and excitement.

Do not expect, however, to see a manicured greensward, a beautiful but benign garden suitable for the status quo. Our patch will be one of wider horizons, of perpetual change, planted, dug, and seeded anew as opportunities, challenges and community needs arise,

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mature and change. We’ve got several initiatives unfolding even in these few first weeks, ones that will bear, once they’ve been achieved, the kind of educational fruit we hope will make us a “College of Distinction” by 2011.

I will, however, promise the neighbours one thing about our garden: no gnomes.

College watchers have perhaps been intrigued of late as, after dropping “Community” from our storied name, we ramped up our image and developed a little swagger. Well, why not? We’re proud of who we are; we’re proud of the community we serve; we’re proud of our students and our alumni, our faculty and our staff and we intend to go on celebrating all of these long after our 50th Anniversary ends next spring.

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Peter Scott Photos: Kemmet Photography

ud and say it proud Lethbridge College expands horizons We’ve created a logo to represent a philosophy representative of the world in which we live and the customers we serve. We think it and the rest of our reimaging are exciting and will reflect back to the community the values we hold at Lethbridge College.

But this process is about far more than merely hanging out a new shingle. As you’ll read further in Wider Horizons - and in subsequent issues - we’re moving forward. We’ve renovated the Cousins Building into a campus science centre that rivals research-level labs. We’re designing a second storey for the Buchanan Library to allow it to meet student requirements well into the future.

And, we’ve got a vision for a new trades building that will be the first live learning location on alternative energy and construction technology. Such a project is so much more than bricks: it will serve the educational needs of students entering trades; it will provide a knowledge and research centre for those seeking to embrace sustainable technology

and it will, in itself, be as environmentally unobtrusive as we can possibly build it. Imagine a centre in Lethbridge minting students versed in cutting-edge building technology, a place to which professionals turn to upgrade their own knowledge of how construction and ecology can no longer be mutually excusive. Imagine that, and you’ve got the idea of what we envision for our campus.

Exciting? Innovative? We think so.

Let me assure you we have retained the strengths and traditions that made us strong during 50 years. Those will continue to flourish. Successful navigators seek new horizons, but chart their courses based on familiar and trusted landmarks.

Every post-secondary institution has one or more hallmark programs, ones for which it is known as a leader. While we consider all our areas valuable assets in our educational ledger, we know some have achieved the cachet that makes them stand out. The Trades is one area, as are Criminal Justice and Environmental Science. We intend to build on strengths such as these to make Lethbridge College the “goto” place for students entering these fields.

We will continue to grow our scholarship fund to allow students access to a post-secondary education, one bound only by their own wider horizons.

Our faculty have proven time and again their dedication to their students and expertise in the fields they instruct. Many are known to our readers as friends, off-campus colleagues, industry leaders. They are sought out for their knowledge and have a reach that far exceeds the bounds of the campus; they touch the community.

Our alumni, too, have borne our standard high, many at home, others far afield, and regardless of the level of success they’ve enjoyed, they have used well the knowledge and expertise gained from their time with us. They share a bond, these voyageurs, for five decades pursuing their own goals while serving as living proof the value of a post-secondary education.

So, welcome to the new Lethbridge College; one that honours tradition without being hidebound; one that embraces the future by leading it. We’ll continue to unroll our plans with your consultation and with our students’ interests foremost.

Come along for the ride as we seek wider horizons.

Fall 2007/WIDER HORIZONS • 03

To: Tracy Edwards, President Lethbridge College Dear Tracy: I would like to share with you some concerns I have about the 50th Anniversary celebrations at Lethbridge College and the manner in which they are being planned.

While I agree providing 50 years of education to thousands of students, allowing them to fulfill their dreams and become valuable members of our community is something worthy of attention, surely we can observe this milestone in a more tasteful fashion.

Frankly, Tracy, for an institution turning 50, you’d think we’d act our age. Instead, the entire campus community appears to be 18 again and gearing up for a senior prom or Woodstock (the original one with the hippies and Hendrix.)

Maybe it’s our version of a midlife crisis, but surely some decorum is called for at this point.

After all, we have a lovely new science centre in the Cousins Building, another firstclass facility added to our expanding physical facility, which we’re continuing to develop for tomorrow’s students.

Surely a tasteful ribbon-cutting would have sufficed to introduce it to the community in August rather than the Concert at the College, with all of those people on the campus grounds.

Certainly, anniversaries are about people, but we’ve got 50 years’ worth of students, faculty and staff to salute from now to May 2008. May I quote you here: “In 50 years, our graduates have been achieving, be it here at home or around the globe, and improving the communities in which they live and pushing frontiers in their

04 • WIDER HORIZONS/Fall 2007

chosen fields,” says Tracy Edwards, President of Lethbridge College. “We’re proud of them and we want to celebrate their successes even as we celebrate ours.”

Well that’s a nice sentiment, but how are we going to accomplish that? What began as the dream of one man, Gilbert Currie Paterson, back in 1951 has grown into a successful post-secondary institution with about 7,000 half a century later.

It would take an entire Homecoming event next May to accommodate that many people.

And it gets worse. Consider this from Sandra Dufresne, Lethbridge College alumni coordinator: “The Lethbridge College Alumni Association has been lucky enough to track down several graduates from the first class. The anniversary holds special meaning for them; they truly are the grassroots of the institution and all speak of happy memories and a wonderful experience.”

They’re actually encouraging grads to come back to Lethbridge College. To do what, tramp all over the lawn?

I despair. I found the following material prepared for a story in Wider Horizons (a new magazine I consider far too “modern” for a proper postsecondary institution such as ours). I can only hope you weren’t considering printing it: The Alumni Association recently named the 50th recipient of its Distinguished Alumni Award, Lethbridge architect Art Ferrari (see sidebar), but there are many more than 50 alumni who have distinguished themselves after graduating from Lethbridge College.

“This is a very exciting time to have a connection to Lethbridge College,” says Sandra. “This anniversary is

a chance to celebrate our many successes, most notably the stories of our alumni.”

Lethbridge College has had a significant impact on the community in its 50 years here, serving as the launch

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act your

pad for the University of Lethbridge 40 years ago, offering a chance for adults to learn during the evenings, and producing top professionals, many who remain and work in southern Alberta.

“Having a quality institution in our city that does hands-on training gives us a competitive edge,” says Cheryl Dick, Lethbridge College alumna and CEO of Economic Development Lethbridge. “When we promote Lethbridge to businesses and people coming to the area we can show there is an institution to train their employees, not just with regular postsecondary education, but with specialized job training.”

President Tracy Edwards says there is much to celebrate. In the past year, a new vision and mandate, new leadership and new facilities and equipment have come on stream to help Lethbridge College stay abreast of a changing postsecondary landscape.

“Challenges we face locally are a reflection of the global reality,” says Tracy.

“It’s time for us to step out from behind the limiting image some perceived in our name and focus on becoming the kind of

turning 50,

CANADA DAY BLAST: July 1 celebrants of all ages enjoy Lethbridge College displays at Henderson Lake Park.

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Photo: Shutterbug Photography

age!

leading institution we know is needed right now.”

The college’s new logo will stand out in the competitive landscape of post-secondary institutions in Canada and portrays strength, excellence, approachability, upward aspiration and, of course, an excitement in learning.

The college’s new strategic plan addresses local and global issues by addressing the immediate need for skilled trades people and embracing new concepts in environmental sustainability, says Tracy.

Campus goals include a “green” building that will incorporate a functional

but still ready to party

education structure with Alberta’s first live learning site on alternative energy and construction technology.

“Our location provides natural advantages in researching and adopting alternative energy practices; from solar to wind to geothermal, Lethbridge offers abundant opportunity to incorporate new technologies into all that we do,” says Tracy. “What we learn in the process will benefit our community, our province and individual businesses and industries.”

During the year there will be many ways to celebrate, advocate, participate and show pride in Lethbridge College and our community.

The anniversary year will

end with a bang on Homecoming Weekend next May. Planning has already begun on what will be the largest gathering of Lethbridge college alumni, stakeholders and supporters.

Well, there you have it, Tracy. A multitude of accomplishments with extensive plans for celebration.

I imagine everyone will have a grand time. Openings.

Reunions. Festivities. New vision. New brand.

Hmmm. It does sound like it’s going to be fun. Something the community might really enjoy. OK. I’ve changed my mind.

Tracy, please ignore my previous concerns . . . and let the good times roll!

the fine Art of growing and giving Art Ferarri might just be the quintessential Lethbridge College alumnus.

When the Lethbridge College Alumni Association honoured Art as its 2007 Distinguished Alumnus, it chose a triple threat: a guy who has achieved in his chosen profession, an employer who seeks out and hires the College’s Art Ferarri graduates and a generous benefactor who believes in giving where he has received.

And that’s before one considers the fullness of his contributions and dedication to the community. Ferrari Westwood Architects has taken its vision to the streets, designing the Lethbridge City Hall and the Lethbridge Regional Police headquarters, among other notable creations.

It was at Lethbridge College, then less than a decade old, that Art had his first exposure to post-secondary education. He earned a Merchandising Administration diploma in1968 before ultimately obtaining a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of British Columbia.

“The two-year program, the opportunity to work with a team of students on projects and my exposure to student politics (he was Students’ Association president, 1967-68)

gave me a basis for similar activities I experiences in business,” he says. “I gained confidence, life experience and a desire to change the way of the world.”

Ferrari has maintained close professional ties with Lethbridge College; seven of Ferrari Westwood’s 12 employees are college grads. He is also a strong supporter of the college’s fundraising efforts.

“The award came as a surprise and a great honour,” says Art. “As I develop within my profession, receiving such awards gives added meaning to the work I love. Giving back does as much for me as I hope my contributions have done for others.”

Art Ferarri might just be the quintessential Lethbridge College alumnus.

Every building Ferrari Westwood Architects designs comes complete with an environmental consciousness built in from the ground floor up.

Art says most Alberta architects are aware the projects they create can help reduce the province’s dependency on fossil fuels without sacrificing aesthetics, and have assumed the responsibility.

“It’s about more than saving a dollar; it’s about doing it because it’s right,” he says. “The awareness has been there for a long time.”

Fall 2007/WIDER HORIZONS • 05

STILL PRESENT: The class of ’57 in the Instructional Building Learning Commons. From left, Jim Gaicchetta, Betty Smith, Dick Kerber, Leonard Simpson, Wayne Anderson, Yvonne Kerber, Fiori D’Andrea.

LEGENDS of the FALL of ’57 half a century later, our first grads prove the kids were all right Lori Lavallee Photo: Kemmet Photography

It’s been half a century since they were among the first students at Lethbridge Junior College, but Barbara, Betty, Dick, Fiori, Jim, Julian, Leonard, Les, Wayne and Yvonne still answer “present” to the roll call.

A month after classes began that storied autumn, the Soviet Union started a space race by firing an 83-kilogram metal ball called Sputnik into an earth orbit; a Prairie populist named John Diefenbaker moved from Prince Albert, Sask., to 24 Sussex Drive; Bridge On The River Kwai was chosen best film of the year and the medical profession first announced a connection between smoking and lung cancer.

Wider Horizons tracked down the 10 students, and discovered just how much of an influence that first brush with post-secondary education had on their lives.

Jim Gaicchetta is an alumnus of the first automotive trades program. “The courses prepared me for an apprenticeship and from there I worked in the farm implement industry,” he says. “While the curriculum wasn’t always clearly defined it was certainly a starting point.”

Ultimately, his training prepared him for an 18-year career with Lethbridge Transit, a position from which he retired in 1998.

Jim’s experience attests to Julian Vincze’s belief that

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“success has nothing to do with whether an institution is top rated or not. It’s what you do with an opportunity; it’s what you learn and take away from the experience that matters,” he says. After completing his first year of academic studies at LJC, Julian went on to earn an undergraduate degree from the University of Montana, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario, and a Ph.D. from Britain’s University of Bradford.

Now an Emeritus Professor at Rollins College in Florida, Julian attributes his personal and academic success to his ability to manage change. “Working with young people has enabled me to be challenged on a constant basis; it’s prevented me from becoming mentally staid,” he explains.

Like many of her generation Betty (Day) Smith came from a large farm family, the oldest of six girls.

A tuition bursary from her local school division and the college’s close proximity to Pincher Creek made all the difference for her: “The availability of a junior college was a real turning point for women’s education in southern Alberta,” she says firmly.

After receiving her teaching certificate, Betty went on to earn a Bachelor of Education degree with a major/minor in library sciences. For the greater part of her 29-year career

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Television Production from Montana State College. In 1981 he earned a Master of Arts in Education from San Jose State University. From 1971 to 1987 Fiori brought his knowledge and skills home to work at Lethbridge College. He currently works part-time at Sears.

Wayne Anderson was determined to do things at his own pace. He has the distinction of being the first one to receive a student number from LJC, but he sheepishly admits that he “blew things” that first year. Although he embarked on a career in soil sciences he continued to be obsessed with “rectifying” his past. In 1966 he returned to LJC to continue his studies. By this time the University of Lethbridge had been established. In 1973 he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts in Science and Geography from the U of L. Les Lavkulich is an alumnus who has spent the greater part of his career in Vancouver. After completing his first year at LJC he earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (1961) from the University of Alberta, followed by a Master’s degree in 1963; and finally a PhD from Cornell University in New York. Although his official retirement Julian Vincze date was in July 2004, he continues to teach and conduct research at the University of British Columbia. “It keeps me off the streets,” he says with a laugh.

Finally, Barb (Kirk) Bosnak was enrolled in LJC’s medical/dental program. After moving to Calgary with her husband she committed herself to raising a family. Upon returning to the workforce she spent several years in the hospitality industry.

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she was employed as a teacher-librarian in the Pincher Creek area, making her retirement official in 1994.

Dick and Yvonne (Nicol) Kerber were also raised on farms, both near Coalhurst. “That was the best education of all,” Dick says with a laugh. “I knew I didn’t want to work that close to the ground!” Like Betty, they received bursaries from their local school division. It wasn’t until they had earned their teaching certificates, were employed as teachers and were attending summer school in pursuit of their teaching degrees, however, that their romance began.

Yvonne explains: “Attending LJC was a huge responsibility. Failure was unacceptable. We needed to demonstrate that we were on solid ground or it could mean the end of the college.” While he never lost his love of teaching, Dick devoted much of his career to administration.

After teaching in Coaldale for several years, Yvonne became involved in a wide variety of community development initiatives.

Although Leonard Simpson was enrolled in the general academic studies program, enabling him to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry, he became a teacher as well, instructing at Lethbridge Collegiate for 32 years. Because he had inherited property in Hillspring, he later retired there. He and his wife now operate a summer art galley called, The Dam Gallery, named for the nearby storage dam.

Fiori D’Andrea was likewise enrolled in general studies.

Although he had full intentions of studying pre-medicine, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree (1963) in Film and

“It’s important that we learn to manage our attitude to change. Unless we are ready and willing to accommodate change we will be negatively affected by it.” –

The first graduating class, and faculty, of the Lethbridge Junior College.

The following is copied from the Lethbridge Herald – Saturday, February 1, 1958 about the picture: Pioneer Class, Faculty of Lethbridge Junior College. Forty-six South Albertans are making history this year as the pioneer class and faculty of the Lethbridge Junior College, which opened in September, 1957, offers first year University in addition to terminal courses and adult education classes. Shown in the first class picture, reading from left to right are, back row: Faculty members J. Whitelaw, physical education; A. K. Putland, music; W. Thompson, psychology; D. A. Rose, commercial, and M. A. Nay, chemistry. Fourth row: Students Alben Chmelauskas, Philip Smerek, Dick Kerber, Fiorie D’Andrea, Ron Hopp, Les Lavkulich, Noel Smith and Julien Vincze. Third row: Students John Kolpak, Leonard Simpson, Douglas Thompson, Hajime Maeno, Steven Turbis, Sam Higa, Robert Leong, Wayne Anderson, James Giacchetta. Second Row: Faculty, O. Eritsland, motor; Dr. I. Wilkins, French; Mrs. N. Sinclair, English; Miss M. Clark, physical education; W. J. Cousins, College Dean; Mrs. M. Waters, commercial; Mrs. E. Thomas, office staff; Miss E. Cook, zoology; A. Rider, electricity; M. Sillito, physics and mathematics; F. A. Rudd, economics. Front Row: Students Evelyn Schuld, Agnes Szekely, Elizabeth Day, Hilda Carlson, Louise Susner, Yvonne Nicol, Carolyn Laing, Eileen Higa, Marilyn Dumas, Barbara Kirk, Doris Carlson, Mary Takacz and Laura Brooks.

Fall 2007/WIDER HORIZONS • 07

designing Shelly finds fun and future in fashion

FROM BEST TO WORSTED: Shelly Court was cut out to be a fashion designer; Lethbridge College provided the pattern for a successful career.

woman Betsy Greenlees Photos: Kemmet Photography

For newly minted designer Shelly Court, the road from Raymond, Alta. to the bright lights of the fashion industry ran straight north, through the Fashion Design and Merchandising program at Lethbridge College.

Even before she graduated in April, this inspired young woman had already been celebrated in Atlanta and attended a photo shoot in New York; she has since launched her career with a clear direction of what she wants to achieve. Shelly believes fashion should be fun: she incorporates strong, bright colours, stripes and bold prints into her designs, and likes to include something different to make each one unique. Her fun-and-funky designs reflect her personality.

Despite great early reviews, Shelly wasn’t always headed for a career in fashion. She graduated from the two-year Interior Design program at Lethbridge College in 2003 and set about designing kitchens in Calgary and Lethbridge for two years before considering Lethbridge College’s FDM program as a way to learn sewing.

“I really just started in the fashion-design program because I wanted to learn to sew, then I ended up loving it,” she says.

First-year courses in both design and merchandising are important to understanding the fashion

industry, Shelly says. In the second year the design stream included courses in haute couture, costuming and tailoring.

The annual end-of-year fashion show featured the collections of the secondyear design students; she sold many of her custom designs. It was at this event Shelly realized she could have a career in fashion design. She credits her success so far to the FDM program.

“It’s a very hands-on program and the instructors are so much fun,” says Shelly. “They want you to be successful and they push you to try your hardest and to really be creative. The program gives you a realistic look at what the industry is actually going to be like. I learned such an amazing amount from beginning to end.”

At the end of her first year, Shelly won a threemonth, paid internship with Goody Products, Inc. She was one of 10 finalists chosen from design students across Canada and the U.S. in the Create i|m accessories design competition. At a three-day design summit at the Goody corporate and creative headquarters in Atlanta, the talented young designers created prototypes of their winning accessories that were then judged on the basis of originality and commercial viability.

These student designs are the basis of the new i|m fashion collection in development at Goody. The

packaging of each product will feature a photo and biography of its designer.

Shelly’s designs, work ethic and collaborative attitude impressed the judges.

The FDM program prepared Shelly well for work in the industry. During the internship in Atlanta she worked under Goody’s head designer. She researched trends, made presentations, and went on sales calls. She researched sustainable materials and was fascinated to learn products can be made from corn leaves, banana leaves and even milk. She also used her interior design skills to design trade-show booths.

At the end of the internship the company offered her a job, but Shelly returned to Lethbridge College to complete her program.

Goody invited her call when she finished school.

Vicki Charge, Fashion Design and Merchandising program leader at Lethbridge College, is not surprised by her former student’s success.

“Shelly has so much talent,” says Vicki. “She has a good eye, and is a good designer with a great work ethic.”

Shelly’s daughter Charlie was born right before Reading Week this year, but that didn’t stop her from finishing the program and graduating with honours.

She then started a homebased business of custom sewing and custom designs.

Sketches cover the walls of her office. Two industrial

sewing machines stand under the window of her studio, and mannequins wearing her designs line the chartreuse walls. A worktable piled with fabrics dominates the centre of the room.

“I’m working on starting my own line, building up my product in southern Alberta and getting my name out there,” says Shelly.

She plans to move to Toronto in the fall of 2008 with her fiancé and daughter to get established in the industry. She dreams of returning to Alberta as senior designer of her own company.

Vicki, for one, has little doubt she’ll achieve her goal.

“Shelly has always met deadlines and is very organized and deals with projects in a professional manner,” says Vicki. “She is mature and certainly ready to take on the fast-paced apparel industry. She listens carefully to clients and considers the target market for her designs before beginning to design, which will contribute enormously to her success in the field.”

“Shelly is a great ambassador for the program and shows other students what is possible.

Betsy Greenlees is Lethbridge College alumna (Print Journalism 2007)

Fall 2007/WIDER HORIZONS • 09

from

dryland pay to

Randy’s Roots Run Peter Scott Photos: Kemmet Photography

CORNER OFFICE TO CORNER GAS: Randy Jespersen can drive a deal in Vancouver or a Deere in Taber. He’s a West Coast success whose roots still hold in the prairie soil.

Randall L. Jespersen was appointed President of Terasen Gas in 2002, having previously held the positions of Senior Vice-President, Energy Delivery Services and Senior Vice-President, Gas Supply. He is past chair of the Western Energy Institute and is a board member of the Canadian Gas Association.

That’s the official entry in the online guidebook of B.C. business leaders. It lauds the polished final essence of the man’s achievements, sums up his career in a slick paragraph, knocking the dust of southern Alberta grain fields from his boots and wiping the Texas gulf coast sweat from his brow.

But it’s not how Randy Jespersen, dryland farm boy, high school drop-out and Lethbridge College Distinguished Alumnus, who earned an MBA at 21, features himself when he sits down to recount his achievements. In its brevity, it omits salient facts that shaped a young man who, despite heading Canada’s third-largest distributor of natural gas, still finds time to assist a brother with harvesting near Taber every August.

It doesn’t tell how a guy, who played a key role in stickhandling the sale of a gas giant through a stringent regulatory process while earning the highest premium of its kind for shareholders, has a computer screensaver showing him on a grain combine with his four-year-old granddaughter in his lap, or how he gives credit to his parents and others for mentoring him as a youngster.

It fails to recount that the same fellow who with Ottawa to Deep in Prairie Soil negotiated gain approvals for major Canadian energy projects – from the Beaufort Sea to Alberta’s oilsands – once lived in a campground while completing his masters at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) before moving to more elegant accommodations in a clapped-out, west-end basement suite in Saskatoon just in time to avoid the frigid prairie winter.

“I had no idea it would come to this,” says the president of Terasen Gas, while visiting Lethbridge College where the farm boy started his metamorphosis into Canadian energy guru. “I envisioned myself farming in the summers and teaching at the college in the winters.”

Nice plan, until Randy realized as the youngest of four sons his place in the family farm structure was far from conducive to the personal success he sought. He had left Taber’s W.R. Myers High School following Grade 11, far from setting any scholastic records. He also left with a wife, married, at 16, to Cheryl Bowman, his junior high school sweetheart and biggest supporter. The two have been together 37 years.

“I was not an academic achiever,” says Randy. “But I’ve been very lucky to have people who pushed me to succeed.”

Among those who pushed was Tom Miller, a high school book keeping and economics teacher and Randy’s teachercousin Laurie Chomany, a co-worker of Tom’s who refused to watch the young student walk away from education. Tom helped secure Randy a spot in the Business Administration program at Lethbridge College through his home town friend, Jim MacNeal, from Cape Breton, N.S., who was then the director of student services at Lethbridge College.

“I made a deal with them,” says Randy. “I agreed to take Grade 12 courses if they’d let me take college-level businesses courses at the same time. They agreed, so I loaded up on course work and completed a two-year diploma in three semesters.”

Bill Johnson, then the College’s student counselor, and MacNeal became Randy’s mentors, arranging student loans, steering him through the program.

To help pay his way, Randy pumped gas at two city gas stations and helped operate Time Air’s “VW Microbus limo.” He and Cheryl were also caretakers of a six-plex while carrying 34 semester hours on his way to a Lethbridge College diploma. con’t page 12...

dirt

Terasen paints its projects green At Terasen Gas, environmental and social responsibility is a facet built into every project the firm undertakes, says David Bodnar, director of Community, Aboriginal and Government Relations.

“Here, it’s about continuous improvement,” says David, a 20-year veteran of the Burnaby, B.C., company.

Terasen operates in some of the most environmentally sensitive and rugged terrain anywhere in Canada, in a province whose residents have, perhaps, the lowest tolerance for ecological trespass.

“When we marry those two factors and add in today’s concerns about climate change and global warming, we become acutely aware of the challenges we face,” says David.

If green is far from the colour of the month at Terasen, so, too, is “sustainability” a long way from a simple buzzword, says David.

“You hear a lot about sustainability these days, but it defines how we make decisions. If a project makes financial and economic sense, is environmentally responsible and mirrors social values, then it has a good chance of proceeding.”

Terasen met its Kyoto responsibilities in 1999, not, says David, because it had to, but because the company determined it was the right thing to do.

“We’ve been a leader in this area, even as we’ve been quietly going about our business.”

The same philosophy governs Terasen’s relationships with aboriginal communities. B.C. has more unsettled land claims than the rest of Canada together, but the firm has managed to navigate through the potential minefield, gaining friends along the way.

Terasen wins over native leadership in three ways: it exceeds aboriginal employment targets established elsewhere, it involves communities in equity sharing, and it gets them thinking about involvement in projects that will produce long-term advantages, all the while respecting their historical protocols and values.

As it builds a pipeline to Whistler, for instance, Terasen must relocate a key propane distribution system. It may come to pass that system is placed on aboriginal land, creating an economic opportunity for that community for years.

Terasen has also provided seed capital to the Chinook Aboriginal Business Education venture at the University of British Columbia, a venture designed to encourage aboriginal students to study economics and commerce.

“We hope that in educating aboriginal students, they can give back to their communities,” says David.

Fall 2007/WIDER HORIZONS • 11

was considered a right-wing lackey) and assuaging environmental groups (a left-wing pinko).

“It was the job where everyone loved to hate the guy in the position,” recalls Randy.

But time and tide was not on Dome’s side. It was sold to Amoco Canada in 1998.

Randy continued to work for the new owners for the next eight years, before being headhunted for the position of senior vice-president with Terasen, then known as B.C. Gas Utility, the largest gas distributor in the Pacific Northwest, roughly the same size as Atco Gas. In 2005, Terasen was sold, amid much public concern, to Kinder Morgan of Houston, a major player in the American gas transportation and storage industry. The sale was completed quickly, making shareholders smile. The firm has since been sold again, to Fortis Inc. of St. John’s, NL, making it the largest investor-owned energy distributor in Canada, with interests in five provinces and the Caribbean, two million customers and $10 billion in assets.

Randy Jespersen can be said to have reached the apex of his industry. He is astride a vibrant and powerful energy company, enjoys financial security and a host of attractive perks. But through all of the success, he has never forgotten Lethbridge College.

“Lethbridge College was part of my formative years,” he says. “It afforded me the opportunity to walk out with a diploma and options to continue my academic career. It was the personal touch, the teach-by-teaching philosophy that helped me succeed.

To future college students, Randy provides two insights: “Know why you’re here and, perhaps more importantly, know why you’re not. You’re not here for your parents or your friends; you’re here for yourself. I’m a huge believer in finding a direction that feels right. Trim the sails, tack into the wind from time to time, but figure out where north is.

“Once you have your diploma, realize it improves your

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but the door-knocking produced little to whet his interest.

While helping out with spring work on the family farm, he traipsed Calgary streets and there, in the west end, late one Friday afternoon, he hit paydirt.

Dome Petroleum had a dream of developing Canada’s far-flung oil reserves and Randy bought in. He served three years in Dome’s Calgary office, tutored by some of the biggest names in the nation’s petroleum industry, people like “Smiling” Jack Gallagher.

“That’s really where I did my MBA,” says Randy. “Dome was run by folks who thrived on independence and hated bureaucracy. The people at the top had 400 employees and knew everyone by their first name and a little of what they did for the firm.”

After three years, he was sent to Houston to head Dome’s bulk products operation. At 25, his biggest handicap was his age, perceived as too young to handle the work.

“I held my breath waiting for someone to say ‘he can’t do it’ and of course I’d crawl over broken glass to show I could.”

He returned to Calgary to work on Dome’s major projects, negotiating government approvals (for which he

12 • WIDER HORIZONS/Fall 2007

‘

Next came university. The University of Calgary wouldn’t accept someone without a high school diploma; the University of Alberta was willing to give him credit for a semester’s work at Lethbridge College. Instead, Randy headed to Oregon State, which accepted all his college credits. With Jim MacNeal and Bill Johnson calling every semester to ensure he was all right and continuing to arrange student loans for him, Randy completed the additional six quarters in five.

Now the father of two and the proud owner of major student loans, Randy set off for graduate school at the U of S, spending several weeks of the fall semester in the Blackstrap Campground, unable, at first, to find accommodations in Saskatoon. As an alien, he had been unable to work in Oregon and debts had mounted.

But he persevered. Finally, armed with an MBA and an intrigue for small business, he set forth to make his mark,

I can’t recite the names of many university profs, but I can recall the names of my college instructors. They are here to help you succeed, sometimes in spite of yourself.”

chances but guarantees nothing. The rest depends on your ethics, attitude and drive.”

Randy says he believes in – and encourages – giving back to others.

“I think it’s a duty,” he says. “It doesn’t have to be financial, either; it can be spending time in a classroom as a guest lecturer or teaching in retirement.”

Lethbridge College is the only post-secondary institution at which Randy has established a scholarship, one he says should be awarded not for academic achievement, but to someone who needs the money to succeed.

Lethbridge College graduate Kevin Provost smiles as he watches the Zamboni slowly circle the Civic Arena rink in preparation for another session of his annual summer hockey camp.

This is the first year that fully half of his students are of First Nations descent, and Kevin says that gives him the opportunity to address racial barriers and stereotypes.

“When we get together, we’re literally all on the same team,” he says. “It’s really cool.”

However, 30-year-old Piikani First Nations coach tells his story, it becomes evident that, ultimately, family and education constitute higher priorities than hockey. It hasn’t always been that way for him, though.

Kevin first attempted the Business Administration program at Lethbridge College in 1996, but admits he had no motivation and failed many of his courses.

“I would have much rather been playing hockey somewhere,” he explains.

SHOT ON GOAL: Kevin Provost has used a Lethbridge College diploma to ice a new career path.

finding success the second time around Tim DenOudsten Photos: David Tanaka

After that initial experience, it took him five years before he tried again.

The second attempt had a far different outcome: Kevin earned his General Studies and Business Administration certificates.

A natural leader, Kevin pursued the management stream, earning his diploma at the College before completing his Bachelor of Management degree through

Athabasca University.

After struggling in high school and failing a grade in elementary school while on the reserve, success at the college level was a huge lift.

“To attain a postsecondary education was quite a huge accomplishment for me.”

Although Kevin spent his early years in Brocket, he left at 13 to pursue his hockey career, which took him through Saskatchewan and B.C., and briefly to Japan. These experiences allowed him to see opportunities that accrue to those with an education.

Kevin is one of six Lethbridge College grads serving as elected members of the Piikani tribal council.

“That speaks volumes for the programs the College offers.”

Kevin plans to begin his masters in management or administration soon. He says it is a lack of knowledge, combined with funding issues, that create the greatest barriers to the pursuit of higher learning among First Nations teens.

His aunt, who returned to school to complete her social work degree at 35, and then her masters, was another significant personal inspiration.

“It was sort of those role models that I looked up to in family members,” says Kevin, whose parents both

passed away when he was a child.

Additionally, he was driven to provide a better life for his son Brayden, and decided a return to education was the best way to accomplish this. It was not easy, however. Finances and transportation were a problem, and Kevin admits working a part-time job and volunteering 30 hours per week as president of the Native club at Lethbridge College while taking care of his family was tricky.

Soon after graduating, Kevin returned to the reserve and put his skills to work, first by running a youth centre and later as an elected member of the band council.

“I guess really what I wanted to do with that education was give back to my community,” he says.

Kevin tells of a saying among Piikani elders comparing modern education to the buffalo of their history.

“The buffalo used to provide for our people and they could get everything and anything from the buffalo,” explains Kevin.

“Those times are long gone, but you can get all these things through the use of your education.”

Tim DenOudsten is an alumnus of Lethbridge College (Print Journalism 2007)

Jeff Wiebe Photos: Kemmet Photography

WINDS

of Change Students who enrol in Lethbridge College’s wind turbine technician program may soon be required to apply for one additional piece of documentation when they graduate: a passport.

The non-credit program, firmly established in the industry since the College created it in 2005, will soon benefit from years of European know-how, providing students with credentials accepted worldwide.

Southern Alberta’s winds may be world class, but the gold standard in turbine technology is German, developed and honed through BZEE (Bildungszentrum für Erneuerbare Energien e.V.).

The internationally recognized German organization, formed by major wind power industry players in the country, trains instructors to teach to German specifications.

John Vermeer, chair of the College’s Electrical Apprenticeship program, and Mike Wehrwein, an instructor in the Engineering Design and Drafting Technology program, were in Germany for five weeks

14 • WIDER HORIZONS/Fall 2007

in April and May, completing a crash course in what future students will learn.

He and Mike are now qualified to deliver BZEEcertified training to students at Lethbridge College. He hopes to have the standards implemented by the program’s next intake in January.

Upon graduating with BZEE-certification, Lethbridge College students will be able to work almost anywhere in Europe, and in many places beyond. But that doesn’t mean graduates can’t stay close to home.

Most major turbine producers are associated with BZEE, and when the companies want to set up wind farms in Canada, they will look for technicians with BZEE certification. This creates an opportunity for Lethbridge College to play a lead role in that process.

“We would like to make Lethbridge College the place in North America for anyone who wanted to work in the wind turbine industry,” says John.

“Because we have this now internationally recognized certification that we can provide, we can become

the place (for wind turbine education).”

Based on BZEE’s Windskill program, applicants will be screened and selected to participate based on prerequisites, and will be tested on their ability to work at heights before being interviewed. They will then undergo six months of training in industry-related courses, followed by a sixweek internship and final exams. BZEE will assist in selecting students and help Lethbridge College modify its program to meet the German organization’s standards.

Wind power companies who hire Canadians generally seek people with electrical and mechanical knowledge and provide them with basic turbine training. BZEE training eliminates this need for training, making Lethbridge College grads much more attractive to employers, says John.

“They (wind power companies) may get 30 people that apply for the job,” he says. “Now they have to go through an interview process, which is a considerable amount of work. Then, in order to even

It’s easy BZEE for Lethbridge College

test them at heights, they have to first give them safety training. And then, once they have safety training, they can put them up at heights to see if they can work. If they (the employees) wash out, that’s been a considerable expense to the company.”

“We’re basically doing all that screening for them,” adds Mike.

In the future, the growing demand for wind power may be reflected in existing Lethbridge College programs. Environmental sciences students might learn how to determine the environmental impact of wind farms, and ways to mitigate that impact, while geomatics students could learn how to choose the most efficient locations for wind farms.

The amount of wind power produced in Canada more than doubled between 2005 and 2006, jumping to 1459 MW from 683 MW, according to the Global Wind Energy Council.

“In places like Canada and the U.S., because of our huge landmass, we're able to put wind farms in without adversely affecting large groups of people,” says John.

No colleges in North America offer BZEEcertified training, and no U.S. colleges attended the German seminar in April. Of the five Canadian colleges who attended, only two have existing wind turbine technician programs, Lethbridge and a Frenchlanguage college in Quebec. Since a prerequisite of BZEE certification is fluency in English, Lethbridge has a distinct advantage over other colleges offering the training and has exclusive rights to offer the certification in

Alberta.

“We have experience, and we have really good ties to industry,” says Mike.

Of course Lethbridge College also enjoys a geographical advantage: a close proximity to large wind farms, allowing it to easily fulfill the internships BZEE requires.

The West’s booming wind power industry holds much promise for future graduates; a recent announcement from Montana indicated 200 turbines will be installed there soon.

POWER BROKERS: Instructors Mike Wehrwein, left, and John Vermeer at the Chin Chute Wind Farm. Lethbridge College is at the height of the gale.

“The place that has the most turbines is going to have the most work,” says John. “I was just speaking with a person from the (Montana) company and (he) said they would hire every graduate we could put out in the next year.”

Jeff Wiebe is an alumnus of Lethbridge College (Print Journalism 2007)

Politics makes for strange bedfellows, they say, and if anyone can verify that statement, it’s Dr. Faron Ellis.

The Lethbridge College instructor has pulled the sheets back to reveal more about Canadian politics and those who practice the art than many others currently involved in political science in the country.

Throughout his career,

and live by his credo that “dissent is essential because it makes good things better and bad things crumble.”

One thing that never crumbles for Faron is his passion for research and the desire to share what he learns. Having published ‘The Limits of Participation: Members and Leaders in Canada’s Reform Party’ in 2005, he continues to forge ahead to create what he

also sees Faron busy as the director of the Citizen Society Research Lab, a fullservice polling and public opinion research endeavour that started as a Local Government class project during the municipal election of 1998. Under Faron’s direction, students created and conducted a telephone survey to predict the results.

“We predicted who

Tell It Like It Is Faron Ellis has his finger on the pulse of politics

Scott Sakatch Photo: Kemmet Photography

Faron has engaged in what he calls “an exercise in myth busting,” enjoying a certain amount of pleasure in goring various sacred cows.

He’s not shy about providing analysis that is often at odds with conventional wisdom.

Perhaps that’s one of the reasons journalists so often turn to him for insight into the vagaries that define Canada’s political landscape.

Faron takes his politics personally and he’s not afraid to call it as he sees it.

That can be a refreshing approach in a media blitz of repetitive sound-bites and pontifications. Sure, he’s recognized as a leading expert on the former Reform party, but Faron doesn’t see himself as a big-c Conservative. He’s really more of a libertarian, believes our governments are too big, and our taxes too damn high.

Ask him. He’ll tell you.

And he might even encourage you to join him

envisions as a trilogy of books chronicling recent developments in Canadian conservatism. The second volume will cover the Canadian Alliance and the final will analyze the new Conservative party.

“Aristotle said that drama occurs in three acts, and who are we to argue with him,” he says with a wry smile.

It’s that desire to share and inform that Faron brings to the classroom. It also helped earn him a 2007 Lethbridge College Student Association and Faculty Association Teaching Excellence Award. (See sidebar.)

“I really enjoy a multifaceted approach to my work,” Faron says of his various roles. “I love the full, scientific, scholarly research, the journals with all the stats and jargon. But I don’t just want to talk to political scientists. There’s a variety of audiences that I want to talk to, whether it’s a classroom full of students or (CBC News anchor) Peter Mansbridge.”

A love for doing it all

16 • WIDER HORIZONS/Fall 2007

would win, but more importantly, I realized it is possible for students to collect scientific data while developing all kinds of technical and analytic skills.”

An added benefit was seeing students move beyond their “comfort zone” as they were introduced to the wide diversity of perspectives “that is the reality of measuring broadly based public opinion.”

“In a very real way, it forces them to shed the

myopic belief that ‘everyone thinks like me.’”

Now, nine years later, the lab has conducted more than a dozen polls on public policy issues, including municipal elections, accurately predicting outcomes for the 2001 and 2004 mayoral races, and the always contentious downtown parking issue.

More significantly, the projects evolved into Social Science Research Methods, a class that addresses formal research techniques. The class is a core requirement for three of four new liberal arts majors offered at the college, and for a series of programs for Athabasca University (AU) students who earn their degrees on the college campus.

Bridging two aspects of Lethbridge College philosophy, the programs offer an academics-based education that produces grads who are in high demand in the workforce.

Faron says his students are gold in the eyes of many employers, thanks to the critical reasoning abilities they take away with their diploma, and many quickly move into management positions.

The four majors are an

Faron’s Write Stuff • Contributed chapters to last five editions of the Canadian Election books produced by his colleagues at Carleton University after each federal election • 25 academic publications in such venues as the Canadian Journal of Political Science and the international journal Party Politics • Author of 35 newspaper and magazine articles • Author of The Limits of Participation: Members and Leaders in Canada’s Reform Party, published by the University of Calgary Press in 2005 • Lead author of first brief edition of Parameters of Power: Canada’s Political Institutions – a recently published Canadian government textbook, published by Thomson Nelson

addition to the college’s General Studies program, and it should come as no surprise that Faron was part of the team that came together to create the offerings.

“We were given the opportunity to design diploma majors that are academically rigourous and strive to develop students’ communications, numeracy, critical thinking, and analytical skills; in other words, a classical liberal arts program.”

The new majors include Cultural Studies, English, Psychology-Sociology, and Canadian Studies, which is Faron’s main area of interest, along with the research and citizenship aspects of the larger program. Graduates not only earn a liberal arts diploma that prepares them for a variety of careers, but one that is also designed to provide credits at Alberta universities should students decide to pursue further post-secondary education.

“We believe we are providing students with one of the best two-year liberal arts undergraduate experiences in the country.” con’t page 18...

MYTH SLAYER: Faron Ellis turns the science of politics into an art form.

Fall 2007/WIDER HORIZONS • 17

It’s a claim that’s tough to deny when stated in his straight-forward, hold-nopunches manner. That’s Faron. Tell it like it is and let the chips fall where they may. It’s a style that serves him well in both dishing out the goods on Canada’s political scene in a media interview and in the classroom, where he could never be mistaken for boring lecturer.

Colleen Bains, an AU student who took Faron’s research methods class on the way to finishing her business administration degree at age 50, says she appreciated his salty style and uncompromising academic ethics, which

helped her develop skills that go hand-in-hand with other aspects of her education.

“He’s an inspiration.

Faron’s just awesome. He’s not only fair, he’s honest, trustworthy and down-toearth. He has his soul in what he’s teaching, and he wants to pass that along to you,” she says.

Faron shares an equal appreciation for the opportunity to share with his students. He is quick to credit many of his college colleagues for their contributions to his success, adding that “for Lethbridge College, the best is yet to come.

Students Thrive Through Class Challenges Faron Ellis is a man driven by a passion for his field of study and by an expectation for students to find the passion that drives them.

His students learn and thrive in his class and their appreciation for their instructor led to Faron being recognized this year with a Lethbridge College Faculty Association and Student Association Teaching Excellence Award.

“Faron is completely fearless when it comes to challenging his students,” says Lindsey Routhier, one of two recent honours General Studies honors who nominated Faron for the award. “It is my opinion that post-secondary education should be full of challenges and opportunities to examine one’s ideologies rather than the learning of facts to regurgitate for exams.”

Kalen Hastings, the college’s first Canadian Studies graduate who also nominated Faron, agrees.

“While examining issues in a fearless and analytical manner, he also respects the dignity and beliefs of others.”

Both students agree their classroom experience was exceedingly rewarding and has helped to prepare them to be better thinkers, writers and researchers.

“Unconstrained by a rigid teaching philosophy, Faron has the unique ability of maximizing the individual talents of students,” Kalen says.

Faron may march to the beat of his own drum, but he teaches his students to keep in step with their own evolving philosophies.

18 • WIDER HORIZONS/Fall 2007

A ground-breaking initiative between Lethbridge College and a major North American medical equipment supplier gives the institution’s paramedic, nursing and emergency medical technician graduates a headstart in their chosen careers.

Under the initiative, which brings together a variety of organizations such as NAIT, Chinook Health and regional ambulance operators, Zoll, a leading manufacturer and supplier of resuscitation equipment, will make several of their latest machines available to the college. This means Lethbridge College graduates will be learning on equipment so advanced it has yet to be supplied to Canadian hospitals.

zoll support

boosts emergency training

+

“Our graduates will be able to train established healthcare staff when this state-of-the-art equipment is supplied to hospitals and ambulance services,” says Steven Dyck, the College’s executive director of advancement.

By donating its latest range of equipment, including computer software specifically designed to manage emergency medical cases, Zoll is making a major contribution to the success of the college’s medical programs. More than 700 nursing and EMT students every year, as well as 500 Chinook Health employees, will benefit from this hands-on approach.

College Foundation has accepted that challenge and matched it. It’s a good start, and though there is still a long way to go to reach the target, Steven remains undaunted.

“A $1,000 scholarship can mean the difference between a student sucessfully completing a program and dropping out,” says Steven.

ANOTHER STOREY: Clockwise from front: Fiona Dyer, Information Services librarian; Steven Dyck, Executive Director, Advancement; Jonathan Hall, Students’ Association President; Melanie Fast, Students’ Association VicePresident, Internal.

than one.

College librarian Fiona Dyer admits heavy use on the library is making it increasingly difficult to serve students to the level they require. Changing methods of instruction, including an increase in the use of group work, is leading to increased pressure on the facility.

since the library was built in 1984, and would add 1,410 square metres on a second floor.

With funding in place, there won’t be an overnight solution to the library’s problems.

“You’re looking at about two years to completion after we’ve got the money,” says Irwin Olfert, the

donors make the future fabulous

Iain Shute Photo:Michelle Stegen

With Lethbridge College celebrating its 50th birthday this year, now more than ever its focus is on improving services to students.

For Steven Dyck, the rising cost of education and the need for improvements to the Buchanan Library are two areas of greatest concern.

“We have to look at ways at creating affordability as well as giving students the necessary tools to be successful,” says Steven, Lethbridge College’s executive director, advancement.

The College has a goal to raise $500,000 to generate and sustain 50 additional $1,000 scholarships as one way of addressing the affordability question.

Leading the charge is the Alumni Association, which has given the scholarship fund a kick-start with a $25,000 “challenge gift.” The

To illustrate the point he notes a married student was preparing to feed his family by hunting the geese on Henderson Lake; a scholarship enabled him to concentrate on his studies rather than wildfowling.

The change away from individual endowments to a general scholarship fund reflects the increased costs of dealing with individual awards and helps donors keep in closer contact with the realities of modern education. A small endowment that produced scholarships of $250 was fine in earlier years, says Steven, but can’t keep pace with inflation.

Donors looking for an avenue to give to the College other than through scholarships can lend their support to projects that benefit the entire student body. The Buchanan Library, for instance, is at the centre of the college in more ways

Gone is the idea of having students produce their own work in individual endeavour. Now, groups, consisting of several learners, require the use of small rooms to provide a more relaxed, free-flow sharing of ideas.

However, with the library already under encroachment from other departments within the college, the pressure is on to provide students with what they need.

“We’ve had student focus groups which tell us what they want,” says Fiona.

The students’ priority is a welcoming, quiet place to study, a place where they can spread out and chill out.

College leadership recognizes the value of the library as a learning centre has been compromised to an extent and is keen to see the situation rectified. A refurbishment, at about $10 million, would be the first

College’s director of physical facilities. The first six months would be devoted to planning and design with another 18 months required for construction. By such time, pressure on the library is likely to have increased further. Irwin admits constructing a second floor would cause some disruption, but that the building was originally constructed to allow for upward expansion.

The Buchanan Library also houses the Buchanan Bequest. This collection of nearly 50 paintings, including several landscapes by members of the Group of Seven, has always been stored in a secure vault in the library for protection.

Unfortunately, that renders it largely inaccessible for display for all to appreciate.

A larger library would allow the collection to be appropriately displayed.

Fall 2007/WIDER HORIZONS • 19

at Home on the Range

EAST MEETS WEST Japanese Students Peter Scott Photo: David Tanaka

Each year for the past dozen, Tokyo mothers have been sending their sons to an arid, windswept plain where temperatures can easily vary 70 degrees between seasons, Japanese is rarely heard and the nearest of their beloved cherry blossoms are at least two mountain ranges west.

And each year since they began graduating from its two-year program, Lethbridge College has been sending back to those same mothers sons with a solid grounding in English, an understanding of Canadian culture and the technical training to continue their education at home or abroad.

If this keeps up, tuques may soon be the next Tokyo fashion accessory.

Twelve years ago, the first cohort of nine grads from a Tokyo technical high school affiliated with the Nippon Institute of Technology became the vanguard of a lasting relationship between NIT and Lethbridge College.

Once the program was tweaked, students began spending their first year in Blairmore with homestay families, learning English and taking one or two college-level courses toward a General Studies Diploma.

In the second year, they attended full classes in Lethbridge. The program has operated much the same since, says Robin Goates, the original program coordinator and now head of Interdisciplinary Studies.

“NIT had purchased the old Blairmore courthouse and renovated it into a learning facility,” says Robin. “It was a heritage building and had to be

20 • WIDER HORIZONS/Fall 2007

maintained much as it was originally, so the old jail cells became classrooms.”

As the years passed, NIT purchased an old church that now houses classes.

The students, between 12 and 24 a year, arrive in May for a 12-month stay, studying physical education, math, science, computer technology and chemistry. In the second year, at Lethbridge College’s main campus, they are integrated into regular General Studies classes, their course of study approved by NIT and Lethbridge. The original concept as envisioned by NIT, says Robin, has strayed somewhat.

“NIT officials wanted them to return to NIT to complete their next two years,” she says. “Many still do, but others apply to continue their studies in Canada.”

Jonathan Legg, program co-ordinator and advisor for the past five years, says NIT officials are keen to have their students learn about Canadian culture.

During the first year, homestay is mandatory; it’s optional in the second year. With homestay programs, warm relationships tend to develop between host families and their guests, once a bit of culture shock wears off. Students, particularly the boys, are shown how to change and make their beds and other household responsibilities.

In class, they are encouraged to ask questions and challenge instructors, something unheard of in Japanese schools. Another change, cautiously introduced last year, was the novel – by Japanese standards –inclusion of women into the program.

As for Canadian culture, there are some aspects that require no encouragement.

“They love the freedom of space,” says Robin. “The three to four hours they spend commuting in Tokyo becomes leisure time in Canada. They soon take up skiing and snowboarding, both of which they can do in the Pass, and spending $2,000 at Alpenland is nothing for some of them; of course, handling their own money is a growth issue.”

Add an outdoor activity course involving fishing, hiking and canoeing, and you’ve got your average Canadian lifestyle pretty much constructed. Oh, yes, the hockey: each second-year class in Lethbridge has its own hockey team.

“It’s become a tradition,” says Jonathan. “They also take part in Student Association ski trips and clubs.”

It’s Jonathan’s job to ease any academic or emotional problems that arise and to determine when culture is stifling learning. To date, he’s kept most on track, and NIT is pleased with the results. Four of the 2007 grads are returning to Lethbridge this fall, while two are headed elsewhere in Canada.

“There isn’t a student in the program who doesn’t realize this is a great opportunity,” says Jonathan. “An international education opens doors. They can go back to NIT with two full years’ credit, which has a huge significance, or they can, with an English education in Canada, have so many more opportunities. Universities look at them differently; even though they’ve come from a technical high school program, an international diploma says something about them as learners.”

GLOBAL POSITIONING: Tobi Baugh, Geomatics Technology instructor, demonstrates GPS for Yuka Nakagome, left, and Satoshi Tamaki. A knowledge of English is providing Japanese students a window on the world.

GOING FOR THE GREEN: Irwin Olfert, Physical Facilities Director, centre, flanked, from left, by crew members Stan Brown, electrics; Roy Teierle, heating; Daryl Thompson, refrigeration; and Darcy Beattie, electrics.

20

KICKIN’ Jeff Wiebe Photo: Michelle Stegen

When the Lethbridge College Kodiaks take to floor or field, they do so sporting their traditional blue-and-white uniforms.

It’s long been the colour scheme of College athletic endeavours.

But Lethbridge College also plays in another arena, one in which green is the colour of choice.

The college has embarked on

The College envisions a day when it may become a centre of knowledge for an industry striving to be conscious of its environmental impact.

many environmentally friendly projects in recent years. In its latest business plan, released in June, the institution commits to meeting the reductions set by the Kyoto Accord by 2010, a full two years ahead of schedule.

According to Irwin Olfert, director of Physical Facilities, several waste reduction projects have contributed to the campus’s green status.

010

In addition, the college is taking the environment into consideration in the construction and renovation of its buildings. Prior to the major Cousins Building renovation, old chillers and walk-in freezers that ran on water were updated with equipment that runs on air, greatly reducing water consumption. When the college replaced all of its chalk boards with white boards, the old aluminum edges were salvaged and recycled. This not only prevented the metal from ending up in a landfill, but netted the college up to $1,500.

“We're trying to construct buildings that are environmentally friendly, healthy for people to work in, and very cost-effective,” says Irwin.

Discounting irrigation, Lethbridge College used about half as much water this June as it did in June two years ago, a change due in large part to the Cousins renovation. Still, Irwin is hoping to make greater cuts.

“There are many areas for potential savings,” he says.

“I know my irrigation system is antiquated and we can do a lot better.”

Rainfall collection, says Irwin, would save up to $100,000 annually.

“We’ve done some preliminary calculations: if we could collect storm water that runs off the roofs and use it for irrigation, that would cover most of it,” he says. “Not only have you helped the environment by reducing water consumption, you're affecting the bottom line in a huge way.”

Irwin is vigilant in his

IT WITH KYOTO Lethbridge College Environmental Initiatives Running Ahead of Accord

Pruned tree branches are mulched and reused in landscaping; paper towels in campus washrooms have been replaced with cloth and electric hand dryers; and sensors have been installed to automatically turn off lights when rooms are vacant. Even the salt used on icy roads is environmentally friendly. The maintenance department is also replacing any remaining incandescent bulbs with more efficient fluorescent ones.

“When you put in new lighting technology, you not only save energy, you improve the light quality,” says Irwin.

hunt for environmental malfeasance. In his sights is the opportunity to reduce air-conditioning costs. He’s noted several rooms on campus sit vacant through much of the summer, and keeping them cool costs the College.

The College is committed to ensuring future construction meets the highest environmental standards, and envisions a day when it may become a centre of knowledge for an industry striving to be conscious of its environmental impact.

As a result of all the green projects sprouting up around Lethbridge College, the campus was close to meeting its Kyoto targets last year. It actually beat them in 1997, before expansion began, which increased energy usage and bumped the college back into the red. With the reopening of the Cousins Building to students this fall, energy demand will jump again, but planned boiler upgrades in the Centre Core and Technologies buildings will help offset that increase.

“We don't see achieving Kyoto as an end goal for the college,” says Irwin. “We talk about it as being an interim goal; we can go lower.

“I wouldn't be surprised if the college, long term, was twice as stringent as required by Kyoto.”

Jeff Wiebe is an alumnus of Lethbridge College (Print Journalism 2007)

Fall 2007/WIDER HORIZONS • 23