Fall 2009
Cover
A PUBLICATION OF LETHBRIDGE COLLEGE
Chasing cougars:
Our DNA study will keep them healthy
mean streets P. 26 • shooting for marks P. 30 • mouse work P. 40
c i p m y l O es o g e s i t er p x e e g e Coll
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Vol. 3, No. 1, Fall 2009
On Our Cover Since we opened our renovated Cousins Science Centre in 2007, we’ve been “experimenting” with cutting-edge projects, both in and out of the lab. We’ve fused science with technology, creating the type of innovative post-secondary institution Canada’s future requires. In this issue, we explain how we’re tracking cougars, harnessing the wind and bringing new ideas into the agriculture field, all to produce students prepared to enrich the world when they graduate.
What’s Inside Our window to the world.............................................16
The world is knocking at our door looking for a hot commodity: English. So, we’re giving them what they want, eh.
Mean streets are Saskia’s avenue.. 26 Saskia Schopman came from Vauxhall with a desire to help kids. She achieved her goal on the streets of Vancouver’s East End.
chalk talk: Kodiaks smarten up............... 30 Our Kodiaks were succeeding everywhere, except in the classroom. An academic initiative turned a failed reputation into a national bragging point.
Whirlwind romance..................................................... 32 Lethbridge College started out training wind turbine
technicians. Now, we’ve got the wind at our backs with plans for a wind power academy.
Donors Make A Difference.......................................... 42 We think our donors are rather special folk who deserve our recognition. Meet two who have made a difference to students at Lethbridge College.
In Every Issue Office Intrigue........................................................................ 24 Perspectives........................................................................... 36 My Life.................................................................................. 38 Q & A.................................................................................... 40 WH Feature Contest............................................................... 46 Where are they now?............................................................. 47
Wider Horizons is Lethbridge College’s community magazine, celebrating the successes and accomplishments of its students, employees and alumni by promoting them throughout the community and around the world. This publication aims to educate its readers, engage stakeholders and recognize donors through compelling stories and images that relate to, and resonate with, its readers. Wider Horizons is published three times a year by the Lethbridge College Advancement Office. We thank you for picking up this copy and hope you enjoy the read. If you would like to recommend story ideas for future issues or would like to find out more about our magazine, contact us. Wider Horizons c/o The Advancement Office 3000 College Drive South Lethbridge, AB T1K 1L6 email: WHMagazine@gmail.com publisher: Steven Dyck manager: Carmen Toth chief writer: Peter Scott photographer: Gregory Thiessen designer/co-ordinator: Jaylene Ulmer magazine staff: Imarú Baquero, Leeanne Conrad, Michelle Stegen In addition to free distribution to our regional community, Wider Horizons is also mailed to all Lethbridge College alumni. Alumni are encouraged to stay connected to the College by updating their contact information at the Alumni Relations website: lethbridgecollege.ca/alumni To share this issue with others, visit us at widerhorizons.ca
Aquaculture, Ag and DNA Innovation and research are taking Lethbridge College to interesting places of late, realms of fang and fin, of DNA, of computer wizardry and the world’s oldest profession. We’ve got cougars in the Cousins Science Centre, fish in computer labs and all manner of growth in agriculture technology.
Teaching is a phenomenal experience, knowing you’re helping the next generation by producing students who will be of great value to the community. Tom Graham Instructor, Cellular Molecular Technician program
4 • WIDER Horizons/Fall 2009/Cover Story
tom graham: microbe hunter By his own description, Tom Graham works
After 15 years with the Public Heath Agency
Graham agrees his Cellular-molecular
“in the realm of the unseen.” He understands
of Canada, located in the Animal Diseases
Technician program is a rough tumble for
if his listeners sometimes glaze over when he
Research Institute, Graham left the coulees
students because it exposes them to a lot
explains his passion for microbiology, a world
of deep West Lethbridge for the chance to
of material in a short time. The good news,
so small that most folks cannot even begin to
teach at Lethbridge College in 2004. His
though, for those who can keep on track is
fathom it.
arrival was, for a scientist, serendipitous:
transferability. Those who then seek higher
three years later, the college opened research-
education can often find student jobs related
quality laboratories in its upgrade of the
to their studies, rather than unrelated
Cousins Science Centre, a Hyde-to-Jekyll
ones. The results: greater links to potential
transformation that still has instructors
employment.
“My daughter says I put the capital N in nerdy,” says Graham, instructor in Lethbridge College’s Cellular Molecular Technician program, yet again being asked to dumb down an explanation by a visitor to his lab in an almost-hidden alcove on the top floor of the Cousins Science Centre. But if microbes lack a certain sexy cachet, cougars – the kind that would rather eat poodles than walk them – have far greater staying power in everyday conversation. Suddenly, Graham is holding people’s attention a little longer with tales of a predatory species that poses, in fact, a far less deadly threat to humans than the scary monsters from “the realm of the unseen.” “I’m quite fond of diseases and amazed at what little bugs can do to large entities,” says Graham, who looks not so much like a mad scientist, but more like the shortstop on the company softball team, replete with ball cap, blue jeans and great range. “I have a curiosity; I like to get into things to see what makes animals the way they are.” So, when microbiologist meets Puma concolor, the fur flies.
swooning. “The Cousins is a Level 2 Biosafety
Graham’s teaching philosophy is centred on providing students with experiences
containment facility,” says Graham. “It’s
beyond books. The cougar DNA study is one
allowing us to do good work and to introduce
such opportunity, but it’s far from the lone
students to cutting-edge research and
example. Graham involved students in a
equipment. It was done right: the city is
water-quality study on the Blood Reserve a
becoming known as a research centre because
couple of years ago, and Lethbridge College’s
of these facilities and those at the University
forays into South Africa, which he now
of Lethbridge, The Lethbridge Research
leads, have regularly included students in
Centre and the Animal Diseases Research
the delivery of a school-based water and
Industry.”
sanitation project.
Graham predicts greater collaboration
The South Africa program was started
among these four will make Lethbridge
by the soon to be-retired Jerry Johnson, a
renowned as a centre of research in
Lethbridge College instructor who involved
Western Canada, and that will have positive
several groups of students to help facilitate
implications for this community and all
improved sanitation.
students.
“Jerry has a world-renowned reputation
“As we develop tighter bonds with other
in international work. I’d like to carry it
researchers, it will help all parties and the
on. I think you have a stronger project if
students will benefit from that bonding. It will
you include students because they will help
tie them into the people who will be hiring
others down the road. And, it’s a real learning
them one day.”
experience for everyone; you get to know real people who are struggling to exist day to day.”
5
Cellmates:
Duo tracks big cat dna Tamara Hariz and Jennifer Bourk are tracking cougars. Although
“Making a burger is no different than running a PCR [polymerase
they can see a broad swath of cougar terrain from the west-facing,
chain reaction],” says Hariz, without a trace of a smile. Well,
fourth-floor windows of their lab in the Cousins Science Centre at
except, maybe, for the pickles. But one gets the point.
Lethbridge College, they seldom get a chance to enjoy the view. Instead, the two research students are hunting their prey with the tools of the microbiologist. Rather than searching for footprints of the big cats along creek beds, Hariz and Bourk are studying much, much smaller evidence: DNA. When they finish their work, they will have created a database of cougar family relationships that will allow future researchers to tell where an animal originated and, by studying hair samples found in the wild, reconstruct its travels. This helps wildlife biologists understand what encourages a cougar to range many kilometers from its original territory. The two may seem unlikely cougar chasers. Hariz started as a nursing student at Lethbridge College, while Bourk’s background is in accounting. Hariz owns the Burger Baron in North Lethbridge; Bourk is returning to academics after starting a family. Yet here they are, sequestered amid the centrifuges and test tubes, sporting white lab coats as Cellular Molecular Technician program students and learning about the times and travels of North American carnivores. What gives? “This is a huge opportunity not everyone gets,” says Hariz. “We are on the edge of breaking out new technology. It’s worth every minute.” The two women agree running a business and accounting require immense attention to detail and organizational skills. So does messing with cougar DNA.
6 • WIDER Horizons/Fall 2009/Cover Story
So while they may never see a cougar in the wild, they’ll know more about the felines than most. The days in the lab are punctuated with the thrill of discovery. “When you explain it to people, it looks to be like you’re doing the same thing every day,” says Bourk. “But it’s not repetitive to us. It just depends how you’re wired.” Adds Hariz: “When the particulate gene you’re looking for shows up, it’s exciting. It’s like finding a hair at a crime scene and determining who it belongs to.” The women were set to work on the project until, as Hariz notes, they get what they’re looking for. By April, they had isolated the gene determining gender and were working on typing each sample to determine individual characteristics. Hariz plans to extend her education to be able to work in stemcell research one day. “I started in nursing to help others,” she says. “I’m still interested in doing that. So imagine being able to help people repair their own bodies through non-invasive methods. Imagine being able to grow a liver, rather than having a transplant.” Bourk, who has been working on cereal crops at the Lethbridge Research Centre, hopes to continue in agricultural research. “The methods are the same,” she says. “You’re working with cells, whether they belong to cougars or crops.”
Students Tamara Hariz, left, and Jennifer Bourk are studying cougar DNA to ensure the species’ continued health.
7
Dave Haight, (Renewable Resource Management 2005; Fish and Wildlife Technology 2006) lab co-ordinator for the Cousins Science Centre, harvests a clump of cougar fur caught on barbed wire.
Nine lives: Dave helps these Dave Haight doesn’t much mind being
surrounded by 22 cougars in an enclosed space at Lethbridge College. After all, they’re frozen solid at -20C and, to be fair, Dave doesn’t appear all that appetizing anyway. Haight, Cousins Science Centre lab coordinator, is in the process of giving the deceased predators new leases on life: their worldly purpose, playing a key role in the environmental food chain, is about to meet the world of academia. By the time they leave the college, the cougars will have: • donated their DNA for the cellular-molecular study of their species • given students in the Fish and Wildlife
Technology program specimens to conduct
efforts are in the best interests of both. Sound
necropsies
scientific information about the population
• allowed Conservation Enforcement students to determine if their demise was caused by illegal means • provided their skulls for School of Environmental Science’s collection Not quite the nine lives felines are supposed to enjoy, but close enough, and Lethbridge College students will have been given the chance to get their hands dirty in a way no textbook can provide. Knowing the DNA signature of each cougar
makes for better decisions. “When our students learn how to obtain this information, this knowledge and the data collected from these cougars can be applied to research and could become an information base for protection and management of the species in Alberta,” says Sharie Cousins, Conservation Enforcement program instructor. “The cougar may benefit from this information now and in the future in an indirect way. For example, the DNA signature becomes available for things such as behavioural profiles of known
helps scientists and human/wildlife conflict
species that become involved in a human
specialists determine what the population looks
conflict.
like and whether management and protection
8 • WIDER Horizons/Fall 2009/Cover Story
“We can tell if the behavior of the cougar is
Species: Puma concolor - neat stuff we discovered about cougars Range: six subspecies are found from the Yukon to the Andes; the subspecies in Canada is Puma concolor cougar. While they frequent Western North America, they do exist in the east from the Maritimes south, primarily in Florida. They have several alternate names, most commonly mountain lion (Canada) and puma (United States). Size: cougars are the second-largest cat in North America, behind the jaguar. In southern Alberta, weights average 70 kg for males and 40 kg for females. They are larger in northern climes and smaller toward the equator. Colour: cougars run from reddish-brown to grey-brown with white on the underside, and have a black-tipped tail. Family life: cougars are solitary animals; females live with their cubs (born one to six at a time) for up to two years. They are the only predator in Alberta able to give birth year round. Life expectancy is eight to 13 years, although they can reach 20 in captivity.
Cougars are among three wild cats native to Canada, along with the lynx and the bobcat; the latter two are more closely related to domestic cats. Cougars are at the top of the food chain, but share that billing with grey wolves and bears. Prey: cougars feed on deer, elk, bighorn sheep, domestic livestock. They’ll also eat smaller prey. Unlike other predators in Alberta, cougars can eat only meat. They do not recognize humans as prey and while there are instances of interaction with humans, they are rare: some 20 deaths have been confirmed in the last 120 years in North America. In Canada, the highest incidence of cougar attacks occurs on Vancouver Island; most victims are children. Cougar confrontations can be thwarted by acting calm and speaking confidently. Make yourself appear as large as you can to convince the cougar you are a threat rather than a meal. Allow it an avenue of escape. Do not turn your back or run, but back away slowly. If you are attacked, fight back; do not play dead. Conservation: cougars are not considered endangered and are listed as “least concerned.”
felines live them all unique to a family line and specific territory, or
under the Wildlife Act. One was trapped in the
law. Without valid licencing, it’s illegal to
whether all cougars exhibit this behaviour.”
Cypress Hills town site after bringing down a
possess items such as these cougar hides and
deer on someone’s front lawn; it’s that sort of
skulls which, after college staff and students
behaviour that gets noticed by the authorities.
use up the nine lives, are shipped back to the
The college receives the cougars – and bears, wolves, coyotes, big horn sheep and other
regions from which they came or disposed of
members of the province’s food chain – from
“With no competition from other wildlife
Alberta Fish and Wildlife. Normally, students
such as wolves, the cougar population there
work on hair samples taken from barbed-wire
remains healthy” says Haight, who prepares the
collection sights, but the chance to work on a
carcasses for student studies. “The big males
have a cougar hide or skull, but with no lawful
whole animal can’t be equaled.
typically push the younger males out of their
means to possess it, having one illegally erodes
territories, so the range continues to expand.
the basic concept that wildlife belongs to all
For example, in Cypress Hills, the cougar seems
Albertans and cannot be owned,” says Cousins.
Most ended their lives as felons, running afoul of human habitation from Grande Prairie to the Cypress Hills. Fish and Wildlife Division will do what it can to protect cougars from poachers and other untoward human interaction, but when the big cats become a threat to an established settlement, the fate of the animal must be determined by officers authorized
to be increasing its range into Saskatchewan. In the spring, with deer and elk giving birth to fawns and calves, a healthy cougar becomes a killing machine.” Cousins notes the carcasses are all carefully
lawfully. “It may not seem like a big deal for someone to
Badly behaved cougars providing information on their peers and helping to educate a new generation of environmental scientists: it’s another way Lethbridge College uses innovation in its role as a leader in the community.
recorded and handled according to provincial
9
Agricultural Technology students identify seed samples as Instructor Vince Ellert looks on.
Growing green Did you eat today? If so, thank the growing industry of agriculture. From the Fertile Crescent in 10,000 BC to the Palliser Triangle AD 2009, someone, somewhere, somehow has been tilling the soil or tending the herd, practising the science of producing food to feed themselves and others. That industry is alive and well. It is adapting and growing as the world population grows, the climate changes, international trade shifts and consumer tastes evolve. Regardless of politics, economics, fads and weather, the need for food production remains a constant. Agriculture is an exciting, vibrant, innovative and adapting industry. Flashy oil booms come and go, but agriculture is here to stay. “And the future is bright, too,” says Vince Ellert, instructor in the Agricultural Technology program at Lethbridge College. “The industry has remained sustainable. It’s not just about how to produce food; it involves a multitude of ancillary industries. Many students know how to farm, but come to us to learn facets such as marketing, business and communications.”
10 • WIDER Horizons/Fall 2009/Cover Story
Not every student entering the program knows Herefords from hayracks, but all can enjoy careers in farm finance, equipment sales and repair, food processing, scientific research, and a host of service and support positions, all of which require insight and understanding to be successful. Ag students here get their hands dirty in ways potential
College wows Texan Tyler Stephens has a doctorate from a fancy American university,
employers appreciate, while making vital industry
but the Texan believes post-secondary education should begin at the
connections. It’s added value, something not found in
college level.
textbooks and interminable theory classes.
With a PhD in food safety from Texas Tech in Lubbock, Stephens
Here’s how we do it:
came to Alberta to collaborate on a project at the Lethbridge Research
The two Tiffin conferences (tiffinconference.ca) bring to
Centre. When he required a little more knowledge on cellular-
Lethbridge College the movers and shakers of agribusiness,
molecular technology, he took the program offered at Lethbridge
sharing global views on the topics of the day, researched and
College. That led to a meeting with Tom Graham, the program
presented by experts in each field. “Students have the two
instructor, and an introduction to Graham’s cougar DNA study.
days to learn from the very best,” says Kathy Waddell, Tiffin Conference co-ordinator. “The connections they make at Tiffin can’t be bought.” (See page 12 for more information on Tiffin.) Advisory committees are an integral component of keeping Lethbridge College programs responsive to industry, none more so than in the Ag Tech program. “We’re aware of the
It also introduced Stephens, from San Antonio, to the eye-popping range of goodies in the Cousins Science Centre. “I was shocked by the facilities you have here,” he says. “Lethbridge College is well set up from the standpoint of both teacher and student. I would encourage any student to start
diverse aspect of agriculture, and our advisory committee
their education at a college. Heading straight to a university from
reflects that,” says outgoing chair Frank Walton. “The support
high school is a waste of money, unless you’re entering a specific field
we receive in scholarships reflects on the quality of our school.
such as law or medicine. Here, you get to interact with instructors.
The agriculture industry in southern Alberta understands the
These students are getting a lot of hands-on training, which is vital in
need for skilled employees in every facet of the business, from
biology.”
primary production to all the support services.” Lethbridge College collaborates closely with numerous producers and agencies who show students first hand what they do and how they do it. “These are not artificial scenarios,”
They’re also getting involved in research projects, such as the DNA study. “I’d say Lethbridge College is involved in more research than
says Waddell. “Students work actual shifts in a hands-on
community colleges in the United States,” says Stephens. “You’ve got
setting and every operation is different. Students won’t
a guy like Tom Graham, who’s a great asset for your biotechnology
find opportunities as diverse as those offered at Lethbridge
program and who has connections at the provincial and federal levels
College. Plus, students develop job contacts and create links
and is not afraid to ask questions. He’s a diverse guy; it’s rare to have
through networking. Our programs provide the knowledge
someone teaching at a college at the point he’s at in his career.”
and practical skills to be successful in this industry.” Students who successfully complete a diploma in Agricultural Technology can move to degree studies at the universities of Lethbridge, Alberta or Saskatchewan. If they choose further education, they’ll enter those programs already versed in much of the hands-on training required of competent practitioners, thanks to the intimate class settings at Lethbridge College, taught by faculty with theoretical and
Stephens had little idea he’d be hunting cougar DNA when he signed up for the program. At the Lethbridge Research Centre, he was conducting work on food safety research, primarily in feed lots. Coming to Lethbridge made sense: the area has the second-highest concentration of cattle in North America at some one million head within 100 kilometres of the city. (Although, its claims pale before those of Lubbock, the world cow capital at five million within 160 km.)
practical knowledge of agriculture who keep current with
“Cougar DNA was a new direction for me,” he says. “It’s population
the exciting developments taking place in this sustainable
genetics: ensuring there’s no inbreeding among cougars in southern
industry.
Alberta. If there isn’t enough genetic diversity, they won’t be as
To learn about the network of partnerships
immune to disease and they’re more likely to become extinct. That’s
Lethbridge College has grown in southern
a major issue because they’re a major predator ecologically and it’s
Alberta, visit: widerhorizons.ca
important to keep them healthy for things such as deer control.”
11
Tiffin lesson: Succession needs a plan Barrie Broughton has seen it happen more than once. An Alberta farmer, about to harvest his retirement years, decides to leave his farm to a child. After all, what could be more natural: the son or daughter inherits a business the father has grown diligently all his life, and keeps the family line intact. It’s a warm fuzzy with Alberta’s agricultural heritage written
That’s what Broughton, a farm boy once himself who practises
across it. But it doesn’t always lead to warm, fuzzy endings.
in Lethbridge, basically told attendees to the Tiffin Conference at
Those so designated may not want the farm, or may feel
Lethbridge College last spring. And the message likely resonated,
obligated to take it over, forfeiting other careers. Or, the farm
considering he was speaking to a generation holding the reins
may be a marginal venture, saddling the next generation with
and a crop of college and university students who are on the cusp
an unwanted financial burden.
of deciding whether farming will be their way of life.
When farm families begin to think about succession
“Whenever you have a business and decide to bring in the
planning, and find themselves in Broughton’s law office at
family, you are affecting succession planning,” says Broughton.
North and Company in Lethbridge, he’ll tell them all the same
“Even when you hire a child to help out on the farm. . . once
thing: communication is key.
they’re involved in the business, you need to start discussing
“Such a process is nothing new,” says Broughton, a lawyer specializing in business and succession planning. “But it is new to each family. It’s an ongoing process that many don’t realize until they are in the middle of it. A lot of the work has been done subconsciously, but it has to be done consciously.”
where it’s leading. A young person is starting to make career decisions at 18.” Communication, then, becomes vital, not at retirement, but years ahead. “Many family members simply make assumptions, which are not discussed and which can be correct or not correct. A father may want the farm to continue and may have expectations and assumptions his childen want the same thing.
12 • WIDER Horizons/Fall 2009/Cover Story
“
To have a child leave the farm for a period for work or for education is an excellent idea. An education teaches them to be receptive to ideas, a valuable trait for anyone going into business.
”
Barrie Broughton Tiffin Conference presenter
“A son [or daughter] might be 55 and is suddenly handed the
farm; it might be too good a deal to turn down, but it might not be what he wants now. That can lead to feelings of failure if he is unable to grow the business, leading to stress and disappointment.
Practitioners. All of that sounds rather academic, but Broughton notes his practice revolves around people, not books and law. He lauds Lethbridge College’s endeavours with the Tiffin Conference and notes the students in the Agricultural Technology
“I’ve seen parents hang on to farms because they thought their
program who attended were among the most motivated and
kids wanted it, and I’ve seen kids take over the farm because they
intelligent he’s come across. He also favours post-secondary
thought the parents wanted them to. Of course, there are many
education for anyone considering agribusiness.
enjoyable stories with positive outcomes. They must start from the right basis with the right communication.”
“The college experience gives them a chance to meet their peer group and to use it as a resource,” Broughton says. “My dad was
Broughton notes a family farm, unlike, say, a car dealership or
a 1950 agriculture graduate of the University of Alberta, and
contracting business, is a lifestyle; that makes it unique. Whoever
that crew permeated the Alberta agricultural scene for years.
is assuming control must enjoy that lifestyle to prosper in the
Obviously, their professors made a lasting impression.
business. They can’t confuse a ‘rural lifestyle’ with ‘agribusiness,’ which needs to grow and prosper and feed a family, perhaps involving three generations. “Older generation farmers have a difficulty seeing their business as something separate from themselves.” Broughton trained as a tax lawyer, has an economics background, and is registered with the British-based Society of Trust and Estate
“To have a child leave the farm for a period for work or for education is an excellent idea. An education teaches them to be receptive to ideas, a valuable trait for anyone going into business. “Agriculture is a multi-million dollar industry. It needs people with the right training and aptitude to succeed. It has always been an evolution; there has never been a freeze frame where one could say ‘there, that’s perfect.’”
To find out more about the innovative ways our Agricultural Technology alum are contributing to the industry, visit widerhorizons.ca
13
Computerizing carp
Penny Takahashi (Renewable Resource Management ’03) doesn’t speak much “computer.” And at the time she met them, the five students from Lethbridge College’s Computer Information Technology (CIT) program didn’t know a word of “fish.” But Takahashi, fisheries technician at the college’s Aquaculture Centre of Excellence (ACE), and the five second-year students – Gary Schenk, Walter Sipchenko, Jacob Bootsman, Chris Spitzer and Jonathan East – managed to communicate somehow to produce a computer program that could easily become an industry standard for recording the essential aspects of a fish’s life history. Sort of an “economy of scale” if you will. At ACE, it will spare Takahashi the frustration of thrashing through hours of paperwork. As a production facility for grass carp (used in southern Alberta to control weeds in waterways), ACE has to record vital information to ensure biological control of its product. Takahashi records fish parentage to ensure a broad genetic base, what spawning conditions work best for each brood fish, best food make-up, hormone dosages, weight, and the obvious: birth and death dates. “In the past, that required hundreds of pages of information, none of it correlated and all of it difficult to access,” says Takahashi. “With no budget, we approached Susie Kennedy (then CIT program leader; now Lethbbridge College’s registrar) for assistance.” Each second-year class is required to complete a project for a real-world client, part of the practicum component woven into many Lethbridge College programs. Kennedy listened to Takahashi’s plight and lateralled the ball to the lads, who, while they didn’t know it at the time, were about to become experts in the sexual proclivities of their “clients.” Using Microsoft Access, information storage and retrieval software, the quintet created a program allowing Takahashi to pull up everything she needs to know about an individual fish. She knows which carp are the best spawners, what times and under what conditions they do their best work, and whether they like to leave the lights on.
14 • WIDER Horizons/Fall 2009/Cover Story
The information, not so easily accessible, allows ACE to weed out poor breeders among its 200 fish, save on labour and cut food costs. “We learned a lot about fish reproduction,” says Schenk, a database wizard from Lethbridge. “It was new terminology for us. It was an exciting project to work on because we knew it would be used.” The project has given all five an opportunity to be part of a team. Each member brought a skill to the table. Schenk’s database skills were joined with Calgarian Spitzer’s ability to build the necessary tables. Bootsman, from Lloydminster, originally started the database and moved on to documentation. East, from Lethbridge, polished the data, while Hosmer, B.C.’s Sipchenko, wrote the training manual and gave instruction on how to update the
Processing Society offers.” For Schenk, who started at the university level, the program’s hands-on aspect was key. “I did two years at university; it was nothing like the education I got here,” he says. “There, we were learning computer science without the computers.” Spitzer, too, came from a university program with classes of 70 students and no hands-on component. “Here, instructors take the time to work closely with you,” he says. “Some stay after their lab times to make sure you understand a concept, or allow you to call them after hours for help.” All came away from the ACE project with acquired skills and
program. They were aided by ACE’s Sandra Price who handled the
interests. Spitzer started on web design, but has developed a taste
financial aspects and also learned “fish.”
for databases; East had never done programming, but developed a
“We learned you can’t do a project like this without others,” says Schenk. “You can’t possibly understand all the concepts involved yourself.” “I thought it would be a classic textbook project,” says Schenk. “I never imagined it would be that phenomenal, that we’d have to explain things in fish language. It’s prepared me to work directly with clients to build programs as they want them.” All five are impressed with the program and the quality of instruction they received at Lethbridge College. East, heading for a computer science degree, says the 2+2 agreement between the college and the University of Lethbridge was the main selling point. Spitzer agrees.
taste for solving problems with numbers. Sipchenko has honed his skills as a technical writer. “I want to go back to school after graduation,” says Sipchenko. “This program has opened me up to opportunities.” Takahashi, too, is thrilled with the results. “I am very pleased with the professionalism of the CIT students. They were great and I am very thankful for such a tool for ACE.” So, with graduation last spring, the five head either off to school or off to work, taking with them their newfound knowledge of carp. Before they left, they were asked to name their program. It’s called the Fish Information System for Heredity. Of course: FISH.
“The 2+2 was the big selling feature,” he says. “I can get accredited and get the highest certification the Canadian Information
15
From top to bottom: Gasim Yousif Abdulla, Philip Harttrup and Gonzalo Cornejo.
16 • WIDER Horizons/Fall 2009
English Language Centre:
our window to the world As a student of Slavic languages, Philip Harttrup had a desire, while at the University of Toronto, to read Russian literature in its original tongue. He managed it, but admits he found more war than peace in the effort. Today, Harttrup, director of Lethbridge College’s English Language Centre, is marshaling forces to take on the world. His goal: raise Lethbridge to a global player in English language training. He brings a doctorate in linguistics and literature to a department tasked with attracting the world to Lethbridge for a taste of English amid southern Alberta’s charms. The larger intent is to showcase Lethbridge College’s academic programs to ESL students to keep them on campus and in the community once they’ve learned the language. Fortuitously, the demand for English training is a bull market; the Canadian version, highlighted by its flat, mildly accented delivery, is a prized commodity. “English is the international language of business, travel, pop culture,” says Harttrup, former director of The Language Exchange, a private Toronto institute specializing in ESL training. “It’s a growing industry and the demand to learn is high. Our version is so standardized. If you want to be involved in international business, it’s the one to learn.” There are other factors, too, that position Canada – and Lethbridge College – as choice locations for global students. The city’s lifestyle is attractive, as is its proximity to world-class scenery. Then, too, is Canada’s ease of access.
- continued on page 18
17
“Coming to Canada saves students the visa hassles they face in the United States,” says Harttrup. “Britain is expensive and Australia and New Zealand are so far away, so Canada wins by default. Plus, they get better value for their dollar here.” Lethbridge College has students from as many as 30
Student tales: Gonzalo Cornejo and Gasim Yousif Abdulla come from different
countries on campus in any given semester. While Asia has
continents and backgrounds as diverse as the southern Alberta
been a traditionally rich lode for ESL students, Harttrup is
weather they now both enjoy. Yet here they are, in a Lethbridge
looking to mine other areas such as South America. It’s a
College classroom, learning English for vastly different reasons.
tougher sell, right now, thanks to the economy. “We want to hit the Brazilian market,” he says. “Canada is the first choice for Brazilian students, but most are attracted to larger centres. We think we can serve them well here.” Many students – the Brazilians included – aren’t
They typify the two streams of students who enter the college’s English as a Second Language program. Cornejo, a civil engineer from La Paz, Bolivia, was sent by his employer to handle a subcontracting position for Elk Valley Coal in Sparwood, B.C. The Bolivian firm chose Canada as a destination
necessarily looking to become full-fledged English scholars.
for its young employee because he can learn English during the
Instead, says Harttrup, they’re keen to add an English
year he’s here. Cornejo will follow Canada with another year
language component to their resumes. The goal is to keep
elsewhere to complete his training.
them at Lethbridge College after their programs end. “We want to give them a taste of the campus to convince
Abdulla is an immigrant from the Republic of the Sudan, who came to Canada with banking skills and a desire for a shot at a
them to take a diploma program once their ESL studies are
better life. While he intends to return home one day, Abdulla, who
done,” says Harttrup. “Once they graduate from a diploma
has lived in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, knows that a
program, they have an option of working in Canada for
strong ability in English will make life that much easier.
three years. That can be attractive.” Lethbridge also offers international students a true immersion experience where they are not immediately surrounded by their fellow citizens. “If they’re serious about learning English, they won’t
The language of Shakespeare is trading high on world markets these days, estimated as the second-most spoken language on Earth after Mandarin and before Hindi. Cornejo, with a shock of curls and a T-shirt proclaiming his nationality, knew hardly an English word when he left Bolivia.
want to live in an area riddled with their own nationality,”
His employer sent him to school in Spain in return for his future
says Harttrup, competent himself in Russian, French, and
services, hence the year as an explosives expert in the coalfields of
German. “Lethbridge offers them a slower pace and is
southeastern British Columbia where he’ll learn another aspect of
aesthetically pleasing to live in.”
the firm’s business along with English verbs. While he knows far more of the language than he did upon arrival, he’s still learning.
18 • WIDER Horizons/Fall 2009
land of spoken dreams “Young people in Bolivia have to be flexible and willing to work
Bakheit, had moved to Alberta in 2002 to work at Lakeside Packers
around the world,” he says, with an interpreter to polish his
in Brooks. She returned to Sudan to marry Abdulla, and the couple
answers. “I was excited to come here; it’s a good experience for my
headed back to the Canadian Prairies. An instructor at Medicine
future career. There are many young people in Bolivia who want to
Hat College recommended the ESL program at Lethbridge College,
learn English.”
Abdulla was keen.
It is, Cornejo rightfully states, the language of international
“I enjoy Lethbridge,” says Abdulla, now fluent in English. “It’s
business and information; the desire to learn it has reached manic
tranquil; people are helpful. English is important because it can
proportions in his home country and throughout the world. Along
open doors around the world.”
with his Lethbridge College classes, he’s using the Lethbridge Public Library, music and movies to augment his learning. Sometimes, he has to give his head a shake when he realizes where he is. “It’s interesting to learn in a cultural group and learn about their countries: Sudan, China, Japan, Afghanistan, Mexico, Colombia. I didn’t expect to be doing this.” For Abdulla, the road to Lethbridge was more circuitous. He worked in banking in Khartoum, Sudan for five years before deciding a university education in Australia would afford him a brighter future. To attend university in Sydney, he had to apply through an Australian embassy, which Sudan does not have. He moved to Cairo, sent in his application along with a fee in excess of $1,000.
Sadly, that concept is lost on the Sudanese government. Colonized by the British, Sudan adopted English as its official language. But the new regime, caught up with the fervor of nationalism, banned its use in universities. “It was very narrow thinking,” says Abdulla. “All the best teachers left.” Like Cornejo, Abdulla enjoys the multi-national atmosphere at Lethbridge College. “The whole world is here,” he says. “I had little English when I came, but I’ve made significant improvement. Learning a language in real life is much better than learning it from books.” The two found a few surprises in their first views of Canada. “We get sleet in Sudan that destroys the crops, maybe once every
The Australian school said he’d missed its deadline but, g’day,
five years,” says Abdulla. “Here, everything is white with snow and
mate, they’d keep his money.
people enjoy it.”
After a stint in the tourism industry in the Sinai (“after the explosions in 2004, the Israelis stopped coming”), he found another banking position in Dubai, U.A.E. His future wife, Nagwa
“Big cars,” says Cornejo. “People drive around here in big cars they don’t need.” They’re both learning quickly.
19
All ages yearning to learn They come to Lethbridge from around the globe, intelligent, industrious, aspiring. Many speak more than one language, a testament to their intuitive ability to learn. They want and need to add English to their repertoire. Lethbridge College’s Youth In Transition (YIT) program, funded by provincial and federal governments, is helping immigrants aged 16 to 24 bolster their written English skills. The program is flourishing, starting with an initial 12 students and climbing steadily since. Students make the trip to Lethbridge College while still in high school, splitting their time equally between the two. It takes seven to 10 years, says YIT co-ordinator Sue Oguchi, for these students to become proficient enough in English to be successful at the post-secondary level. The goal of the program is to help students gain that proficiency, then keep them on as full-program learners. “The wonderful thing about Canada – and it is not universal – is you can enter post-
“Their age makes them unique in that they
will express how they never expected to ever
well, but have a lag in their written abilities.
meet anyone from Sudan, but it happens here.”
YIT is a multifaceted approach in which we can identify a specific group and give them the different supports they need. I haven’t met one yet who didn’t have a goal of achieving higher education.” Adult learners, too, are finding their English voices at Lethbridge College. Adult ESL co-ordinator Deanne Wirzba notes some are international students who come specifically to learn English before heading home. Others require English to become Canadian citizens. Most of those in the latter group are educated people with degrees earned in their home countries. Lethbridge College allows them to audit classes while they are in the ESL program, and take exams, sometimes with stunning results. “One young woman from China went into the Business Administration program and wound up best in the class,” says Wirzba. There are some amazing and unexpected
secondary education without a high school
benefits that arise when learners from several
diploma,” says Oguchi. “You can acquire
countries share a classroom.
prerequisites specific to the career you want, then enter that program. That’s important to young immigrants.
20 • WIDER Horizons/Fall 2009
if even from North Dakota. “A Japanese person
are gifted verbally, so they speak English fairly
“Our students say the best part of the experience is meeting people from other countries,” says Wirzba, an immigrant herself,
Once they enter a full-time college program, they blend into classrooms full of young Canadians who, says Wirzba, have to learn it’s not “us” and “them” but “we.” ESL students get a strong dose of Canadian – and southern Albertan – culture, with trips to Waterton and other ethnic sites and events. Interestingly, though, a new experience last summer proved most instructional: a day with the Lethbridge Regional Police Service recruits who train on campus in uniform each summer. “For many of our students, experience with police in their own counties is not pleasant,” says Wirzba. “For four hours they served as guinea pigs for the recruits who were learning how to interview. They told us it was the best experience they’d had.” Not all is sweetness, Wirzba admits, and Flames-Oilers-type debates can get out of hand. “I once stopped a fight between an Afghani and a Sudanese arguing the merits of the Brazilian soccer team. It wasn’t about ethnicity; it was about personalities.” How typically Canadian.
“
”
People gain a sense of confidence and start to feel that Lethbridge College is the right place for them to be.” Terry Kowalchuck, Program Chair, School of Environmental Sciences
The right environment Terry Kowalchuk will take them where he finds them: West
science sees the truck, they might start asking him questions,”
Coast boat shows, Manitoba campgrounds, gas stops in
says Kowalchuk. “Now they know someone who teaches in
northern Alberta; wherever he can spread the word to students
the program; they’ve made a connection. We’re also talking
about Lethbridge College’s School of Environmental Sciences.
to parents and grandparents, giving them as much contact
As the school’s program chair, Kowalchuk knows he has
a good product to sell, and he understands there can be a disconnection between product and market. So, he and the rest of the school’s faculty have completed a year of stalking potential students in their natural habitats. “It’s an opportunistic strategy,” says Kowalchuk. “We recognize our prospects have certain qualities: they enjoy outdoor activities. They enjoy the kinds of things that a career in environmental science entails. So we focus our efforts in the places they show up. If we can talk to them at an early age, say in Grade 8, we can get them to set their sights on Lethbridge College. We’re merely getting the word out to our target market.” In the first year of this new marketing strategy, Environmental Science faculty have come into contact with some 100,000 potential students. They’ve hit boat-and-sport shows in Abbotsford, B.C., attended numerous provincial
information as we can. It’s that face-to-face conversation and a handshake that does the best job. In the past, we relied on word-of-mouth awareness; we still do, but you have to be out there, as well. People gain a sense of confidence and start to feel that Lethbridge College is the right place for them to be.” Lethbridge College might be the right place to be, but it’s not the only place: other schools teach environmental science and are just as eager to land young prospects. Kowalchuk doesn’t, however, consider them competition. He knows the numbers he can’t take in will go elsewhere, just as overflows at other colleges will come his way. Jobs in the environmental science field continue to grow, with more opportunities that ever before. Yet, students are often guided straight to university. By taking the college route, they can gain valuable practical experience and hands-on learning before “laddering” their diploma into a university degree. Environmental science is also fighting sociology to a certain
parks days, shown up at Junior Forest Wardens activities,
extent. Increased urbanization of the Canadian population
and hit farm and ranch shows from Edmonton to Winnipeg.
means young people have fewer encounters with the outdoors.
The hunting has been good: enrolment is rising. And, because
So, Kowalchuk is also promoting his school to employers,
many of the contacts are four years away from high school
making the message positive and deepening his prospect
graduation, the real gains may not be realized for awhile.
pool. It’s not only the young who are enticed by the bait; older
Sometimes, the ammunition is a $40 decal on a college vehicle. “If Guy L’Heureux (instructor) stops for gas in northern Alberta, and a young person who’s interested in environmental
learners with university degrees are also entering the program. “We recruit one student at a time, and every one is different,” says Kowalchuk. “But we find we don’t have to sell too hard. Once they’ve had a tour of the college, no one’s ever gone somewhere else.”
21
College compass helps navigate change When the local economy took a downturn, Lethbridge College responded with a free employment-readiness course for the community. Here, two particpants share their experience. Christina Boese (Communication Arts 2008)
Darcey weathers storm Darcey Trowbridge isn’t letting the recession get the best
the medical field since he was diagnosed with bipolar
of him. Thanks to Lethbridge College’s Charting Career
disorder, and feels the course helped him choose the right
Change course offered last spring, the 45-year-old found
direction.
the strength to embark on an entirely new career path, and knows his future is bright. Trowbridge previously owned and operated his own business, specializing in carpet cleaning and janitorial work. He decided to enroll in the five-day course after hearing a radio ad. “(The course) sounded like it would help me get back to work and find a job that I would enjoy,” he says. Trowbridge has since decided to enroll in the college’s Nursing program this fall. He has been interested in
22 • WIDER Horizons/Fall 2009
“I wasn’t sure how to go about making it a reality until I was given information about help with learning and getting grants,” he says. “It gave me the tools to pursue, and feel comfortable with, my decision.” Trowbridge says the advice the course offered was especially helpful in making good choices for the future. “It was very well put together. The college seems to be a family atmosphere and the faculty is outstanding,” he says. “I know that I have a lot more to learn, but I know my career is going in a positive direction.”
Bruce charts new waters Bruce Webster had enough. After 16 years, he resigned from his position as manager of Alberta Sugar Beat Growers in Taber and decided to explore his options. Thanks partly to the skills he learned at Lethbridge College’s Charting Career Change course, the prospect of unemployment didn’t scare him one bit. The course was offered in March and again in May to provide those out of a job with the necessary information and tools to succeed. Webster enrolled in the March session, and at the time of the interview, had been unemployed for four and a half months. “It just came to the point where my board of directors and I didn’t agree on the strategic direction of the organization and we parted ways,” he says of his previous job. Webster and his wife reside in Taber, but he knew the options there were limited and he would most likely need to begin looking in a bigger centre. “There’s no chance of finding a similar position in Taber, so that means the more time I spend in the city keeping in touch with people and networking, the more likely I’ll find something to do.” Through networking, Webster is able to keep busy with volunteer work as a member of the city’s Chamber of Commerce, and says he found out about the course during his time there. He also noted he’d been unhappy with his previous job and was ready to explore other avenues. “The college sent the e-mail about the college’s course to the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce, and it was mass e-mailed to all the members,” he says. “I wanted to be in a new job; the
purpose of the course for me was evaluating what is it that I wanted to do, and how to best present that desire.” Webster also realized a considerable amount of time had passed since he last applied for a job, so he would need the course to help him retrain for the modern workforce. “The process of (applying for a job) is greatly different from when I did it the last time; there is no technology in use today that was there in 1993,” he says. “Everything I’ve applied for has been either an online application, or you email in the application; what people are expecting is way different.” The course helped Webster to put these changes in perspective, as well as put forth the idea of upgrading as an option, which he is considering doing at the University of Lethbridge. “There’s a program at the U of L that I’m potentially interested in that will help me get my Master of Science in management,” he says. “It doesn’t matter how old you are, you can always learn to do things better. You can really change what you do in life and I wanted to ponder that.” He says the course helped him get to the stage where he could begin thinking positively, and would recommend it to others in a similar situation. “I don’t think it’s useful for anyone to sit at home alone and try to deal with it. It’s useful to at least have a group of people around you to help you realize you’re all in the same boat and trying to get out of it.”
23
Office Intrigue: Mickey Mouse: son C.J. brought back from high school band trip to Disneyland
Certificate of appreciation: for presentation on Government-First Nations jurisdictional arrangements 2000
Prayer: written by paternal grandparents
Kindergarten graduation photo of daughter Halle
Sweetgrass wreath made by mother Moccasins: Christmas present from former colleague
24 • WIDER Horizons/Fall 2009
Robin Little Bear, Lethbridge College’s manager of First Nations, Métis and Inuit Services, brings to the campus an accomplished background in services for FNMI students. She heads a team dedicated to providing the tools they need to transition into college life, the support they require to succeed while on campus, and the direction to achieve their life goals.
Bachelor of science, University of Alberta, 1999
Robin.Little_Bear@lethbridgecollege.ab.ca
Feathers: one for graduation; one from the Kainai Legislative Initiative for supporting child welfare negotiations.
Photo of senior management team at Kainai Children’s Services Corp.
25
Mean streets are Saskia’s avenue Christina Boese (Communication Arts 2008) Downtown Vancouver is more than mere miles away from Saskia Schopman’s hometown of Vauxhall. During the last seven years working with at-risk youth, Schopman has peered into the alleys of drug abuse, prostitution and homelessness. From rural roads to busy streets, this small-town girl is helping kids trade in their needles for new beginnings, a journey that, for her, began at Lethbridge College. After high school, Schopman spent a year in Tokyo before enrolling in the Child and Youth Care program, intending to work with kids in schools. That goal quickly changed. “In the first week I read a book called Children in the Game; it was for one of [instructor] Ron Solinski’s classes. It was all about street youth and girls involved in prostitution. After that, it was my dream: all I wanted to do was work with that kind of marginalized population.” After graduating, Schopman was hired at Covenant House Vancouver, an organization founded in the 1960s in New York now with locations all over the world. It specializes in getting youth aged 13-24 off the streets, providing them with food, clothing and shelter. Schopman worked there full-time for five years, dropping to part-time a year ago when she was hired by the Pacific Community Resource Society. For a year at Covenant House, she worked in Community Support Services as a street youth outreach worker. It took her down some dark passages. “We meet the youth exactly where they’re at; if they’re sleeping in a back alley in downtown Vancouver, we’re going to that back alley,” she says. “We carry backpacks with juice boxes, granola bars, hygiene supplies, a first-aid kit and referral papers, so if they need some kind of referral, we have those numbers handy. But our goal is to start a relationship with them, so we
26 • WIDER Horizons/Fall 2009
- continued on page 28
27
- photo supplied by Saskia Schopman
make sure they know our services and tell them to come to the drop-in centre if they need to.” Once clients have made the decision to take advantage of the drop-in centre, they are provided with food, clothing, shelter, and referrals to drug and alcohol counseling if necessary. Schopman notes the age range has been expanded to 24 because certain experiences have stunted their growth, and some can be functioning at a level well below their actual age. After a year, Schopman decided she needed a change and worked in the Covenant House shelter for six months before changing her path once again.
That was where I felt my heart needed to be.” After four years, Schopman has lived the experience. “You’re always with your partner; you never work alone because it’s not safe; you look for anyone that looks like they may be under the age of 25,” she says. “When you do this kind of work for a long time, you’ll pick it out and start to notice signs. You’ll notice who is just a little bit different from the average teenager or who has shoes that are just a little bit too big for them, because usually they’ve been donated.” Covenant House workers make their rounds twice a day; once in the morning from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and again in the evening from 6
“The kids in the shelter are starting to
p.m. to 10 p.m. Schopman says she finds the
stabilize, they’re getting their life on track,
night outreach most effective, but mornings
they’re not using anymore; I really wanted
are also crucial.
to help the kids that were really raw, still in their addiction, using and sleeping outside.
28 • WIDER Horizons/Fall 2009
“There’s a team that goes out in the morning to connect with the kids just waking up, who
have been sleeping under the bridges, to let them know we’re open at 10 and they can come see us,” she says. “A lot of times if kids run away from other provinces, they end up coming off the bus first thing in the morning and that’s the best way to catch them, before they end up potentially going down the path of being on the street. Apparently, if you reach a youth before they spend four days on the street, they actually have a higher success rate than if they spend more than four days sleeping outside.” Schopman says despite the potential risks of her work, she is rarely afraid. “We’re trained in non-violent crisis intervention, we’re trained to do restraints; we don’t do that, but I know how to fend off someone who’s going to come at me,” she says. “I’ve been in alleys in the downtown east side where I’ve watched people shoot up, and they’re in their world; they don’t want to hurt me. It’s not like the stories you
hear of people running around, trying to stab
would rather sleep out here than live in my
we don’t see as many kids on the strolls as we
you with needles; that doesn’t happen. You
home.’” she says. “Is it right for a 13-year-old
used to. Now they’re selling themselves; they
just have to be smart and use your common
to be sleeping and shooting up heroin in a
don’t even need to be controlled.”
sense.”
back alley? No. But my goal, no matter what
Schopman soon realized the youth she was helping needed a permanent solution to their living situation. So she created a housing program within Covenant House that has shown success. “It’s great to get all these people off the street, but if they can’t find housing, what’s the point? We’re just Band-Aiding the problem,” she says. “The housing market in Vancouver is so difficult; for me it was
“
difficult. Can you imagine a youth who has no housing experience, doesn’t know how to communicate, doesn’t know how to dress, has been sleeping outside and has never had an alarm clock to try and find a house?”
work for them; I want them to know that I’m a safe person that they can come to, talk to, get support if they need it and when they’re ready.” For the last year, Schopman has been an outreach worker for Pacific Community on a crime-prevention program called IRAYL (Inter-Regional At-Risk Youth Link). It reaches out to kids 10 to 15 who tend to congregate at Vancouver’s Sky-train stations (the equivalent of Calgary’s C-Train service), offering them various supports. “Our goal is to connect with those youth to a community program, an after-school sports program, an art group, something that’s going to funnel their energy into positive behaviours as opposed to hanging
”
Schopman says her first client for the
housing program had been sleeping under bridges, was addicted to various drugs
including crystal meth, and worked hard to transform his life. After three years, he has remained on track and is still living in the house found for him.
relationship with this young person. I want to
around the Sky-train and try and refer them
If success for one of my youth is spending seven days in a detox centre, spending it off the streets, not doing drugs, getting a meal, then yeah, that’s successful. Saskia Schopman Child and Youth Care ’03
job I’m doing or where I’m at, is to build a
Schopman has a few ideas of why so many
kids wind up on the street: family breakdown, abuse, mental health, addiction. “That’s the problem we were seeing: we
out at the station smoking pot, for instance,” she says. “I go to all these community meetings and
say, ‘there’s this guy who’s been hanging out in downtown Vancouver; let’s watch him’ or ‘this girl who’s been prostituting and her pimp is running her all over the city; let’s keep our eyes out for her.’ That way we can tell the different outreach workers in different areas who we see and where they are.” Schopman says young people in the sex
trade can be the most difficult to reach. It can take up to seven years to extricate them
However, when trying to help women under a pimp’s control, Schopman notes for the safety of the woman, it’s best not to interfere while they’re working. “We know the pimps are watching them and aware of what’s going on; I’m not going to go up to her and make that situation worse for that young woman,” she says. “I’m going to go to public places, put out brochures, open a drop-in centre for sex-trade workers, or go somewhere where I know they’ll be and leave matchbooks with the question: ‘Are you ready to leave the game?’ and inside is a phone number. That girl can put it in their pocket, and when they’ve had it, they can call a number and go get help.” Schopman prefers to measure success on an individual basis. “There are kids that I worked with five years ago that are doing wonderful. But by the same token, there’s kids that I worked with five years ago that are still on the streets, doing drugs, working the sex trade. But I see so many kids that are so resilient and they keep fighting every single day to be great. That’s amazing.” Schopman says she would like to finish her degree and open up her own centre for youth. “Ideally, I’d like to open up something photography- and art-based with streetinvolved youth. There’s a want out there, so if I can mix my love for photography and my love for street youth, perfect.”
because their idea of how men and women relate is completely different, and they often have to be retrained in their way of thinking. “To successfully exit the sex trade, it takes a
really long time, especially if you have been controlled by a pimp. There’s a whole bunch of power dynamics there around whether you
would find these 13-, 14-year-olds that have
love this person or not despite the fact that
run away because of abuse, alcoholism,
they hurt you. Because of the Internet, the sex
fighting, and their thought process is ‘I
trade has really exploded to the point where
29
chalk talk: Kodiaks smarten up When basketball players at Lethbridge College finish hitting three-pointers, they, like all Kodiaks athletes, hit the books. Every Monday, regardless of their sport or their academic standing, some 120 young stars – and often, their coaches – can be found together in a study hall working on their courses. The goal, says Athletics Director Mark Kosak, is to raise their marks and their scholastic success rate. Kosak introduced the study hall concept as part of his mandate three semesters ago. When he took over the director’s position in August 2007, Kodiaks athletes were ranked second last of all schools in the Alberta Colleges Athletics Association. That December, the department lost 20 athletes, or roughly one in five, due to academic ineligibility. “Those are rather dubious statistics,” says Kosak. “The college administration felt academics needed to be a priority. Things have improved.” Yes, they have. While Kosak does not yet have updated ACAC rankings, he can tell you Lethbridge College has the highest number of Academic All-Canadians, a club with one of the toughest membership requirements: a player must be declared an all-star at the provincial level while being ranked an honours student (GPA: 3.5 out of 4.0.) Last season, Denver Corbiere, men’s basketball, made the grade (as did cross-country runners Christian Chesire, Douglas Mutai and Cassidy Qall.) Now an apprentice electrician with Midland Electric in Lethbridge, the six-foot-seven centre finished his two-year Kodiaks career at the top of his game and at the top of his class. “We knew the previous players weren’t exactly known for their academics,” says Corbiere. “Coach (Mike) Hansen pushed us a lot to excel in class. Last year [2007-08] when we lost three guys mid-season to academic ineligibility, I think he felt he had failed them. This year [2008-09] with study hall strictly
30 • WIDER Horizons/Fall 2009
enforced, we lost no one; in fact, we gained a
Kodiaks Athletics honours those teams who
player who pulled up his marks and became a
record the highest GPA each semester; recently,
starter.”
the women’s volleyball team has made the award
In order to stay on a Kodiaks team, players must maintain a GPA of 1.5; to be eligible for any scholarships, they must score 2.0 or higher. In the fall of 2007, the average Kodiaks GPA was 2.41 and, as noted, in the ACAC cellar. After the
its own, rolling up a 3.30 GPA last semester. Three of the nine Kodiaks teams had GPAs greater than 3.0; none made that grade in the dismal fall of 2007. Kosak admits students who play for the
first semester of mandated study halls in the
Kodiaks shoulder a demanding load. Practices,
winter of 2008, the figure had risen to 2.66; the
weekend travel, fatigue and nerves before big
following semester it hit 2.76. Only seven athletes,
games all take time and a toll on athletes. Still,
amid upwards of 60, were lost to academic
the educational rewards of playing on highly
disqualification.
competitive teams cannot be ignored, and include
While there was a modicum of initial grumbling about the study halls, especially among younger players directly out of high school, Kosak says those who initially resisted quickly came around
a unique nugget; his athletes, says Kosak, are among the best students on campus at time management. Denver Corbiere: “It’s tough to balance work,
once they saw the value of group study. Since
school and basketball, but it’s definitely an honour
then, the gatherings have helped foster a sense of
when you do it right. I think Mark Kosak was a big
family and a buy in by coaches who have had to
reason for the turnaround. It can’t be just coaches
sacrifice Monday practices.
doing the convincing. He personally talked to the
“
Corbiere, who flashed through high school and
three years of kinesiology at the University of
players; we took it more seriously.” Kodiaks are required to complete PED123
Lethbridge, admits he groaned mildly when study
Academic Success, a course that, once a “gimme”
hall became mandatory.
just for making a team, now includes a lecture component on study skills, writing term
”
Our objective it to keep raising the overall GPA and reduce the disqualification number to zero. Mark Kosak Athletics Director
“I felt I could look after myself academically,”
says the Rockglen, Sask., native. “But by the
second year, I think the players understood what it was all about. The veterans stressed it to the
younger players that they needed to keep up their grades; they were reprimanded if they missed. “Our team had perfect attendance. We made
sure our teammates were there. We wanted to
be good ambassadors for the athletics program and the college. We developed a rivalry with the women’s basketball team.”
papers and more, scheduled in the first semester of their time on campus. “The reaction to PED123 has been unanimously positive,” says Kosak. “Parents and students love it. The highest attrition rate among students is in the first semester; this helps keep them in school.” Players are also required to submit biweekly
reports charting their academic progress. Instructors note their attendance and classroom performance, allowing for interventions before they face ineligibility. Corbiere, a new father, hopes to be back on
the Kodiaks bench this season, this time as an assistant coach. One doesn’t have to guess if he’ll be stressing classroom perfection along with good defence. “The changes in Kodiaks Athletics proved the whole experience – can be positive. They’re building a great atmosphere there.”
31
Whirlwind romance
From its humble beginnings in Pincher Creek to recent national recognition, Lethbridge College’s Wind Turbine Technician program is poised to become an international wind-energy academy. Overcoming Canada’s dependency on petroleum has become a
because our curriculum is industry-driven” says Vermeer. “Most
towering challenge, one in which Lethbridge College has become
colleges in the U.S. have never talked to industry and have no
a central player in the last four years. Since it set up its initial
equipment on which to train.”
Wind Turbine Technician training program in 2005, the college has gained international recognition, both for the quality of its curriculum and its leadership in the field. “The wind industry is amazed at what we have here,” says Suzanne Flannigan, Lethbridge College’s dean in the Centre for Applied Management. “We were a best-kept secret, but now we’re endeavouring to let everyone know what we can provide. We have committed and passionate people involved who have galvanized the entire area.” One of the committed is John Vermeer (Renewable Resource
Lethbridge College bought nine nacels (the actual guts of the equipment), five towers and three blades from a decommissioned wind farm to use for hands-on training. It was a strategic move, because such items are now impossible to locate. The college began the program as a cost-recovery venture rather than a credit program, and while that is changing, the financial possibilities still exist: a plan is in the works to ship one complete nacel to a college in Michigan, an institute that would pay to deliver the “made in southern Alberta” course to
Management ’77), the Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry
American students. Talks are also under way with colleges in
Training Board’s 2003 choice as best instructor in southern
Saskatchewan, Ontario, British Columbia and Texas.
Alberta. Vermeer and colleague Mike Wehrwein became early poster boys for Lethbridge College’s wind turbine program. Trained in Germany as instructors to BZEE certification, they made the college the first in North America to offer a program recognized as meeting world standards. BZEE, or Bildungszentrum für Erneuerbare Energien e.V., is the German organization formed by major wind power industry players in the country and is recognized as the Rolls Royce of training in the wind turbine industry. Train to BZEE standards, and you can work anywhere in the world. “Manufacturers and wind farm developers are happy with us
Employment in the wind-power industry is expected to grow rapidly; a chunk of the jobs it will create are centred on installation and repair, specialized training Lethbridge College delivers to some 32 students per course, twice a year. The 26week course this fall and the first intake for 2010 were filled months ago. Once taught in the college’s animal husbandry facility on the Jail Road, the course hopes to move into the Trades Wing on campus, but space and trained instructors still limit student numbers. A third instructor has been hired and will be sent to Germany for BZEE training. - continued on page 34
32 • WIDER Horizons/Fall 2009
Turbine Timelines April 2009: The Association of Canadian Community Colleges names Lethbridge College’s Wind Turbine Technician program winner of its 2008-2009 Program Excellence Award. November 2007: Lethbridge College purchases nine turbines to enhance its training. April 2007: Alberta Advanced Education affords Lethbridge College interim accreditation for the program, now held at its Fort Macleod campus. The college sends two instructors to Germany to acquire BZEE certification. September 2006: Wind Turbine Labour Ltd., a British firm supplying qualified employees to assemble 37 wind turbines for the ENMAX project near Taber, discovers Lethbridge College’s program and snaps up most of a graduating class. May 2005: First 12 students begin classes in Lethbridge College’s Pre-employment Electrician/Turbine program, spending four days in Pincher Creek and Fridays on campus in Lethbridge. The course is offered in cooperation with the Chinook Educational Consortium.
33
Whirlwind romance (continued)
“We’re trying to grow in step with industry needs,” says Vermeer. Those needs are about to explode. Alberta has removed its 900-megawatt cap on wind power, a restriction that kept employment tied to attrition only. This past summer, 150 turbines were to be installed in the south. In just two phone calls, Vermeer was asked if he could supply 65 employees. The students he did have on campus graduated July 3 and were working three days later. All turbines do is produce raw power; to make it usable, it has to be delivered by power line to the end user, much like a pipeline takes oil to a refinery. In southern Alberta, that means the line from Pincher Creek to Lethbridge, a point at which it heads north to Calgary. The line has been woefully inadequate, and the Alberta government seems reticent to increase its capacity. That bottleneck appears to be easing, and with it will come an increased demand for wind power. “It’s been frustrating,” says Vermeer. “We have a great program based on the college’s own money and industry donations, but we do need a stronger investment by government.” The college actually built the program, invested in equipment and had things running before receiving support from any level of government. Approximately $225,000 in Enrolment Planning Envelope (EPE) funding was made available through Advanced Education and Technology in Alberta on a one-time basis to purchase some additional training equipment. EPE funding is also provided to increase accessibility for students, but the amount received is less than the actual cost to deliver the program and limits the college from being able to meet demand for seats. Flannigan feels Vermeer’s frustration.
Turbine Trivia: Those Europeans know how it’s done • A study on the Earth’s potential wind power has determined it to be
• Although the United States produces more wind power than any
the equivalent of 54 billion tons of oil, or more than five times the
other nation, its production accounts for less than two per cent of its
world’s energy consumption.
electricity consumption.
• Electricity from wind power doubled worldwide between 2005 and 2008, accounting for 1.5 per cent of global production. • As of this spring, 80 countries were involved in wind power on a commercial basis. • Denmark is the world leader based on percentage of national consumption, producing 19 per cent of its domestic needs from
• Cowley Ridge in southern Alberta was Canada’s first commercial wind farm, supplying enough electricity in 2000 to power 7,000 homes. • The largest turbine manufacturer in the world, based on megawatts installed, is Denmark’s Vestas, which holds 28 per cent of the market. • The United States produces the most wind power at 25,170
the wind. Spain and Portugal sit at 11 per cent, Germany and the
megawatts, followed closely by Germany. Both are well ahead of the
Republic of Ireland are at seven.
rest of the top 10: Spain, China, India, Italy, France, United Kingdom,
• Britain leads the world, as of January, in off-shore wind farm production, followed, in no order, by Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and Finland.
34 • WIDER Horizons/Fall 2009
Denmark and Portugal. Canada is ranked 11th, producing less than 10 per cent of the world leader.
Each turbine is capable of turning out one to 1.5 megawatts,
“I’ve been involved in the development of a lot of business plans, and I have never seen a greater combination of competitive
enough to power 1,000 homes; 20 turbines would be enough to light
advantages like this one. Yet, we stand to lose ground; it cannot
up Lethbridge.
be overstated: we now need support from the government.”
Lethbridge College is set to erect two complete turbines on 25- and
Greg Peterson, Lethbridge College’s program administrator
55-metre towers south of its trades area, which will allow greater
of Industrial and Technical Training, spearheaded Lethbridge
hands-on involvement and complete safety training. Prior to the
College’s wind turbine technician program four years ago and
towers, the college conducted its high-level training by rappelling off
remains a vocal supporter of the industry’s growth. He notes
Ric’s Grill atop the city’s retired water tower.
southern Alberta is producing 560 megawatts now and expects to
“Ultimately, we want to create a wind energy academy,” says
hit 2,600 in the next bump.
Flannigan, under whose area the college’s wind-power initiatives
“Companies are lined up across North America,” says Peterson.
fall. “With our one great advantage – good quality, concentrated
“Wind power is the fastest growing industry in the world and the
wind – we envision becoming a centre for excellence in the
most recession-proof. We’ve sent out grads across Canada and
industry.”
the U.S., one to Ireland and one to Mongolia. We’ve grown from
Flannigan notes Lethbridge College has made its way onto the
12 students a year to 32 and we could go to 48. We’re a leader in
world stage, and is now becoming a voice for creating a national
safety training. We feel we’re world-class now, but we need to
wind-energy standard.
push to be even better.”
“In Europe, they went for decades without any standards before
The growth will come with the political will. Vermeer notes
BZEE came into play,” she says. “We’re in a good place to develop
the desire is to push for 11,000 megawatts of wind power in
that kind of standard here. Lethbridge College wants to be a
Alberta, but suggests there isn’t enough money available to buy
contributor in that process.”
the required turbines. Much of the best land is already leased in anticipation; land that delivers what Vermeer says is “good wind,”
Last spring, the Association of Canadian Community Colleges gave
shortening the payback period by producing uninterrupted power.
the program its 2008-2009 Program Excellence Award. Lethbridge College is invited to speak at wind-power conferences across North
“Turbines won’t work anywhere,” he says. “You need long-term,
America.
consistent winds, not gusts. There are pockets throughout Alberta,
“It’s taken 1½ years for people to believe in us,” says Flannigan.
such as Edmonton, Stettler, Brooks, Medicine Hat, Warner, along the Milk River Ridge and, of course the traditional areas near
“The national powers are recognizing that we’re doing what we said
Pincher Creek. One of the best is near Magrath.”
we would.”
Four strong winds find the power
Lethbridge College has joined forces with the Southern Alberta Alternative Energy Partnership to promote wind energy. SAAEP is an initiative of three economic development organizations seeking to harness readily available resources to promote the production and manufacturing of wind energy, bio energy and solar energy. Economic Development Lethbridge (EDL), SouthGrow Regional Initiative and the Alberta Southwest Regional Alliance formed SAAEP to nurture all three forms of renewable energy. But it is with the Wind Energy Cluster Action Plan that Lethbridge College brings to the table its expertise in personnel training, a major component of the initiative. Cheryl Dick, CEO of EDL, says research shows industrial clusters improve productivity and performance, as evidenced in another southern Alberta phenomenon: food production. - continued on page 36
35
Four strong winds find the power (continued)
“Food production is strong in southern Alberta because it brings together the various aspects required and creates a critical mass,” says Dick. “Using that as a model, we believe we can work together to expand a wind energy cluster. We know there is production already going on. The idea is to take our product
perspectives Wider Horizons asked: What is your perspective on wind energy?
and enhance it by adding components such as equipment manufacturing, research and service.” The college is already turning out skilled manpower required by the industry to keep its equipment operating. “Through our partnership with the college, it’s easy to demonstrate to the established players in the wind energy industry that in southern Alberta we can provide the wellqualified and trained staff they’ll need if they establish here and that’s a real competitive advantage,” says Dick. If wind turbines rotate quietly on the
Greg Weadick MLA, Lethbridge West
rangelands and grain fields of the south, a few squeaks will be required to gain the needed interest and investment from the provincial government to keep them turning. “Our regional partnership gets attention when we speak, but we are competing with the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, which
On behalf of Premier Ed Stelmach and the government of Alberta, I’m proud to congratulate Lethbridge College for the unprecedented success of its Wind Turbine Technician program and its overall focus on the role wind energy will play here at home and around the world. The program is tangible proof of the college’s commitment to innovation and
have put in place clear policies supporting
providing its students with unique opportunities for success. It also shows a
wind energy development,” says Dick. “It’s
commitment to greening our province’s growth, not just in words but in actions.
important we share that information with the province through consistent communication so the opportunities and benefits of wind energy gain momentum on the province’s agenda.”
The Wind Turbine Technician program fits very well with the province’s commitment to a greener, more sustainable future, and is a smart career choice, too. Alberta has seen almost 20 wind energy projects come online in the past 10 years and is considering more than 80 proposals for new projects. I look forward to working with the college in the future to ensure the continued success of its efforts in this field.
36 • WIDER Horizons/Fall 2009
perspectives Allan Kettles Benign Energy Canada II, Calgary
Rudy Reger Energy Smart, Lethbridge
Living in southern Alberta and experiencing the many windy days makes one really think of reaping its benefits by commercially or residentially installing a rooftop wind turbine. Wind power has been beneficial to many people for centuries to
Allan is the former owner of a 63-megawatt wind farm near Pincher Creek. The south wants in. The province gives no support at all for wind energy. It’s a $60-billion potential investment to southern Alberta
operate mills, pump water and operate other mechanical tasks. It
in terms of jobs, plant construction, technological research and
also has become quite common for us to see the large-scale, wind-
money for MDs [and counties] and the agriculture industry, but the
energy production as we travel to Waterton or the Crowsnest Pass.
government doesn’t get it. It’s too busy giving subsidies to ‘big oil.’ It
The technology is here and available to convert wind energy into
only has eyes for the tar sands.
electricity. It is almost unthinkable that we would not harness wind power.
The MD of Pincher Creek gets 28 per cent of its revenue from wind farms now. If all the waiting projects were built, the MD could
It might be early for the public to readily embrace this new
remove all taxes on agricultural land. Even better, the proposed
technology, but living in southern Alberta it just makes sense to
projects would create some 12,000 megawatts, enough to fulfill
research, educate and implement this option. Going green is a
Alberta’s daily demand of 9,000 to 10,000.
smart and economical choice; Energy Smart Canada Ltd. is a leader in renewable energy such as wind and geothermal. We would like to see more residential and commercial installations. Wind energy for me is definitely an opportunity to research and be part of installation projects. It will enable consumers to become more energy independent, save money on their utility bill and reduce their personal carbon footprints by harvesting the free, abundant and nonpolluting energy provided by the wind.
The problem is one of transportation. The wind blows, the turbines turn, but the electricity they produce can’t be delivered to the power grid because the required transmission lines haven’t been built. These projects are fast, cheap and would employ a lot of people. They could keep small towns alive. The province lacks foresight and common sense to build things right the first time, like any farmer knows. In simple terms, they have to get more capacity on the poles.”
37
my life • my life • my life • my life • my life • my life • my life • my life • my life • my life • my life •
Surveying her future April 2008 - m
y graduation
day.
Lydia Penner (Geomatics Engineering Technology 2008) heads a survey crew for Altus Geomatics in Grande
Prairie. Within a year of graduation, she had already volunteered for a project in Ethiopia with Engineering Ministries International, on a project to build an orphanage.
I grew up on a farm in the Goodwin area, one-half hour
I wanted to use my skills for more than just my personal
east of Grande Prairie, chasing cows, building fences, and
gain. I believe it’s important to care for those less fortunate,
driving swathers.
and to love those who are disadvantaged. I came across an
Of the three Alberta options for my program, Lethbridge
organization called Engineering Ministries International
College was my first pick. I enjoyed the city, found a
(eMi), a league of Christian professionals who pool their
great church, met some wonderful people, and had a
expertise to provide professional service to existing
good educational experience. I found the engineering
organizations in Third World countries.
instructors at Lethbridge College to be knowledgeable,
I joined fellow engineers and designers from all over North
helpful, and friendly. We had a small graduating class,
America in Ethiopia to create a community development
and my comfort with, and appreciation for my classmates
project that included an orphanage. Our data is being used
grew as we spent 30 hours a week together in the same
to create a 3-D representation so other professionals can
classroom, muddling through our learning together.
determine where buildings and infrastructure will be placed.
The Geomatics program was my continuation of
The project made me wish I could do more. I enjoyed
exploring an industry I was introduced to a few years
bringing my skills to the table, but realized as I rubbed
earlier. I got a summer job in 2004 as a surveyor’s
shoulders with a civil engineer and collected data for
assistant, because I wanted a job where I’d have some
architects and planners back in Canada that I brought only
physical exercise, make some good money and get a good
a small piece of the pie. It excited me to work in a different
tan. Eventually, I decided I wanted to learn to do it right.
country and all the details related to that (border crossing,
After graduation, I returned to Altus Geomatics out of
insurance, dealing with a different culture, the language
Grande Prairie. I quickly began running my own crew,
barrier). It provided great exposure for me in working in
madly putting the experience I had gained as an assistant
a different survey application, with different methodology
together with my diploma from Lethbridge College.
than I was used to at my company.
We do surveys for oil companies in northern Alberta.
Just living in a different country for a week was an
When a company needs to build a new well site to drill
interesting experience. I found great enjoyment in the
on, or a pipeline to transport their product, we survey the
simplicity of the culture there: you “just do what you gotta
land to position them properly, and to correctly mark the
do.”
boundaries of the area they have to develop.
We stayed in a motel that was nice compared to the living
“
e Our team plays a gam with school children during a break
”
I wanted to use my skills for more than just my personal gain. Lydia Penner Geomatics Engineering Technology ’08
An Ethiopian meat dis h kept hot in a cast iro n pot over coals
conditions of most Ethiopians we saw, and yet this was still an experience in itself. We sometimes were without power
and water in our rooms, and never had hot water. We took to ordering our breakfast the night before so it would arrive more quickly.
I tried to learn a few words in the national language, Amheric,
and regional language or Aromifa, enabling me to at least greet bystanders who gathered to watch me survey. I learned to count, and the children would join me in rattling off numbers. We stopped by the local school one morning and were able to give the school master some supplies, visit the classrooms, and play with the children. The school consisted of mud buildings with dark classrooms and very few resources. The children, however, were ecstatic to interact with us. They crowded in so
Our Ethiopian driver with the team and a representative from the orphanage
close to touch us that sometimes we literally almost fell down. I was able to tap into the drafting skills I developed at school and submit the data to my survey supervisor in a form that he could work with. While the program I worked with was different than the one I was trained on, the fact that I’d been trained at all enabled me to adapt to the changes in software. The project increased my interest in international work. It caused me to remember other survey dreams I have, like going to the Far North, or Antarctica. I was very thankful to be part of the eMi team for the project, and would be open to further opportunities with them. I don’t have immediate plans to return to another project at this time, but will consider an opportunity should one arise.
One of the
cted with girls I intera
- photos supplied
hool
et at the sc
when we m
39
QA &
with Disney’s latest flash
Johannes Tacskovics is a senior Flash developer, a job title that might pique interest among readers, or might not, depending on your familiarity with the technology. But add to his title “for Disney,” and it’s difficult to not be curious as to how a Lethbridge College Multimedia Production (2000) grad from Fort Macleod wound up in Los Angeles working for the mouse clique. Wider Horizons found out all it took was talent, determination and a spot of luck.
Wider Horizons: Wow, Disney; pretty cool? Johannes Tacskovics: Yeah, it’s pretty cool. My friends and relatives back in Canada think it’s a big deal. But I’m the same person I always was. I get the occasional requests for passes to Disneyland. WH: So how did you wind up in North Hollywood? JT: For my Lethbridge College program, I did my practicum in Germany (Tacskovics moved to Fort Macleod from Germany when he was a youngster) where I picked up Flash. I came back to Canada just after the dot.com bubble burst, so it took five or six months to find a job. That’s not unusual; it sometimes takes awhile. I did some web design for a small Calgary company, then. Just after September 11 [2001], there were a lot of layoffs. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. Fortunately, my Multimedia classes at Lethbridge College transferred to bachelor of communications studies at the University of Calgary. After graduation, I worked for Critical Mass, a Calgary ad agency, which set me on a path for Disney. My first account there was Dell Computers. You have thousands of people looking at the work you do. Critical Mass had several A-list clients: I did some work for Rolex and Mercedes Benz. Critical Mass sent me to a conference in Boston, where Disney
40 • WIDER Horizons/Fall 2009
- photo supplied
had a booth. A former colleague was working at Disney, so I inquired whether he was at the conference; he wasn’t, but awhile later, I got a call from Disney asking me if I’d like to hear about the opportunities of working in California. It was flattering. After a series of interviews, I was hired in the fall of 2007. WH: How did that go? JT: The first few months were a bit overwhelming. My first day on the job, I got the basic orientation from HR on the Disney lot and heard all about the Disney history. It was the day of the Disney corporate Christmas Party at Disneyland, so all the new hires got invited. It was pretty good. WH: Had you been to Disneyland before? JT: It’s funny; instead of a prom during my grad year in high school in Fort Macleod, we decided to drive to Southern California and visit all the theme parks, including Disneyland. That was my first time. If you had asked me then, I would have had no idea I’d be working here one day. My little brother is 10 years younger than I, and when he graduated high school, his class did the same thing; 10 years later, I got to meet him at Disneyland.
WH: So what’s the lifestyle like? JT: It’s pretty interesting. We have our deadlines around special launches and there are some crunch times, but that doesn’t happen every day. When I’m not at work, I explore Southern California. I grew up snowboarding at Castle Mountain; here, I’m a couple of hours from ski hills and 40 minutes from the beach. WH: And the work lifestyle? JT: In Calgary, which is centred on the oil and gas industry, you meet people involved in that industry. In L.A., it’s entertainment, so you meet people in the entertainment industry. Like all the TV I grew up with, here you meet the people who worked on it. Just like in Calgary, you wind up talking shop. WH: Where can readers see your work? JT: On Disney.com. Just click the buttons on the left-hand side.
Flash is a multimedia platform that adds interactivity to web pages. Flash developers can use it to create animation, various web page components, and to integrate video into web pages. On the Disney.com site, content seen by clicking on the Games, Videos, My Page and Characters buttons found on the top left of the home page, runs on a Flash framework.
41
“” The students were where his heart was. Elaine Harrison,
Lethbridge College Donor
42 • WIDER Horizons/Fall 2009
Memory nurtures students When Bill Harrison, popular Lethbridge College instructor and public school guidance counselor, passed away suddenly – and much too young – in 1986, his wife Elaine (pictured left) figured she knew how best to preserve his memory. “He was so interested in students,”
selected for the awards and keeping track
close to his heart, a cause he championed
of their future successes where she can.
in several ways, such as holding
Bill Harrison began teaching at Gilbert Paterson Junior High School. Through summer sessions at Oregon State University, he achieved a masters of education in guidance and counselling,
summer school sessions in guidance and counselling attended by native administrators and instructors from the Prairie provinces. In collaboration with Pat Webb and
she says during an interview in her
leading to positions as a teacher and
Georgette Fox, Bill was instrumental
south Lethbridge home. “They were
counsellor at Lethbridge Collegiate
in forming a native advisory council. It
an important part of his life. When he
Institute and Winston Churchill High
nurtured and furthered opportunities
died, I thought ‘that’s how he’d like to be
School. He also served as director of
for aboriginal students, such as
remembered.’”
guidance services for School District 51.
representation on the college’s board of
And so, for the next 22 years, Bill’s name
Bill served as the first director of
has been tied to four scholarships given
counselling services at Lethbridge College.
annually at Lethbridge College: two to
He taught psychology to students in
First Nations students taking upgrading
Nursing and Justice Studies from 1971
classes, and one each to students in
to 1986, and those who passed through
Policing and Nursing.
his courses remember him fondly for his
It keeps Elaine busy shaking hands, because she enjoys meeting the students
inspired teaching. But aboriginal education was particularly
governors, a counselor, and an aboriginal students’ association. He also secured scholarship funding from the Donner Foundation. His doctoral dissertation was a study and survey of native education. “The students were where his heart was. The scholarship keeps his special interests alive,” Harrison says.
RCGA chips in for golf program When the last putt had dropped at
College Championship. Each year, a
And, it’s a chance for the rest of Canada
the 2008 Canadian Amateur Golf
student holding a GPA of at least 2.5 will
to learn about the program at Lethbridge
Championship at Paradise Canyon,
be awarded $2,500 to defray costs of
College and to hear about the quality of
Darrell Ell and his organizing committee
entering the event, a hallmark of post-
a Lethbridge golf course that hosted a
began looking for a way to create an event
secondary golf.
national championship.”
legacy. They had surprised their own
Interestingly, Ell completed the
Ell came to post-secondary education
Professional Golf Management program,
following a 22-year career in the military.
expectations by realizing a profit of
graduating in 1997, and understands
He started at Lethbridge College the year
$30,000 and, with the Royal Canadian
the value of a trip to the national
his daughter started at the University
Golf Association’s blessing, decided to
championship.
of Lethbridge, managing to win the odd
invest in the development of local junior players. That vision drove them to Lethbridge
“Several of our committee members were grads of the program and thought it would be the best way to leave a long legacy
College’s Professional Golf Management
and a great way to develop golf down the
program, where, when matched by
road,” says Ell, manager of the Lethbridge
the college, they created a $60,000
Curling Club since graduation.
perpetual scholarship to send a PGM student to the Canadian University/
“Playing on the national stage is a lifetime opportunity for any young golfer.
GPA battle around the kitchen table. After graduation, he realized the crossover between golf and curling, taking the position at the curling club. “The business skills I learned at Lethbridge College were easily transferable,” he says. “It’s a great, allaround program.”
43
Thank you to our 2008-09 Lethbridge College donors Gold Benefactor • E. C. Fredericks • Ed & Pat Nestorowicz • RBC Foundation • Servus Credit Union Ltd. Gold Partner • 2008 CMAC • Alberta Culture and Community Spirit Silver Patron • Alcoa Foundation • ATB Financial • Art & Mary Jane Crooks • Cummins Western Canada • Edmonton Community Foundation • Enercon Water Treatment Ltd./ Keith & Ellie Dys • Great Plains Fishery Workers Association • Lethbridge & District Auto Dealers Association • Lethbridge College Office of Alumni Relations • Overhead Door Company of Lethbridge • Val & Flora Matteotti • Melcor Developments Ltd. • Pay It Forward • Gerald & Rita Varzari - Varsteel Ltd. Silver Leader • Canadian Home Builders Association - Lethbridge Region • Charlton & Hill Ltd. • Ducks Unlimited • Foster & Sons Jewellers Ltd. • Frank Lindsay Golf Foundation • Ronald & Mariette Jacobson • John J Memorial Golf Fund • Kane Baker Golf Scholarship Fund • Lethbridge College Students’ Association • Pengrowth Corporation • Vestas-American Wind Technology, Inc. Bronze Friend • Alberta Blue Cross • Alberta Conservation Association • Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association • Alberta Resource Centre For Quality Enhancement • Altalink Management Ltd. • Anonymous • Anthony Matlashewski Foundation
• Association of Science & Engineering Technology Professionals of Alberta • Avonlea Master Builder • Balog Auction Services Inc. • Ken & Lorna Bateman • Rick & Jay Buis • Campus Works Inc. • Chinook Carriers Ltd. • Clear Sky Radio (CJOC Radio 94.1 The Lounge) • Centre for Teaching Learning & Innovation/College & University Preparation • D & D Machine Works Ltd. • D. A. Electric Ltd. • Kelly Damphousse • Davidson & Williams LLP • Davies Park Executive Search Consultants • Dr. Ian B. Hurdle & Dr. E. W. Dodd • Tracy Edwards & Les Ostrowski • Ericksen’s KFC • Executive Women International Lethbridge Chapter • Senator Joyce Fairbairn • Janet & Blair Frache • Galt School of Nursing Alumnae Society • Michelle Gilbertson • Anne Gillin • Green Acres Foundation • Growing Alberta • H-5 Holdings Ltd. (Taco Time) • James D. (Jim) Hill • J. H. Holloway Scholarship Foundation • Jenex Contracting Ltd. • Jepeto Securities Ltd. • Randall & Cheryl Jespersen • King Electric (Lethbridge) Ltd. • Lantic Inc./Rogers Sugar • Mark & Diane Lencucha • Lethbridge College Faculty Association • Lethbridge Lakeview Lions Club • Lethbridge Real Estate Board Co-Op Ltd. • Logic Lumber Ltd. • Gary MacLellan • Gary & Dianne Massier • Maximum Return Investment • Meyers Norris Penny LLP • Christian & Deanna Nelson • Neu-Lite Electric Inc. • Olympic Seismic • Knud Petersen • Phi Theta Kappa • Pratt & Whitney Canada Inc. • Private Giving Foundation • Quality Tube Supply Ltd. • Terry & Judy Reardon • Royal Canadian Legion, Alta
44 • WIDER Horizons/Fall 2009
/N.W.T. Command • Schenley Distilleries Inc. • Silver Automotive (Lethbridge) Ltd. • Jennifer Stark • Doug & Cheryl Stroh • D. Logan Tait • TD Insurance - Meloche Monnex • Howard & Sharon Tennant • Nick Thompson • UFA Co-Operative Limited • Eddie Verrier • Ward Bros. Construction Ltd. • Linda Welsh • John & Sandra Wickend Bronze Supporter • Dennis Adams • Alberta Branch, Canadian Seed Growers Association • Alberta Game Warden Association • Alberta Ready Mixed Concrete Association • Alberta/NWT Regional Council of Carpenters & Allied Workers • Alpine Stables Ltd. • Amelco Electric (Calgary) Ltd • Anonymous • Arthur Ferrari Architect Ltd. • Howard Ash • Astro Insurance 1000 Inc. • ATCO Gas/ATCO Pipelines • Rick Austin • Backstreet Pub and Pizza • Debbie Baggs • Barry Balsillie • Banff Bar Enterprises Inc. • Imaru Baquero • Amber Bareham • Duane & Elizabeth Barrett • Battery Direct • John Bekkering • Ian & Emily Bennett • Beta Sigma Phi City Council • Bigelow-Fowler Clinic • Nancy Biggers • Booster Juice • Emma Bowen • Brian Huculak Pro Shop Ltd. • Bridge City Chrysler Dodge Jeep • R & L Broderson • Dave Burden • C.O.P.S. (Career Opportunities in Police Services) • Canadian National • Canadian Tire Lethbridge North • Canwest Prescription Service Ltd./Woods Dispensary • Cardston Dairy Queen • Cardston Pro Shop Source for Sports • Cargill Ag Horizons • Laura &
Andy Carlson • David Carpenter • Celebration Cards Ltd. /Lynn Gregson • Challenge Industries Ltd. • Challenger Building Supplies Ltd. • Vicki & Dic Charge • Kursten Chenuz • Child & Youth Care Association of Alberta • Shiu Kwong & Anna Chu • City of Lethbridge • CJD Trucking • Clare’s Commercial Tire Sales • Jack Clark • Coco Pazzo Italian Cafe • Leeanne Conrad • Dawna Coslovi • Country 95/B 93 FM • County of Lethbridge #26 • Geoff & Andrea Cox • Kirby Cox • Creative Gold • Strater & Ellen Crowfoot • D. R. Gibb Professional Corporation • Doug Davidson • Richard & Denise Davidson • Davis Pontiac Buick GMC Ltd. • Margaret Dawkins • Phyllis Day Chief • Tom de Jager • Kim Derksen • Sameer Deshpande • Diesel Tech Services Ltd. • Zach Dorscheid • Dudas Painting Inc. • Mike Duguay • Dunlop Ford Sales Ltd. • DY Land & Cattle • Steven Dyck & Callie Craven • Ron & Lorinda Dykshoorn • Glyn Edwards • Eldorado Petroleum Service Ltd. • Leanne Elias • Elk Valley Coal SPO • Harold Elke & Rhonda Lawrence • Judy Emslie • Aaron & Lorena Engen • Euro Physical Therapy Ltd. • Fashion Design & Merchandising Program • John Ferguson • Ferrari Westwood Babits Architects • Dave Findlay • Tiara Folkes • Foothills Landscaping • Forzani Group • Freddie’s the Paint & Colour
Experts • The Front Row Pub/David Caruso • Rob Furukawa • G.I. Jen’s Army Surplus • Galko Homes Ltd. • Sherri Gallant • Gas King Oil Co. Ltd. • Gasfield Compressor Services • Gibb Orthodontics • Peter Gingras • Elio Girardi • Jacalynne Glover • Robin Goates • Greg Goodman • Green Prairie International Inc • Doug & Mike Grenier • GWG Enterprise • H20 to Go • Haig Clinic • Karen Harker • Ruth Hart Budd • Sheryl Hawkins • Helmut’s Painting • Debra Henderson • Ian Hepher • Len & Bev Herring • Hi-Tech Athletic Bracing & Orthotic Services Ltd. • Stan & Polly Hollingsworth • Holthe Immigration Law • Gregory & Linda Sue Honey • Bob Hornes • Laurence Hoye • Henry Hrncirik • Rhonda Hui • IAAP Lethbridge Chapter • Robbie Innes • Innovative Chemical Technologies Canada • Instream Water Control Projects Ltd. • Iwaasa Motors Ltd. • J A Excavating & Landscaping • LillAnne Jackson • John Jacobson • JoDee Jasiukiewicz • John W. Jasiukiewicz • Jentel Manufacturing Ltd. • Jerry Arnold Gallery • Dennis & Sharon Jobe • Joyce Joevenazzo • Lori & Dean Johnson • Gordon & Elizabeth Jong • Kainai Board of Education • Vic & Ruth Kalischuk • Rebecca Kan • Tosh & Kaz Kanashiro • Marie-Francis Kandel • Allan & Erna Karsten • D’Arcy Kavanagh • Karen Kennedy • Kesler & Associates Ltd. • Brian & Ruth King • The Kitchen Centre Ltd. • Gladys Kochei • KPK Enterprises Ltd. • KPMG LLP • Gayle Krampl • The L. A. Gallery/Design Studio
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Ltd. LA Paving Inc. Lafarge Canada Inc. Kevin Laudansky Laurie Kenna & Associates Financial Services Ltd. Sharon L. Lawson Chelsea Layden-Power LC Professional Golf Management Program LCSA Office Administrative Assistant Club Lealta Building Supplies Peter & Jill Leclaire Binns Chi Ho & Pei Lee Bert Lehmann Lethbridge College Leo Club Lethbridge Construction Association Lethbridge Lodge Hotel Minute Muffler and Brake Lethbridge Regional Police Lethbridge Soccer Association Lethbridge United Services Institute Lethbridge Yamaha & Marine Kelly Leybourne Bob Lindsay Charlie Lindsay Jone Lindsay Anna Linville Logos Embroidery Connie & Danny Lyon/The UPS Store Bruce Macdonald Miriam Mahnic Mike Maier & Elinda Leung-Maier Gordon Manery Fred & Tina Manning Barbara Mantello Manticore Engineering Ltd. Dianne Marcellus - Kerr Marsh Canada Limited Martin Bros. Funeral Chapels Ltd. Martin Geomatic Consultants Ltd. MBSI Canada Ltd. Keith Mcdonald Sonja McDonald Guy & Tracy McNab Esme Mcnally Midnapore Chiropractic Clinic/Dr. Stephen Jones Midwest Surveys Inc. Mike Spencer Geometrics Ltd. Christiaan Mourik MPE Engineering Ltd. Munton & Co. Douglas Mutai Doug Myhre Mike Myndio National Bank Financial National Salvage Ltd. Joan Nelson Tara & Kenneth Nelson Newco Commodities Ltd. Rose Niedermier Shawna Nieuwenhuis/Integra
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Benefits (AM) Earl Nilsson Nord International Inc. Northern News Services Darcy Novakowski Bill & Antoinette Nykiel Fiore & Anna Olivieri Dave Olson Omega Flooring Ltd Gary Oosterhoff Opokaa’sin Early Intervention Society Optical Studio David & Nony Orr Georgia Otway P D C Design Ltd. Park Road Farms Ltd. Ann Parks Bridget Pastoor Wayne & Patricia Petersen Eric & Rita Peterson Phillip’s Jewellery Robert Pike Praxair Distribution - A Division of Praxair Canada Inc. Keith Pushor R & J Sebok Farms R. K. Heggie Grain Ltd. Anne Raslask Robert & Mieke Rice Hugh Richards Ridge View Dairy (Monarch) Ltd. Roadside Dairy Ltd. Robert E. Rice Professional Corporation Keith & Jean Robin Rocket Leasing John & Heather Roest Minda Rogerson & Neriza Wallace - Sutton Group Lethbridge Lindy Rollingson Tim Rollingson Gwen Rosentreter Margaret Ross Rotary Club of Lethbridge (Downtown) Karen Rowles Renee Rudolph Craig & Marg Rumer Barry Runnalls Ken Sauter Cameron Schmaltz Scholten Management Peter Scott GMS Ranching Glenn Secretan Security Management Services Sedona Enterprises Ltd. Glen & Hilda Seeman Shawn B. Heggie Professional Corporation Siksika Nation Parks & Recreation Silver Ridge Construction (1999) Ltd. Frankie Skripal Dale Soloski Don & Dilene Sorochan Southern Alberta Bow Hunter’s
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Association Carolyn Speakman St. Michael’s Alumnae Michelle Stegen Ramona Stewart Milton & Judy Stobbe Blaine Stodolka Streatside Eatery Summit Inspection Services Ltd. Brandon Sun Sundance Research Inc. Sunnyrose Cheese Synergy Group of Canada Inc. Taber Diesel Service Ltd. Cathy Takeda Les Talbot Ken Taylor Terry Clark Financial & Estate Planning The River/Rock 106 Greg Thiessen Ralph & Catherine Thrall R. Bruce Thurston Alvin Tietz - Quality Floor Mechanics Timber-Tech Truss Inc. Tim’s Mobile Irrigation Service Ltd. Tompkins Jewellers Torry Lewis Abells LLP, Lawyers Dave & Della Toth Jim & Carmen Toth The Travelman Veronica Turcotte Two Guys and a Pizza Place Jaylene Ulmer UMA Engineering Ltd. University of Lethbridge Jim Urasaki Tony Van Leuken Van Rijn Electric Glenn & Janice Varzari Helen Vaselenak Veldman Masonry Ltd. Herb & Leona Wall Frank & Donna Walton Bill & Susan Waugh Wee R Kids 2 Family Dayhomes Gayle Weeks Wes Fournier Professional Corporation Western Canada Welding Products Ltd. Western Financial Group Western Quality Services Dan & Karen Westwood Frank Whidden Fred & Belinda Williams Ron & Sophie Williams Women’s Soccer Association of Lethbridge Art & Joan Wood Arthur Wriedt Cherie Yoshioka Young Parkyn McNab LLP Louise Zieffle
Those who seek a higher education show a faith in their future;
Your gracious gift to Lethbridge College shows faith in them.
45
Your career can have a
higher purpose Wouldn’t it be great if your career allowed
employees with unique services, benefits and
you to apply your talents and knowledge in
professional development opportunities that
an innovative environment where learning
enhance their work and home lives.
isn’t just supported, it’s actually part of your
In turn, they help us achieve a higher purpose
company’s mission? Our employees certainly
–– educating and supporting tomorrow’s
think so.
industry leaders. Wider Horizons is proud to
As Lethbridge’s third largest employer, we at
feature some of our employees in this and
Lethbridge College work hard to provide our
upcoming issues.
“Being an instructor at Lethbridge College allows me to use the experiences I gained through years of plying my trade to guide the apprentices through their technical training. Jeremy Lauzon, Apprenticeship Welding Instructor
Your career can have a higher purpose, too. Visit higher-purpose.ca today to learn more.
Show us your horizons... Last issue, we held a photo competition requesting readers send us photos of themselves holding their copies of Wider Horizons, depicting a background they call home. First prize was $100. Congratulations to our winner: Barry Shaw, Law Enforcement ’78 Greetings from Kandahar, I just received my Spring edition in the mail (from my wife) and was excited to read the last page about looking for readers from far away. Well, as you can see, I am currently in Kandahar with the Canadian Forces. I am serving a six month tour as the Kandahar Airfield Provost Marshal. I am also the Officer Commanding the International Military Police, and responsible for policing the 18,000 military and civilians that live on the Kandahar Airfield Military Base. I am a graduate of Law Enforcement (1978) and also one of the original Distinguished Alumnus. Thanks for the great magazine and I look forward to reading it wherever I am.
46 • WIDER Horizons/Fall 2009
Where are they now?
Keep us updated on your successes. Drop us a note at alumni@lethbridgecollege.ab.ca
Yvette Deleff (nee Dyke) Nursing, 1988 Since graduation Yvette has focused on geriatric nursing, moving to Grand Prairie in 1988 until 1989 when she moved to Sarcee, Carewest Long Term Care in Calgary. She moved to the Northwest Territories in 2000 working at Aven Manor in Yellowknife as Resident Care Leader until 2004. Yvette then began working at Stanton, Yellowknife as a Clinical Coordinator in medical services until 2008. She currently works in the Department of Health and Social Services in Yellowknife as the Health Planner, Long Term Care. Timothy Frantz Computer Information Systems, 1992 Along with fellow grad Stephen Graham, Timothy formed EFG Solutions in 1994, a customer software and IT consulting firm and developer and supplier of G-Track Grievance Tracking Software sold all over North America. They recently merged with another IT firm, Data Control Management Solutions Ltd. They have been host to many practicum students and both Stephen and Timothy served on the CIT Advisory Board for many years. Timothy has also served a term as president of the Southern Alberta Technology Council, and on the board of Downtown Lethbridge. He is currently the chair of the Lethbridge Symphony Association Marketing Committee.
John Galbraith Business Administration, 2002 John is currently working in a business development role with a tech company called Pointstreak.com. “It’s amazing,” he says. Vern Koop Broadcast Journalism, 1973 Vern recently retired after 35 years in broadcasting, 33 of those spent as the morning news anchor at CHQR radio. “Lethbridge College was a great place to get that final education boost allowing me to move into my chosen profession – something I will always be grateful for. Interactions with others on the Student Council were also valuable as were the relationships established with other students and faculty members.” April Lait General Studies, 2004 April is a respiratory therapist at the Chinook Regional Hospital in Lethbridge after completing her training at SAIT. She is “Totally enjoying (her) career,” and just bought her first ‘real’ house. Steven Moquin Corrections, 2004 Steven is a federal correctional officer. He has been working for the Correctional Service of Canada for almost five years. Jim Penson Civil Engineering Technology, 2005 Jim is the Project Manager of Environment Services for the Regional District of East Kootenay. His favorite college memory was the “serious windy days out back trying to survey.”
Virginia (Ginny) Smith (nee Holmes) Business Administration Management, 1977 Ginny worked for TransAlta Utilities until 2000, then Telus, and now for Alberta Agriculture as 4-H program assistant, Southern Region. Ginny currently participates as part of the Ag Tech Advisory Committee. Antonio Simioni Law Enforcement, 1979 Antonio worked as a Police Constable for the Camrose Police from 1979-1981 before moving to the Edmonton Police Service in 1981. He’s moved through the ranks from constable to detective to sergeant and is currently the President of the Edmonton Police Association since 2008.
0s, ber the 196 u can remem yo ng if ti et id b sa It’s e. We’re actually ther ’t en in er e w m ti u yo o spent r alumni wh n, in many of ou e College ca g at Lethbrid s yed, ce jo en d en si re mes they the good ti ll nd, ca A . re , es ct fa decad 0s and other ’6 e ve it. th ro g p n ri to du e photos th t o g e ’v we bet they
ence” fe in resid li “ t s e b r Send you d stories to Nov. 1. photos an m by e@gmail.co WHMagazin in our n io h a select lis b u p ll e’ W ard $100 ition and aw ed y ar u n Ja entry. for the best
’: Life in ‘rez photos
Lethbridge College Events
ur send us yo
ACAC South Regional Golf • Sept. 20-21 Pumpkin Run - Cross Country ACAC Grand Prix • Oct. 3 Kodiaks Volleyball Home Opener • Oct. 23 Kodiaks Basketball Home Opener • Oct. 30 Totally Lethbridge College Blood Drive • Nov. 2 - 30 Kodiaks Dinner and Auction • Nov. 3 Career Conference • 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Nov. 5 @ the Val Matteotti Gymnasium. Lethbridge College Foundation Clayton Allan Wine Auction • Nov. 20 Adoption Fair • Nov. 21 - 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
47
Find out how you can be a part of Lethbridge College’s new learner residence project.
lethbridgecollege.ca