Kudos to Police Foundations students

Students from the Police Foundations program participated in Seducing Dr. Zeus on Feb. 21 – a fundraising event supporting the Orillia and Area Physician Retention and Recruitment Committee and its efforts to ensure long-term primary health care in the region.

The students were great ambassadors for Georgian College, providing support for the event and receiving rave reviews from event organizers for their professionalism.

Georgian’s Community Nights a success

Recruiters at the Barrie, Orillia and Owen Sound campuses have hosted four Community Night events in 2014 with excellent participation. The monthly event will continue throughout the year, with committed dates for March 18, April 15, May 20, June 17 and August 26 (no event in July).

Highlights this year

The addition of paid radio promotion one week in advance – which has proven to drive numbers

The four events in 2014 have already surpassed winter 2013 numbers

To date, 245 visitors – of which 146 were prospective students

In 2013, 159 visitors – of which 85 were prospective students

Career testing has attracted strong use at each event

Continuing Education requests have increased substantially

Background

Developed in January 2013

Offering personalized service to non-direct entry students in these communities

Proving to be of equal weighting between direct and non-direct students

Has become a conversion factor for applicants and accepted students who are considering multiple college offers, and confirmed students who want to gain a better sense of Georgian overall, as well as tour residences

Benefits for prospective students

Format enables them to drop by after school or work to tour the campus

Provides additional exposure of the campus to the local community in an informal, less crowded setting than our traditional Open House

Allows students who have applied or been accepted to see the campus with their friends and families, take a campus tour, ask questions, and visit the Registrar’s or Financial Aid office in an informal setting

Provides the opportunity to tour the Barrie and Orillia residences

Benefits for the college

February through April dates help solidify decisions for accepted students who are considering multiple postsecondary options for the fall (before the May 1 confirmation date)

Residence tours in Barrie (both on and off-campus) have been a key element for parents and students

Continuing Education inquiries continue to grow at these events

Kudos to Georgian’s four recruiters who are helping to keep these busy events a success – Stephen Fennell and Aaron Schoenmaker in Barrie, Joe Lauzon in Orillia and Kailey Thompson in Owen Sound.

Students brave the cold to help local homeless

The City of Orillia was one of 64 communities across Canada participating in The Coldest Night of the Year on Feb. 22 – a two, five and 10 km walk raising awareness about homelessness and funds for local charities.

A number of students from Georgian’s police and community justice programs bundled up and walked through Orillia’s snowy downtown streets and parks. Participants stopped at The Lighthouse men’s shelter to grab a warm hot chocolate and to get a brief tour of the daily soup kitchen.

Students (pictured) Mikaela Holtzheimer, Emily Henry, Bradley McLaughlin, Chris Grzywna, Frasier Keaney and Jessie Parks-Hamer braved the winter weather to support the homeless. Event organizers were thrilled with their participation and representation from the college.

In total, 25 teams and 151 walkers raised $22,043 in support of the walk with proceeds going toward The Lighthouse.

Grad lands job interview on her way to convocation

They say when it rains it pours. That was certainly true last week for recent Georgian College graduate Vanessa Lloyd.

Vanessa graduated, was registered for her profession and got a job interview all on the same day. She completed her classes in December and wrote the National Dental Hygiene Certification Board exam in January. She spent February sending resumés to employers across

Central Ontario and waiting to become officially registered with the College of Dental Hygienists.

Last week, she received an email confirming her registration to her profession. Ten minutes later, a dental office in her hometown of Shelburne called her to book an interview about a job opening. And just one hour later, she crossed the stage at the Barrie Campus convocation to accept her diploma.

“I was in total shock because it was all happening at once,” says Vanessa, who was with her proud parents when she fielded both messages. “It was a very happy day.”

Read more about Vanessa’s journey.

Barrie and Orillia job fairs a huge success

Close to 1,000 job seekers and 25 employers turned out a job fair in Barrie on Feb. 26, hosted by Georgian’s Centre for Career and Employment Services (Barrie), the City of Barrie Economic Development and four other Employment Ontario Service providers in the region. Read a great article in The Barrie Examiner.

Similarly, more than 700 job seekers and 30 employers attended a job fair in Orillia on March 4. The event was hosted by Georgian’s Centre for Career and Employment Services (Orillia) in partnership with the City of Orillia Economic Development and RioCan Orillia Square Mall. Watch a CTV Barrie news clip from Tuesday night (at 13:45).

Check out student work in the Campus Gallery

From now until March 23, students in the Digital Photography and Imaging program will showcase their work as part of a juried exhibition in the Campus Gallery (Barrie).

Georgian students host international flavour experiences

Teams of second-year students from Georgian College’s hospitality programs are organizing 10 gourmet dinners designed to take guests’ palates around the world. Each meal has five courses paired with complimentary beer or wine.

All are invited. Chefs-in-training will prepare thoughtful and delicious meals inspired by different cultures. Service and Wine students will make each dining experience outstanding.

Each dinner will take place in the Georgian Dining Room, a full-service restaurant located on the first floor of the Hospitality and Tourism building at the Barrie Campus.

These are all-inclusive events starting at 6 p.m. with an hors-d’oeuvres reception. The dinners are every Tuesday and Thursday from Tuesday, March 18 to Thursday, April 17.

Every aspect of each meal is designed and prepared by students as the culmination of their Georgian College education. Not only will guests enjoy fine food and service, they’ll also be supporting the next generation of local culinary talent.

The cost per dinner is $49.95 per person, plus tax. For reservations, call 705.722.5142.

Tuesday, March 18 – Symphony of Europe

Celebrate Europe’s greatest culinary and musical achievements, including a French onion soup inspired by Debussy, lasagna celebrating Vivaldi, tafelspitz for Mozart, and a black forest torte honouring Bach.

Thursday, March 20 – Holi: Celebration of Colour

Enjoy a colour and flavour-filled Indian experience featuring crispy pani poori, holi-inspired tomato soup, curried lamb, and saffron-scented Asian pear and mango kulfi for dessert.

Tuesday, March 25 – Dionysus’ Feast of the Gods

Honour Greece’s gods and goddesses by enjoying dolmades, traditional Greek salad, puff-pastry roll with chicken and rice, and honey cake and pomegranate gelato with poached fruit.

Thursday, March 27 – Rock and Roll Dinner

Rock out to American favourites like taco salad, potato skins, barbecue wings, crab croquettes and a beef burger with fries inspired by Led Zeppelin. Finish with “Bye-bye Miss American apple pie.”

Tuesday, April 1 – Sakura’s First Voyage

Start your voyage with anchors away Thai glass noodle salad, sail along with asian waves wonton soup, enjoy the captain’s bulgogi, and end at a tropical paradise – with an egg custard tart and fruit salad.

Thursday, April 3 – Dinner of the Roses

Let your palette fight for the throne. Enjoy a Yorkist quinoa salad, Lancastrian vegetable stew, and battle-inspired pork loin before celebrating peace with pear crumble and red fruit with English cream.

Tuesday, April 8 – Rio Carnival

Travel to the world’s biggest and most colourful carnival with pork Coxhinas, samba salad and chicken breast and sweet chili shrimp. Finish with a chocolate sponge, coconut pudding and berry sorbet.

Thursday, April 10 – Mediterranean Splendour

Take your mouth on a Mediterranean cruise. Dock in Greece with pork souvlaki, enjoy Italian ricotta pasta shells, say hello to traditional Spanish paella, and finish with a French croquembouche.

Tuesday, April 15 – Lights of Thai

Celebrate Thailand’s festivals with phi ta kon pad thai, fire lantern spicy mango salad, sakohothai pork loin, and an almond and chocolate sponge cake topped with chai tea ice cream and sesame seed brittle.

Thursday, April 17 – Sigrblot: Viking Spring Feast

Feast like a Scandinavian ancestor with pickled cabbage and bacon salad, salted cod and haddock soup, herb-crusted lamb loin with root vegetables, and sweet spiced baked apple with Danish pastry.

Explore your passion for decorating March 25

Anyone with a room to beautify or a passion for home décor will want to attend Decorating Day at Georgian College on Tuesday, March 25.

Hosted by students in the Interior Decorating and Kitchen and Bath Design programs, the event will feature the latest decorating products from industry suppliers. At least 50 suppliers to the decorating and kitchen and bath design markets will showcase trending products in home décor and design. The show will be held in the gymnasium (Building J) at the Barrie Campus, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is a non-perishable food item for Georgian’s Food Locker program.

Consumers will see the latest home furnishing fabrics, window treatments, wallpapers, flooring, paint, and kitchen and bath products. Displayed items will include architectural hardware, cabinetry, appliances, countertops, sinks, faucets, and more. Those working in the field will have the opportunity to network with industry professionals.

Bring decorating and design ideas and ask a decorator or kitchen and bath designer for their opinion or advice. Two booth areas hosted by qualified decorators, designers and students will provide free decorating and kitchen and bath consultations to anyone with a decorating or design dilemma. Decorating and design seminars will run from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with information about many topics, including decorating products, applications and colour trends.

New decorating software technologies will also be a focus of the day:

20-20 Technologies provides software solutions covering the entire furniture design and manufacturing chain

SketchUp is a free Google download that anyone can use to create three-dimensional drawings of interior designed space

ViewIt Technologies is used by designers, decor professionals, vendors and retailers

AutoCAD allows users to design and shape the world with the powerful, connected design tools

Mpengo produces specific apps for the mobile professional

A number of home decorating door prizes will be offered, including a full architectural paint reference system. Also part of the event is an art show and sale by local artists and students in Georgian’s Fine Arts program.

For further information, visit the Decorating Day Twitter feed @gc_decday or www.facebook.com/GCDecoratingDay.

Georgian helps local businesses address their growing needs

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been eager to seek the assistance of Georgian College’s Centre for Applied Research and Innovation (CARI) in recent months.

A Georgian College student assembles a 3D prototype following a DTAPP demonstration.

CARI, housed at the Barrie Campus, provides SMEs in central Ontario with access to affordable resources to help them grow and prosper. Through support provided by the Digital Technology Adoption Pilot Program (DTAPP), the centre has raised considerable awareness of programs and services available to local businesses.

“During our first eight months working with DTAPP, the awareness we generated led to SME demand that initially exceeded the college’s capacity,” says Chris Berni, Manager of CARI. “The centre responded to 31 SMEs seeking information, advice or demonstrations of digital technology. These businesses did not have the resources to hire outside service providers, so Georgian stepped in with a mix of services and financial assistance to help them move forward.”

Georgian also visited 15 SMEs during those first eight months – 50 per cent more than planned. Of those visits, six evolved into formal needs assessments that quantified the firms’ current capabilities and requirements for digital technology adoption. Four of these led to additional

projects with companies such as RM Products of Orillia, EZ Hanging Color Rack of Thunder Bay and Busch Systems of Barrie.

The centre has since increased the quantity and reach of its services – and plans to continue to do so across all campuses. Georgian is currently targeting visits to 24 SMEs to identify opportunities for helping them increase productivity and profitability. The college expects these visits to lead to six assessments of business operations that include analyzing the potential impact of adopting digital technology and making recommendations. Four of these are projected to lead to a detailed technology adoption plans and subsequent implementation.

“We’re already providing 25 per cent more assistance to SMEs than we anticipated,” notes Chris. “While we have always provided demonstrations, we have now added to the mix onsite business and operations assessments, as well as digital technology planning and implementation services. Our support includes the expertise of co-op students, faculty, technicians, and technical and training support to employees. In addition, the centre created a staff industry liaison position to conduct operations evaluations and support SMEs’ technology needs.”

“Home stretch” bags brighten students’ day in Owen Sound

The Owen Sound Students’ Administrative Council is working with First Generation and First Year Experience programs this week to distribute 100 treat bags full of goodies and information about where students can get academic and personal support as they head into the final weeks of the winter semester.

Child and Youth Worker students learn strategies for self-care

Third-year Child and Youth Worker students in Ellen Sheepway’s Holistic Health and Wellness course don’t just talk about ways they can take care of themselves, they explore those ways firsthand through experiential learning. As part of the program’s commitment to wellness in the profession, Ellen has introduced her learners to a variety of concrete methods to maintain holistic health and wellness in light of the stressful and challenging work involved with supporting at-risk children and youth.

Students recently snow-shoed in the wooded trails at the Orillia Campus, discovered how to practise yoga and made worry dolls. One student remarked that these experiences were helping them to successfully integrate the strategies Ellen was teaching in the classroom into their life.

Barrie prof runs innovative book club

Business Professor Mark Fletcher is encouraging students to, “grab a book, read, enjoy, learn and maybe win some prizes or cash.” He’s the lead organizer of the Entrepreneur Book Club – an initiative at the Barrie Campus he’s been running for five years, bringing together students from a wide range of programs.

Mark has put on reserve in the Library Commons several copies of Persuasion by Arlene Dickinson and The Cold, Hard Truth by Kevin O’Leary. Arlene and Kevin are both successful entrepreneurs, perhaps best known for their role in CBC’s Dragons’ Den. Members of the book club will meet to discuss the books informally on Thursday, March 27, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. in The Last Class.

Three out of the four courses Mark is currently teaching have an entrepreneurial component. He hopes the book club will help students learn what it takes to excel as an entrepreneur as they read the personal experiences of those who are already high profile leaders in their fields. The book club is also intended to provide the opportunity for students to network, an essential skill for any entrepreneur.

The School of Business, Library Commons, DriverSeat Barrie and other local businesses, have donated prizes to the club. Mark is looking for additional support. If you know of an individual or business that would be interested in helping, send him an email.

Missed Pow Wow last weekend?

Catch the highlights in a short video.

Don’t miss next year – we’ll be celebrating the Georgian College Pow Wow’s 10th anniversary.

Georgian’s first-ever Twitter contest a success

Georgian College offered its first ever win-a-bursary contest this past January…on Twitter. Nearly 650 potential students vied for $2,000 to put toward their first year of study at the college as part of the #ChooseGC2Win contest.

To enter, prospective students had to visit georgiancollege.ca and find the webpage of any program they were interested in taking. They then had to tweet out that webpage with the hashtag #ChooseGC2Win. Almost all of Georgian’s diploma, certificate and degree programs were represented in the hundreds of tweets that poured in.

The winner must enrol in a Georgian program by September 2016, and that’s just what Susan Smith – whose tweet was randomly drawn from all entries – plans to do. Susan, a Barrie mom, is hoping to take one of the college’s Health and Wellness programs. “I really want to help people for a living,” she explains.

Georgian mourns passing of retiree

It is with great sadness Georgian has learned of the passing of retiree John Stephenson Delves. John taught in the School of Design and Visual Arts. A cremation has taken place and a spring celebration will follow. Memorial donations for research into Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia would be appreciated. Visit the Marshall W. Driver Cremation and Burial Service website to learn more.

Students learn to create healthy dishes on a budget

The First Generation and First Year Experience teams at the Barrie Campus partnered with Students’ Administrative Council (SAC) to host a Community Kitchen on March 12. Using kitchen space in the Hospitality and Tourism area, Chef Julien Ross taught 18 students basic cooking techniques and how to create healthy dishes on a student budget.

The students paid $5 each to participate and ended up taking home six different meals. Event

organizers commented that students enjoyed the event and would like to see it held on a more regular basis.

Students organize free tax clinic for their peers

Under the guidance of Professor Lianne Smith-Stow, Georgian College accounting students will offer free, professional income tax preparation and EFILE services to students at the Barrie Campus.

The Georgian Tax Clinic, a partnership between Georgian College and Canada Revenue Agency, is gearing up for another busy season. More than 30 student volunteers will staff the clinic in Room E212 from March 24 to April 4.

“This is a great opportunity for student volunteers to gain valuable, real-life experience with actual clients,” explains Lianne. “They get to practise the soft and hard skills they acquire in the accounting program, while providing an important service to their peers.”

Students who take advantage of the service can ask questions in a comfortable environment, become more knowledgeable about their individual tax situation and of course, save money.

For more information about the clinic, stop by Room H204 or email georgiantaxclinic@hotmail.com.