Convocation

Alumni Engagement

Events

#BreakTheBias: Empowering women to succeed and allies to support – Free Virtual Event

March 3, 2022

You’re invited! Ten Thousand Coffees is hosting a special Office Hour event celebrating International Women’s Day! The event will be held on March 10th at 2:00 p.m. CT and will align with IWD’s 2022 theme – #BreakTheBias.

This International Women’s Day, Ten Thousand Coffees is shedding light on the barriers that women face as they enter or navigate the workforce. The first step is building awareness and the next step is breaking them down – and we need women and allies to do both.

Ten Thousand Coffees founder and CEO Dave Wilkin will chat with guest speakers Christine Silva (Senior Lead, Community & Underrepresented Entrepreneurs at Shopify) and Emma Mohns (Senior Legal Counsel at Kinaxis) about the tactics these women used to navigate and succeed in their career. They will also highlight the role allyship played in their success and share the tools and tricks that other allies can leverage to build inclusive environments.

If you identify as a woman, it’s critical to understand what barriers you may encounter and the proven tactics you can use to overcome them – spoiler alert, sponsorship is key! As an ally, it’s your job to actively call out bias when you see it and fight to break the mold.

This Office Hour event is free and open to all RRC Polytech students and alumni. Whether you’re already a member of the RRC Polytech Café or new to our mentoring and networking platform, you’re invited to listen in and ask questions!

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RRC Polytech grad speaks on monumental change at CreativeMornings Winnipeg’s February event

February 23, 2022

More than a decade ago, CreativeMornings was launched out of a desire for ongoing, accessible events for creative communities to connect. Today, these communities gather in 223 cities across 67 countries — including right here in Winnipeg.

The Winnipeg chapter of CreativeMornings not only celebrates our city’s creative talent, but also promotes an open space to connect with like-minded individuals. From marketing legends to hometown heroes, speakers are selected by each chapter based on a global theme. This month’s theme is MONUMENTAL: what will you bear witness to? What will you leave behind when you’re gone? We each have stories and creativity to share – and what we do and how we do it not only impacts our lives but also the lives around us.

Sean Rayland, a graduate of RRC Polytech’s Indigenous Social Entrepreneurship program, is CreativeMornings Winnipeg’s speaker on Friday, February 25 from 8:15 – 9:30 a.m. CT. You won’t want to miss his talk: Making Monumental Change – one t-shirt at a time. He’ll be sharing about his experience as an ex-gang member and recovering addict who now runs a successful social enterprise as owner of Indigenous-led clothing company Red Rebel Armour.

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RRC Polytech alum Natalie Bell shares tips to spark creativity at CreativeMornings Winnipeg’s January event

January 24, 2022

More than a decade ago, CreativeMornings was launched out of a desire for ongoing, accessible events for creative communities to connect. Today, these communities gather in 223 cities across 67 countries — including right here in Winnipeg.

RRC Polytech alumna Natalie Bell
HR pro Natalie Bell is the digital creator behind @PegCityLovely

The Winnipeg chapter of CreativeMornings not only celebrates our city’s creative talent, but also promotes an open space to connect with like-minded individuals. From marketing legends to hometown heroes, speakers are selected by each chapter based on a global theme. This month’s theme is FREE: free to be your authentic self in life and at work; free to be with the content you share and the people you interact with; free to achieve your fullest creative potential.

Natalie Bell, RRC Polytech grad (aka @PegCityLovely – one of Winnipeg’s original influencers) is CreativeMornings Winnipeg’s speaker this Friday, January 28 from 8:15 – 9:45 a.m. CT. She’ll be chatting about how to shake off your online persona and will offer tips on how to get back to the creativity you are passionate about.

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Free Virtual Event: The Power of Relationships – Why Mentorship Matters

January 17, 2022

You’re invited! To celebrate National Mentoring Month, Ten Thousand Coffees is hosting an exclusive event on Thursday, January 27, 2022 at 12:30 p.m. CT.

Join Ten Thousand Coffees for an enlightening webinar with Mark Beckles, Vice-President, Social Impact & Innovation at RBC. Mark will chat about how he has benefited from mentorship in his career and how he has amplified his impact by mentoring others.

For students looking for a summer internship or full-time job, or fresh graduates navigating the next steps in your career, having a mentor can be a game-changer. It can help boost confidence, improve career satisfaction, and provide access to networks that will help you grow your career.

For mid-career and seasoned alumni, connecting with current students and recent grads is an awesome way to give back. You have the experience and skills to make a difference by becoming a mentor for young people who are starting out in their careers. There are also tremendous benefits for you, like building your leadership skills, growing your network, and helping young people find and follow their passions and thrive.

Ten Thousand Coffees CEO Dave Wilkin will host this chat with Mark on January 27 – don’t miss it! The event is free and open to all RRC Polytech students and alumni. Whether you’re already a member of the RRC Polytech Café or new to our mentoring and networking platform, you’re invited to listen in and ask questions!

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Free Virtual Event: Ace That Interview and Land Your Dream Job

November 1, 2021

You’re invited! To celebrate Career Month, Ten Thousand Coffees is hosting a panel discussion on November 18, 2021 at 12:30 p.m. CT covering how to ace your next job interview so you can land your dream job.

Join Ten Thousand Coffees for an exciting workshop with industry pros on how to build your confidence and learn the skills to rock an interview. Whether you’re navigating your next steps as a fresh graduate, searching for a new opportunity, or have been out of the interview game for a while, you’ll get a chance to hear from a group of experts who will share resume writing advice, as well as best practices, tips, and tricks to conquer every interview you have.

Ten Thousand Coffees CEO Dave Wilkin will chat with senior Human Resources professionals from top employers, including adidas, Expedia, the City of Toronto, and Loblaws. The event is free and open to all Red River College students and alumni. Whether you’re already a member of the RRC Polytech Café or new to our mentoring and networking platform, you’re invited to listen in and ask questions!

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RRC Polytech alum set to speak on design influences at CreativeMornings Winnipeg

October 18, 2021

RRC Grad Jordan Stranger
Jordan Stranger, RRC Polytech grad and artist behind TotemDoodem

More than a decade ago, CreativeMornings was launched out of a desire for ongoing, accessible events for creative communities to connect. Today, these communities gather in 223 cities across 67 countries — including right here in Winnipeg.

The Winnipeg chapter of CreativeMornings not only celebrates our city’s creative talent, but also promotes an open space to connect with like-minded individuals. From marketing legends to hometown heroes, speakers are selected by each chapter based on a global theme. This month’s theme is all about design and how to design is to create, play, think, and influence every interaction we have with the world around us.

Jordan Stranger, RRC Polytech grad and the artist behind TotemDoodem, is CreativeMornings Winnipeg’s speaker on Friday, October 29 from 7:45 – 9:30 a.m. CT. He’ll be unpacking the past by discussing his relationship to design from an Oji-Cree perspective, cultural influences and symbolism in his work, and the processes from which he draws inspiration. Registration is open and the virtual event is completely free.

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Free Virtual Event: Alumni Training – How to Make the Most of Ten Thousand Coffees

August 17, 2021

Join alumni across the country for tips on how to maximize Ten Thousand Coffees in a free Office Hour event on Tuesday, August 24 from 12:30-1:30 p.m. CT.

The Red River College Café, powered by Ten Thousand Coffees (10KC), is RRC’s free online networking and mentorship platform that connects Red River College students and alumni through virtual ‘coffee chats’ and exclusive nation-wide events with career development experts.

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Free Virtual Event: Should I Start a Business or Get a Job?

June 30, 2021

You’re invited! Ten Thousand Coffees is hosting a panel discussion on July 15, 2021 at 12:30 p.m. CT to answer the age-old question so many of us have asked ourselves: should I get a job or start my own business?

Let the great debate begin! Join Ten Thousand Coffees for an exciting discussion to help you decide if you should go out on your own or accept that job offer. Whether you’re navigating your next steps as a fresh graduate, or you’ve always wondered if starting a business and being your own boss is the right move, you’ll get a chance to hear from a group of experts who will weigh in on the benefits and challenges of either option.

Ten Thousand Coffees CEO Dave Wilkin will chat with an entrepreneur, a venture capitalist, and an early career leader for their take on this debate. The event is free and open to all Red River College students and alumni. Whether you’re already a member of the Red River College Café or new to our mentoring and networking platform, you’re invited to listen in and ask questions!

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Free virtual event: Foundational Skills for Career Success

May 6, 2021

You’re invited! Ten Thousand Coffees is hosting a free webinar on May 20, 2021 at 12:30 p.m. CT to help you build essential skills for career success.

We focus a lot on building technical skills for the workplace – school is where we match theory with hands-on, practical learning so grads are set up to meet industry needs (which is awesome!). But we could all use a little extra work on foundational skills: the skills that set us up for long-term career success. These are often called ‘soft skills’ but there’s nothing soft about them – the ability to work effectively in teams, resolve conflicts, solve problems, have empathy, and think critically are all human skills that are not just nice-to-haves in today’s market, they’re need-to-haves.

In a study conducted by LinkedIn, 91 per cent of companies responded that it’s a struggle to find candidates in the marketplace that not only meet education and experience requirements, but also have well-developed soft skills.

Join Ten Thousand Coffees co-founder and CEO Dave Wilkin and Harpal Sekhon, Head of HR for Johnson & Johnson Consumer Canada, for this Office Hour to find out which foundational skills are the most in demand in Canadian workplaces. This session will cover why these essential human skills are necessary for career success and how you can grow your own skillset to become a superstar in the office (and in life).

The event is free and open to all Red River College students and alumni. Whether you’re already a member of the Red River College Café or new to our mentoring platform, you’re invited to enhance your networking skills at this workshop event.

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Free virtual event: Master Networking Skills to Launch Your Career

April 1, 2021

You’re invited! Ten Thousand Coffees is hosting a free workshop on April 8, 2021 at 12:30 p.m. CT to help you master networking skills that will launch your career or take your career to new heights.

We all know the best time to network is when you have a job (instead of when you want to find a job!). In today’s virtual reality, this is hard to do, particularly if you don’t know how. In addition, we know that fear and nerves can get in the way when trying to network at a first job or internship. At any stage of your career, networking can be challenging, especially when we can’t meet face-to-face.

Join expert networkers for this Office Hour on how to master networking skills to launch your career. This session will cover why it’s so important to build networks that will catapult your growth and career success. You will also have the chance to workshop the skills to become a superstar networker in a virtual environment – an essential soft skill that will be handy forever!

The event is free and open to all Red River College students and alumni. Whether you’re already a member of the Red River College Café or new to our mentoring platform, you’re invited to enhance your networking skills at this workshop event.

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RRC Polytech campuses are located on the lands of Anishinaabe, Ininiwak, Anishininew, Dakota, and Dené, and the National Homeland of the Red River Métis.

We recognize and honour Treaty 3 Territory Shoal Lake 40 First Nation, the source of Winnipeg’s clean drinking water. In addition, we acknowledge Treaty Territories which provide us with access to electricity we use in both our personal and professional lives.

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