Alex Zimmerman, President
Applied Green Consulting, Ltd.
1975, Engineering Technology

As a teenager, Red River College alum Alex Zimmerman devoted the bulk of his free time — and a sizeable amount of cash — to his passion for rebuilding cars.

A few short years later, he switched to a far more environmentally-friendly obsession, and has spent the ensuing decades at the forefront of the green buildings movement in Canada.

Not surprisingly, Zimmerman is also a committed environmentalist in his day-to-day life, as well. He’s hasn’t driven his car to work since 1977 — preferring instead to bike — and he cites his concern for the future of the planet as one of the key factors fuelling his passion for green technologies.

“It (green technology) impacts climate change, which is the single biggest crisis facing the human race in the last 10,000 years,” says Zimmerman, who after years of managing environmental stewardship initiatives in B.C. and Alberta, recently went into business for himself as President of Applied Green Consulting Ltd.  “It takes a long time to turn around, but it’s incredibly important — what you can do and how you can react, environmentally.”

Zimmerman graduated from RRC’s Engineering Technology program in 1975 — a period when the only “green” development to catch the engineering world’s attention was the introduction of solar power. After a brief stint working for the Navy, he took a job with Alberta Public Works, Supply & Services (APWSS), where he’d spend the next 14 years exploring how to make new and existing buildings more energy-efficient, often with the help of emerging technologies like computer modeling and motorized building controls.

“I remember being shocked to learn at the time that we didn’t insulate to save energy; we insulated to save money,” says Zimmerman. “That seemed counterintuitive and just plain wrong to me — I thought energy had an intrinsic value beyond just the monetary, and that we should have been treating it better than we were.” Read More →

Ryan Garriock, Owner
Garriock Insurance
1997, Business Administration

It isn’t too often that you hear of parents trying to convince their kids not to go to medical school.

But in the case of Red River College alum Ryan Garriock, co-owner of long-running Winnipeg brokerage Garriock Insurance, that bit of fatherly advice proved especially fortuitous.

Garriock, who now runs the family business along with his younger brother, Wade, was actually considering becoming a doctor until his father took him aside for a little heart-to-heart.

“My dad sat me down one day and said, ‘Look — you’re going to be in school for the next six or seven years if you want to be a doctor, and when you’re done, you’re going to have some pretty serious student loans,’” Garriock recalls.

“He said, “Why don’t you go to Red River College and take their Business Administration course, and if you work hard enough — and if I think you’re ready, and you’re the right guy — then you can buy the business from me?’” Read More →

Dawna Friesen, National News Anchor
Global National
1984, Creative Communications

Global National News anchor Dawna Friesen has come a long way since her days as a Red River College student.

In fact, Friesen’s distinguished career as a television journalist has taken her all over the world — from rural Manitoba to a foreign correspondent’s gig in the U.K., to her current position, which finds her delivering the news to hundreds of thousands of Canadian households each evening.

“It’s Red River College that launched me on the road to where I am today,” says Friesen, who in 2009 was named one of RRC’s Distinguished Alumni.

“The same basic principles I learned at school … are still the same basic story-telling skills I use today: getting the facts right, double-sourcing, diligence, patience, and of course having a few laughs along the way.”

Friesen graduated from RRC’s Creative Communications program in 1984, and began her journalism career working in Brandon, Saskatoon, Thunder Bay and Winnipeg. She’s been interested in journalism ever since she was a young girl growing up on a farm outside Winnipeg.

“My parents always used to read the newspaper and watch CBC News, and the radio was always on in the background in the kitchen — either on CJOB or CBC — so I was exposed to news at a very young age,” says Friesen, who is also an executive editor of Global National.

“I was interested in current events, and in the world, and I realized I wanted to tell stories. Plus I always wanted to travel, so journalism seemed a kind of natural fit.” Read More →