Animal Health Technology grads Mary Robinson (left) and Tannis Rentz, with furry friends Aspen, Willow and Capone.

Red River College grad Tannis Rentz (Animal Health Technology, 2002) has been providing aid to people’s pets for more than 10 years now — ever since she began volunteering at the Transcona Veterinary Hospital as a teen.

But in April 2013, Rentz and fellow AHT grad Mary Robinson (2011) will travel a little further afield to help the tens of thousands of sick or malnourished dogs crowding the streets of Kathmandu, Nepal.

Rentz and Robinson are headed to Nepal’s KAT Centre, a not-for-profit treatment centre for sick and injured street dogs. As Rentz explains, there are currently more than 20,000 dogs living on the streets of Kathmandu — many of them infected with rabies and other communicable diseases that pose a threat to their human counterparts.

“And of course they’re constantly reproducing, because none of them are spayed or neutered,” says Rentz, who over the last 10 years has worked her way from a clinical position at the Winnipeg Animal Emergency Clinic to an administrative role with the Petsecure arm of the Western Financial Insurance Company.

“Initially, the government there thought it would be a good idea to terminate these dogs by throwing poisoned meat into the streets. But then they’d dispose of the poisoned bodies by throwing them into their water supply, which just made things even worse.” Read More →

This Monday, graduates from Red River College’s Hospitality and Culinary Arts programs will help to serve a trial run of the dinner that will represent Canada at the Culinary Olympics in October.

The grads, now members of the Junior Chefs of Winnipeg, will team up with members of Canada’s Junior National Culinary Team to prepare the seven-course dinner that will hopefully carry Youth Team Canada to the podium at this year’s Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany.

The event takes place Monday, Sept. 10, at Prairie Lights Restaurant on the lower level of RRC’s Notre Dame Campus. Tickets are sold out.

Join us at the Exchange District Campus next Thursday, Sept. 6, as we celebrate the launch of Changing People’s Lives: An Illustrated History of Red River College.

Written by former RRC Dean Dave Williamson, Changing People’s Lives traces the College’s development from a small industrial training centre in the 1930s to one of Canada’s leading institutes of applied learning.

Along the way, Williamson (shown in grey, with RRC Board member Don Robertson) shares stories and photos of the many important people and projects that have driven the College’s growth.

Changing People’s Lives is available now for $34.95 from RRC’s Bookstores, at both the Notre Dame and Exchange District Campuses.

Date: Thu., Sept. 6, 2012
Time: 6pm – 7:30pm
Location: Roblin Centre Atrium, 160 Princess Street

Join the event page on Facebook.

RRC grad Scot Slessor (right), Consul General of Canada in Chandigarh, India, tours the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute with (from left) Dale Watts, Ted Maciurzynksi, Manishkumar Upadhyay, Dale Oughton and Eddy Lau.

Earlier this summer, Red River College played host to a returning graduate who’s now a diplomat working to promote economic relations between Canada and India.

Scot Slessor (Structural Drafting, 1982), has served as the Consul General of Canada in Chandigarh, India, since his appointment to the position in September 2010.

He visited the College on July 20, 2012, for a tour of the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute and to discuss possible partnership opportunities for RRC in India.

During his visit, Slessor met with RRC representatives to discuss the need for skills training and development in India, and to explore possible partnerships with post-secondary institutions there.

In particular, Slessor has been tasked with providing expertise in delivering and developing skills training in Punjab (where he’s stationed). If a partnership were to be struck, he would act as a conduit between RRC and the institutions in Punjab.

Over the years, Slessor has held a number of public and private sector positions, including stints with the Canada Employment and Immigration Commission in Toronto, and the Canadian International Development Agency and Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in China.

Red River College alum Jim Van Dusen (Creative Communications, 1987) picked up a trio of honours at this year’s Radio and Production Awards, adding to an impressive list of industry accolades acquired during his 25 years in radio and TV.

Now the Creative/Production Director for Astral Radio in Winnipeg (home of Hot 103 and QX 104), Van Dusen picked up his first RAP trophy in the Medium Market Promos category, for “Jets Song Comin’ Home”, a collaboration with Hot 103 morning man Ace Burpee that celebrated the return of Winnipeg’s NHL team.

He was also named first runner-up in the same category, and first runner-up in the Medium Market Commercials category. In years past, Van Dusen — who taught a radio course for second-year CreComm students last year — has nabbed a number of runner-up spots at the RAP Awards, as well as honours at the Crystal Awards and the Signature Awards, and a Standard Radio Presidents Award in 1999. He also won an honorary gold medal at the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary, for his entry in the Literary Olympics’ Poetry Sweatshop.

Click here to learn more about RRC’s Creative Communications program.

Congratulations to RRC student Tannis CochraneCook (Computer Applications for Business, Peguis-Fisher River Campus), whose efforts to set up a recycling program at Peguis First Nation have earned her a 2012 Spirit of the Earth Award from Manitoba Hydro.

CochraneCook first began advocating for environmentally-safe waste disposal practices while volunteering at the Peguis Landfill site in 2009. (Her motivation was simple: The landfill was located next to her home, and owners were burning materials rather than recycling them.)

She’s since launched a community-wide recycling program at Peguis, for which now serves as Project Coordinator. In just two years, the program has proven so popular that an estimated 25% of businesses and residents on the reserve now recycle on a regular basis. Read More →

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Red River College is developing a Campus Master Plan to direct future planning and growth relating to sustainability, campus life, learning and relationships with the community.

We’re interested in hearing your ideas and encourage you to let us know what you think by commenting on posts on our Community Forum blog.

Whether you’re a current student, staff, faculty or alumni, we look forward to hearing from you soon!

Red River College’s Aboriginal Student Support & Community Relations department will host an event to connect Aboriginal LGBTT* people and RRC in a meaningful way that honours the voices of Indian Residential School Survivors.

On Thursday, May 17, 2012, the department will partner with Two Spirited People of Manitoba Inc., and the organizers of RRC’s LGBTT* Initiative, to host “Gakina Awiiyaa — We Are All Related,” an event celebrating both communities’ participation in post-secondary education.

The event will feature presentations by Kelly Houle, a two-spirited residential school survivor, and the University of Saskatchewan’s Dr. Alexandria Wilson, a member of the Opaskwayak First Nation who will speak about the effect of residential schools on Aboriginal gender identity, as well as the repercussions on education, communities and ceremony.

Held to coincide with the International Day Against Homophobia, the event stems from earlier presentations organized by Aboriginal Student Support & Community Relations for RRC students and staff, exploring the impact of Western viewpoints on Aboriginal gender identities, as well as an overview of pre-colonial roles of Two-Spirit (LGBTT*) people.

Read More →

RRC alum Sean Trembley (right), with judges at the Barry Callebaut Canadian Intercollegiate Chocolate Competition in Toronto.

Congratulations go out to Red River College grad Sean Trembley, who represented the College at this year’s Barry Callebaut Canadian Intercollegiate Chocolate Competition in Toronto.

Trembley, a recent graduate of RRC’s Professional Baking and Patisserie program, placed first in the molded bonbon category at the third annual chocolate-makers’ contest — a junior version of the World Chocolate Masters competition, launched by Callebaut to help young chocolatiers develop their skills.

This year’s event, held at Humber College in Toronto, also featured mouthwatering entries from students at Humber, Cambrian, Canadore, Fenshawe, George Brown, Georgian, and Vancouver Community Colleges.

Click here for more info on RRC’s Baking and Patisserie program.

From left: Vida Reader (2012 Conference Committee Co-Chair, PMI Manitoba), Debbie Wilgosh (President, PMI Manitoba), Kirk Johnson (Program Manager, IT and Professional Studies, RRC), and RRC grad Scott Hinkson.

Red River College alum Scott Hinkson has been honoured by RRC and PMI Manitoba, having received a $1,000 student achievement award at the organization’s annual conference last week.

Hinkson, who earned his Project Management certificate through RRC’s School of Continuing and Distance Education in November 2011, works as a project manager for the Western Canada Lottery Corporation. But he’s also well-known in certain local circles as an acclaimed singer and songwriter.

“Every year, we ask all of the Project Management instructors to nominate a student for this award based on a combination of academics and attitude,” says Kirk Johnson, RRC’s Program Manager, I.T. and Professional Studies. “This year, the clear winner was more than just a good student — he’s actually an all-out rock star!” Read More →