From left: Levinia Brown, RRC elder-in-residence; RRC President Stephanie Forsyth; MMF President David Chartrand; Joan Ledoux, Minister of Education, Louis Riel Institute.

As part of its commitment to improving opportunities and outcomes for Métis people in Manitoba, Red River College has entered into a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Manitoba Metis Federation and Louis Riel Institute.

Signed this morning at RRC’s Roblin Centre, the new MOU creates a joint working group with representation from all three organizations — one that focuses on education, business and growing industry partnerships to increase economic prospects for Manitoba’s Métis populations.

In addition, a new $400,000 bursary for Métis students was announced — one made possible through matching $200,000 investments by the MMF and RRC.

“[Today] signals an extremely satisfying phase of accomplishments for Red River College,” says RRC President Stephanie Forsyth. “Driven by the mission of the College and that of our Strategic Plan, [this] announcement reflects our goal of serving the educational needs of Aboriginal students.”

“The collective efforts of those involved … will benefit Métis people in Manitoba [by] improving access to training and employment opportunities,” says David Chartrand, President of the Manitoba Metis Federation. “We applaud Red River College for their leadership and contributions towards today’s announcement.”

Students from the broadcasting stream of RRC’s Creative Communications program have earned a pair of prestigious national awards for their efforts on both a student newscast and a record-setting televised fundraiser.

For the second year in a row, RRC’s Broadcast Journalism class, shown above, won the Best Student Newscast (Video News or News Magazine Show) award from the Broadcast Educators Association of Canada (BEAC), beating out competitors from more than 20 post-secondary institutions across Canada, including Ryerson and Carlton Universities, as well as BCIT, SAIT and NAIT.

The award recognized the students’ work on Red River College TV News, a weekly assignment in which students create and produce an evening newscast while working to the same deadlines and conditions as a typical newsroom.

“They start the day at 8:00 a.m., and create a full local newscast with news, weather, entertainment and sports,” says Joanne Kelly, Broadcast Journalism instructor at RRC. “The students do everything on their own. They run the control room, produce, write and report, and do all on the on-air. The [BEAC] judges have said our show could stand up against most professional local newscasts.”

Members of Kelly’s Live TV Production class were also recognized by BEAC, earning the Best Student Special/Live Remote award for this year’s nine-hour telethon benefitting the Winnipeg Humane Society. As with the newscast, RRC students handled all behind-the scenes tasks — including production, camera work, editing and directing — as well as on-camera duties such as reporting and hosting. They also earned a record $72,000 for the Humane Society in the process.

Both entries are also up for the President’s Prize Award (Best of Video and Audio). Students will pick up their awards during the annual BEAC conference and award ceremony, taking place this year in Niagara Falls from May 23-25.

“We are not only so proud of our students for their talent, hard work and teamwork,” says Kelly, “but we are so proud to help raise the awareness of our incredible program across Canada.”

Click here for more information about the Creative Communications program at RRC.

Congratulations to RRC instructor Scott MacAulay, who was recently named the Prairie region’s Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year by Startup Canada.

He’ll be formally recognized at the Prairie Startup Canada Awards in Calgary on May 15.

MacAulay (shown above) has been an entrepreneurship and finance instructor with RRC’s Applied Commerce and Management Education (ACME) department for the last eight years. Recently, he’s been seconded to research better ways to activate entrepreneurs, and is currently gathering best practices for how to implement an entrepreneurial lifestyle in Manitoba.

MacAulay is also very active in the local startup scene, working alongside such organizations as Ramp Up Manitoba, AssentWorks and Innovation Alley to connect RRC students and instructors with other members of the innovation community.

As well, he’s the co-founder of his own tech startup, PermissionClick, a productivity tool aimed at making it easier for teachers to collect permission slips and payments from students and parents. Read More →

They’re ‘awesome,’ a ‘mouthful,’ and ‘kim-cheesy’ – and they’re the winners of The Winnipeg Foundation’s first-ever Recipe for Success Video Cooking Contest.

For several months, kids from all over Winnipeg have been working to create delicious, nutritious and outrageous sandwiches, as part of a contest launched by The Winnipeg Foundation in partnership with Red River College.

Over the weekend, the winning teams gathered at RRC’s Paterson GlobalFoods Institute, to take part in a Junior Master Chef Culinary Adventure led by instructors from the College’s Culinary Arts program.

“Cooking is a valuable life skill,” says Keith Müller, Dean of RRC’s School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts. “We are excited to host these budding chefs … and to give them the opportunity to add a few new skills to their culinary repertoire.”

While at PGI on Saturday, students toured the Culinary Arts program’s facilities, learned to use equipment in the cooking labs and helped prepare a healthy lunch for themselves and their guests. They also took part in an awards ceremony, and received feedback from Müller on their recipe submissions.

• Grand Prize: Wrap of Awesomeness, Strathcona Elementary School
• Runner-up: Mulvey Mouthful, Mulvey School
• People’s Choice: Maple Bacon “Kimcheese” Sandwich, École Van Walleghem School
• Wild Card: Picnic Sandwich, École Lacerte
• Wild Card: BLT Mega, Polson School

Prizes for the teams included three $500 grants to support healthy food initiatives and five Junior Master Chef Culinary Adventures, plus the Wrap of Awesomeness will be featured at RRC’s Culinary Exchange.

“We are thrilled with the caliber and variety of the recipes submitted in the contest,” says Richard Frost, CEO of The Winnipeg Foundation. “The goal was to get kids talking about, preparing and eating healthy food. The success of the contest shows that’s exactly what

To watch the videos or learn more about the contest or Nourishing Potential, visit www.wpgfdn.org/recipe-for-success.

Up to 100 high school students from throughout the city will gather this week at Red River College to discuss brave new ways of making a better tomorrow for young Manitobans.

Hosted by RRC and the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, the 2014 High School BOLD Conference brings together forward-thinking teens to brainstorm and discuss ideas for change in our city — whether it’s new things to do and see, or suggestions for city planning, transportation, the environment and social justice.

“In order to solve worker shortages, we have to keep our students here rather than having them go elsewhere when they graduate. So we want to explore what would make them want to stay,” says Wendy Stephenson, Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Chamber.

“We’re giving students a voice, which is really important. They’re the ones who are going to have to live with our decisions, so it’s very important that we’re listening to our young people.”

Each high school has been invited to select two students as panelists, who’ll meet with their classmates, student council or project group to develop and flesh out a BOLD idea. At the conference, each pair of students will have five minutes in which to present their ideas, as well as opportunities for further discussion with their peers. Read More →

Photo credit: The Projector (Red River College)

Rebecca Trudeau, a first-year student in RRC’s Community Development/Community Economic Development program, is among the individuals and organizations being honoured this week by Volunteer Manitoba.

Trudeau is one of three people receiving a Premier’s Volunteer Service Award (Youth category) at this year’s Volunteer Awards Dinner, taking place Wed., April 9 at the RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg. The annual event celebrates individuals and families who invest valuable time and energy into their communities.

Trudeau has a long history of volunteering, having contributed countless hours to local charities and not-for-profits, among them St. Amant Centre, the North End Commnity Renewal Corporation, Breakfast Clubs of Canada, and many more.

In recent years, she’s overseen Winnipeg Harvest’s Tools for School campaign, and served as Food Bank Coordinator for the Red River College Students’ Association. She’s also a contributor to the Community News Commons, an online resource aimed at creating stronger, healthier neighbourhoods.

“We in the CD/CED program are extremely proud of Rebecca,” says instructor Lynn Ann Lauriault. “Her dedication to community and to equitable, sustainable, holistic development is apparent in her commitment to her studies and her teammates.”

Click here for more information on this year’s awards ceremony, including a full list of recipients.

RRC instructor David Blicq (Chemical and Biosciences Technology) talks to students at this year’s Open House event.

Congratulations to the RRC students, staff and instructors recognized by our Open House Secret Shoppers, who went “undercover” at this year’s event in search of examples of exceptional service.

The Secret Shoppers had their eyes peeled for staff and volunteers who went above and beyond in their interactions with Open House visitors, whether by presenting themselves (or their respective programs/departments) in an engaging, approachable manner, or by making efforts to take their tours and conversations to the next level.

Those singled out received complimentary RED Cards; a full list of winners is below. Read More →

Do you love sandwiches? (Of course you do. It was a rhetorical question.)

Kids from all over Winnipeg have been busy creating their most outrageous, nutritious and delicious sandwiches, as part of The Winnipeg Foundation’s inaugural Recipe for Success Video Cooking Contest.

Now it’s your turn to help decide the winner of the People’s Choice Award, by voting for one of 56 submitted video entries — in which groups of elementary school students assemble everything from healthy-sounding options (the Power Protein Pita, the Hummus and Veggie-Packed Panini) to surefire crowd-pleasers like the Jets Bagel, the Waffle Supreme, and the Chuck Norris Sandwich. (And yes, we assume that last one eats you.)

In addition to the People’s Choice winner, an overall winner and runner-up team will be decided by a panel of celebrity judges, among them Keith Müller, Dean of RRC’s School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts.

Prizes for the winning teams include three $500 grants to support healthy food initiatives at schools and community organizations, and five Junior Master Chef Culinary Adventures at RRC. The winning sandwich will also be featured on the menu at RRC’s Culinary Exchange.

Voting is open until March 28. For complete details or to cast your vote, visit wpgfdn.org/recipe-for-success.

Red River College student Andrew McLean, a former soldier with a long history of philanthropy, will be honoured this month by Macdonald Youth Services for his commitment to making a difference in the lives of at-risk youth.

McLean, currently in his second year of RRC’s Disability and Community Support program, will be honoured with MYS’s prestigious Sir Hugh John Macdonald Memorial Award, which recognizes those who demonstrate values of respect and fairness towards youth, and practical assistance in helping them develop life skills for a better tomorrow.

In addition to fundraising for such charities as Children’s Hospital and The Terry Fox Foundation over the years, McLean is also the co-founder of Soldier On, a program that employs sports and athletic therapy to help rehabilitate Canadian soldiers suffering from physical and psychological injuries.

A former warrant officer who retired from the Canadian Forces after 22 years of service, McLean recently donated $25,000 of his own money to start the Canadian Torch Foundation, which provides annual scholarships and awards to students with physical or developmental disabilities across Canada.

McLean is well-known to MYS — for years, he’s been donating new winter clothing and backpacks filled with gifts for those staying at the organizations Youth Resource Centre/Shelter.

He’ll be honoured at MYS’s annual Spring Fling, taking place Thursday, March 20 at Paterson GlobalFoods Institute. The event raises money for MYS’s Education Trust Fund; tickets are $100 per person.

Visit the MYS website for more information, or to purchase a ticket or make a donation.

Keep your eyes peeled for a brand new advertising campaign positioning Red River College as a compelling first choice for education.

The newly-launched, province-wide bus and billboard campaign achieves a number of key goals – chief among them that of celebrating our graduates and their success stories, while at the same time showing prospective students all that can be accomplished with an RRC education.

The campaign also strengthens partnerships with the countless employers who hire RRC grads, identifies programs and industry areas that may be of interest to prospective students, and showcases RRC’s core strengths, including employment success and employer satisfaction rates.

The billboards feature 27 RRC alumni, and will be visible for 12 weeks (March 3-May 25, 2014).

See the campaign in its entirety →