Red River College’s Cultural and Language Mentor Program has extended the deadline for student, staff and faculty volunteers interested in mentoring an immigrant or international student.

The Mentor Program is a local/global partnership that pairs immigrant and international students with Canadian-raised students and staff for friendship, English language practice and cross-cultural exchanges.

The program helps immigrant and international students adjust to life in Canada, make friends with other Canadians, improve their English and cross-cultural communication skills, and develop the skills required for success in their studies and in the workplace.

Participating mentors, meanwhile, get the chance to make new friends while gaining valuable experience working with culturally diverse individuals and preparing them for success in a global work environment.

Applications are being accepted until Friday, Sept. 28. Click here to fill out an online application.

The program requires a 10-hour commitment over the Fall semester, which includes a one-hour orientation meeting, plus seven hours of meeting time with their partner. Mentors receive support, guidance, and — best of all — tickets to local events and activities.

Click here to see a video about the program. For more information, contact Jacqueline Wood, Mentor Program Coordinator, at 204-632-3847.

A classic car built by Red River College students has helped to raise over $60,000 in support of young Manitoba residents pursuing training and accreditation in the area of skilled trades and technology.

The car, a replica 1933 Modified Ford, will be raffled off this week as part of a fundraiser launched through a partnership between Skills Canada Manitoba and the College. It was built from a kit purchased by Skills Manitoba, and assembled by more than 100 RRC students and apprentices in a number of trades and technology programs, including Automotive Pre-Employment, Automotive and Motorvehicle Apprenticeship, and Collision Repair and Refinishing.

Students and apprentices worked under the supervision of instructors from the College, putting their theoretical skills into practice by taking the car from its bare bones early stage to road-worthy completion

“The significance of this car is huge for us,” says Neil Cooke, chair of Transportation, Math and Sciences at RRC. “Students can apply the skills they have mastered, but more importantly they take pride and ownership in the vehicle.”

The car’s new owner will be drawn at 6 p.m., on Tuesday, Sept. 18, during a reception at RRC’s Heavy Equipment Transportation Centre. 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.

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 →

National Aboriginal Day is held annually on June 21 to celebrate First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada. As Red River College President Stephanie Forsyth points out, we have much to learn about the rich culture and traditions of the people who first walked this land, and National Aboriginal Day provides an opportunity to engage in this learning in an enjoyable and festive environment.

On June 21, an episode of the CBC series 8th Fire will be shown in The Cave at the Notre Dame Campus from noon to 1:00pm. RRC will also host an exhibitor booth at the Indian Métis Friendship Centre (45 Robinson St.) from 10:00am to 4:00pm, while tours of the College’s Mobile Training Lab will be held from 11:00am to 2:00pm at 519 Selkirk Avenue, in the parking lot of the Urban Circle Training Centre.

On June 23, RRC Culinary Arts instructors Tom Pitt, Karl Oman and Chantalle Noschese will again participate in APTN’s Aboriginal Day Live festivities at The Forks. The team will contribute to the event’s cultural component by serving Aboriginal menu items starting at noon. Aboriginal Liaison/Advisor Jaime Richard and Graham Thomson, Dean of Business & Applied Arts, will also be at The Forks promoting RRC programs, supports and services. Read More →

(From left): Janet Jamieson, Chair of RRC's Community Services department; Eleanor Thompson, Urban Circle's Executive Director; RRC President Stephanie Forsyth; and Louise Gordon, Dean of RRC's School of Health Sciences and Community Services.

Last week marked the grand opening of another new addition to the Selkirk Avenue landscape — one that brings training and childcare opportunities to Winnipeg’s inner city, while celebrating the wisdom of the neighbourhood’s elders.

Launched through a partnership between the Urban Circle Training Centre, Red River Colllege, and the University of Manitoba’s Inner-city Campus, the newly-opened Makoonsag Intergenerational Children’s Centre serves as the College’s first demonstration childcare centre, and represents its commitment to providing community residents with increased access to programs promoting child and family supports.

Read More →

Red River College’s Rebels Athletics program will once again help young athletes develop their skills this season, through a series of Summer Sports Camps aimed at youth of all ages.

The camps will run from late July to August, and will be led by experienced RRC coaches and athletes.

Read More →

Students and staff from Red River College marched in the 2012 Pride Winnipeg Parade over the weekend, as a means of showing support for the local LGBTT* community and of celebrating diversity in all walks of life.

A contingent of more than 60 RRC representatives joined the throngs of supporters at the Legislature for an opening rally attended by Manitoba Justice Minister Andrew Swan and parade co-marshals (and longtime local activists) Chris Vogel and Richard North.

From there, they joined the thousands of parade participants — many of them sporting eye-popping costumes and rainbow flags of all sizes — as they made their way through the streets surrounding Memorial Park.

The College’s presence in the parade marked the first time RRC has taken part in Pride Winnipeg festivities. This year’s entry was an extension of RRC’s LGBTT* Initiative, which provides educational opportunities and resources to build communication, understanding and respect for diversity throughout the College.

“Red River College is committed to building a strong relationship with our community, and supports efforts that contribute to a more inclusive and respectful society,” says Nora Sobel, Diversity Initiatives Coordinator at RRC. “We were proud to be participating for the first time in the Pride Winnipeg Parade, where students, instructors, staff, family and friends showed our College’s support for the LGBTT* community!”

In honour of the 10th anniversary of Red River College’s Stevenson Campus, we’re pleased to invite the public to join us for a special showcase of private, commercial, military and heritage aircraft. Get up close with the F18 Hornet, Boeing 727, Douglas A26 Invader, the Global News helicopter, and many more! Featuring aircraft displays, fly-bys, food concession, and free parking.

WHEN: Saturday, June 2, 2012

TIME: 10:00am – 4:00pm

WHERE: RRC Stevenson Campus, 2280 Saskatchewan Ave (click for map)

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 →