It was hot, humid beyond belief, and bugs of every shape and
size were crawling and buzzing around, but Red River College Medical
Radiological Technology instructor Jennifer Stayner couldn’t have been happier.

Stayner and MRT student Brandi Pollon traveled to Nicaragua during
the summer of 2009 with the Flying Doctors of Canada (FDOC), a
non-governmental, not for profit organization comprised of doctors, nurses and
other health care workers.

Doctor Benjamin Cavilla formed FDOC along with three other
doctors in 2006. During his medical training he traveled around the world
helping remote communities. It was in these situations that he noticed a
disconnect between non- governmental agencies and the communities they were
helping.

“Basically, what I saw was that these groups weren’t
addressing why the people were sick in the first place. If you don’t treat the
source of the illness and cure it, the people keep getting sick, so I started a
new sustainable approach to humanitarian efforts.”

This sustainable approach is key to the FDOC’s mission.

“We have a real goal of sustainability — at no point in time
do we want to go into a community and have that community rely on us,” says Dr.
Cavilla. “We want to go in and fix what’s wrong and leave knowing they’re on
their way.”

Since their vision of sustainability involves more than just
treating the illness, FDOC builds water filters, gives lessons on proper hand
washing, and they also involve a diagnostic aspect. That’s where Stayner comes
in.

Stayner has always believed in helping her community, so
when she was approached to work with communities within Nicaragua, she jumped
at the opportunity.

“It’s always been a goal of mine to find a way to do all
things I love which is teach, to x-ray, and do community work,” she says.

While in Nicaragua, Stayner and Pollon worked with the FDOC
doctors and volunteers in small clinics they set up. People would walk,
sometimes for hours, to get medical treatment.

“Some mornings there were 100 people there waiting for us,
mostly women and children. They would come from far distances to get health
care for their children,” says Stayner.

The partnership between FDOC and Red River College allows students
to gain valuable international experience, and Stayner is excited for her
students. “Getting here was hard work but rewarding, so rewarding,” she says.
“It’s a labour of love, and the students are so enthusiastic.”

One thing Stayner took away from the trip last August is the
positive spirit and generosity of the people she met.

“On one of the last days we were in a small town, one of the
women cooked for us. She killed a chicken, and made rice and beans; it was
clearly a lot for her, and she made a wonderful meal. It was very touching to
have people in the community care for us as we were caring for them.”

Want to read more stories from RED magazine? Visit the Red
River College Alumni Publications page.

Two Red River College students got the opportunity of a
lifetime during the summer of 2009 to help those less fortunate and in need.

Jamee Wiebe, a Dental Assisting – Level II grad from the RRC
Winkler Campus, was one of two students who got the chance to travel to
Guatemala for 11 days as part of a mission trip in July 2009. She, along with fellow
student Kaitlin Ward and Dental Assisting instructor Brian Minaker, joined a
group made up of dentists and doctors from across Canada and the United States.
The group was based out of the Guatemalan city of Quetzaltenango (more commonly
known as Xela), but traveled to smaller communities in the surrounding area.

“We would go to a different town each day. I would help set
up and assist the dentists during the dental procedure,” says Wiebe, who
graduated last December and now works as a dental assistant at a dental clinic
in Winnipeg. The highly mobile group took three portable dental chairs and two
traveling units to perform fillings, as they visited the various communities.

They worked with the local population to promote good dental
care as well as perform fillings and tooth extractions.

“I found out that there are a lot of people in Guatemala
who, if they have a toothache or cavity, just get their teeth pulled out
instead of going to a dentist to get fillings,” says Wiebe. “It really makes
you appreciate what we have here and not take it for granted.”

The trip to Guatemala gave the students a chance to learn
about a different culture and get hands-on work experience that they’ll never
forget. Wiebe says it was an eye-opener for her and she plans on doing
something similar in the future. However, she’s quick to point out that even
with the beautiful scenery and hot weather, this trip was more than just
basking in the sun.

“It wasn’t anything fancy; that’s for sure. We were roughing
it out there, but it was worth it.”

Want to read more stories from RED magazine? Visit the Red River College
Alumni Publications page.

Second-year Creative Communications students at Red River College are
showing off their Independent Professional Projects (IPP) at the Park Theatre
from March 10 to March 12.

The IPP is a self-directed course that Creative Communications students
are required to take in their second year. Here’s how it works:

1. Students come up with an idea for a project and
   present it to a panel of instructors. Projects generally fall into one of four
   different categories: creative, promotional, documentary or research-based.
2.  Once approved, students spend the next year
   completing it.
3.  After the project is complete, students market
   their work through the appropriate channels.

During the free, three-day IPP Presentations event, over 60 students
will be making 10-minute presentations about their work to peers, industry and
the general public. Projects being presented include novels, documentaries and events, just to name a few.

Take a look at the IPP Presentations program to see a full listing of students and
the projects they are presenting.

Some Red River College Creative Communications students got to hone their skills in practicing hard hitting journalism, landing some of their final pieces in Winnipeg’s most read local newspaper.

Second-year Journalism students embarked on a Freedom of Information project back in September 2009, which consisted of them filing a formal information request, receiving the information, and making a story out of it. The requests covered a variety of topics, from 311 wait times, to the Manitoba tuition tax rebate to the number of times Winnipeg Police Service members discharged their firearms.

The project, which took the students to the beginning of December to complete, was featured in the Saturday, January 9, 2010 edition of the Winnipeg Free Press both in print and online, where some of the articles were published.

Red River College culinary arts students Emma Molaro and Sheldon Saunders appeared with Wendy "The Pear Lady" Barrett, a National Food Educator, on Breakfast Television (December 11, 2009). The RRC students performed a cooking demonstration: Emma prepared Caramelized Pear on Warm Brie, while Sheldon prepared Roasted Pear, Mesculin Mix, Beet and Goat Cheese Salad.

Creative Communications student Shelley Cook has been chosen as the
first recipient of the John W. Dafoe Free Press scholarship for
aboriginal students.

Cook will will serve an internship in the Free Press newsroom where she will hone her craft under the direction of a mentoring reporter and editors.

John W. Dafoe was editor of the Winnipeg Free Press from 1901 to 1944.

Read more at the Winnipeg Free Press.

A new feature in Red River College's Creative Communications program this year is a requirement that all students maintain a professional blog. Students are gaining exposure to the growing field of social media, developing their online writing styles, and building an electronic portfolio or work.

As part of a recent story on blogging, Citytv's Megan Batchelor (a recent Cre Comm graduate herself) –  interviewed several of the students along with PR/Advertising instructor Kenton Larsen about their experiences.

RRC student Deanna Ng (Disability and Community Support) is profiled in the Winnipeg Free Press today for her volunteer efforts with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.

A client of the CNIB herself, Deanna has worked with the organization for six years, helping with fundraising, assisting with
clerical work in the organization's offices and serving as a mentor to visually impaired children.

Deanna is also a recipient of a 2009 Youth Leaders in Action Scholarship from the United Way of Winnipeg.