News

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 →

Red River College Dean Graham Thomson will be among the 50-plus business leaders, celebs and community-minded decision makers taking part in this week’s CEO Sleepout, in support of Downtown Winnipeg BIZ’s Change for the Better campaign.

Thomson, Dean of the School of Business & Applied Arts at RRC, will spend this Thursday night camped out at the corner of Portage and Main, as a means of raising funds for homeless employment programs and raising awareness of issues related to homelessness and poverty in Winnipeg.

“Obviously this is just a gesture — since it’s entirely unlike what people face out in the streets every night,” says Thomson. “But any little thing we can do to help draw awareness to the issue is good.”

Last year’s inaugural CEO Sleepout raised over $100,000 for the Change for the Better initiative, which helps to support homeless people as they transition from the streets to positions of paid employment.

Proceeds from this year’s event will also support Siloam Mission’s Mission Off the Streets (MOST) team, which employs individuals in keeping the downtown clean while building the life skills, work experience and confidence to help them in finding a full-time job. Read More →

Members of RRC’s Plane Pull 2011 team.

Red River College is proud to play host to United Way Winnipeg’s ninth annual Plane Pull.

The event, taking place Friday, Sept. 21, at RRC’s Stevenson Campus, will draw more than 40 workplace teams, whose members will attempt to pull either a 191,000-lb Boeing 727 or a 90,000-lb DC-10. Red River College will have teams competing in the Plane Pull, so feel free to show your support!

The competition gets underway at 11a.m., following the announcement of this year’s fundraising goal by United Way Campaign Chair Doug Finkbeiner.

Click here for more information on Plane Pull 2012.

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.

Red River College’s Student Services department will host an informational fair in the library hallway (mall level) of the Notre Dame Campus on Wednesday, Sept. 26, from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.

Students are encouraged to come by to learn more about the services and supports available to them. They can also enter their names in draws for great prizes — just for stopping by the tables.

Representatives will be on hand from RRC’s Academic Success Centre, Student Employment Services, Counselling & Accessibility Services, Academic Advising, Recreation Services, Health Services, International Education, Indigenous Education, Diversity & Immigrant Student Support Services, and the Red River College Students’ Association.

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 →

Congratulations to Red River College grad Paul Samyn (Creative Communications, 1988), who was recently named the new editor of the Winnipeg Free Press.

Samyn has been acting as interim editor since Margo Goodhand resigned from the position in late July. His first job for the Free Press was as a paper boy, but his journalism career began when he was hired as a reporter in 1988.

Since then, he’s covered provincial and federal elections, conflicts overseas, and the funerals of Princess Diana and former prime minister Pierre Trudeau. He also helped lead the paper’s political coverage as its Ottawa bureau chief for a decade before being named city editor in 2007.

“It’s an honour and a privilege for someone who used to deliver the Free Press … to now be leading our newsroom as we serve our readers in both print and on our website,” Samyn said in the Free Press announcement.

“I’m proud to be part of our 140-year-old tradition and excited about the job ahead, delivering the stories that our readers expect and deserve.”

Click here to read the full Free Press story, and here for more information about RRC’s Creative Communications program.

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.

Creative Communications instructor Dan Vadeboncoeur
(Photo: Bernice Pontanilla/Metro Winnipeg)

Creative Communications students from Red River College took to the airwaves this week, to debut an online radio station that allows them to embrace new broadcasting technology.

The newly-launched Red River Radio provides CreComm (and other current RRC) students with production, programming and on-air training opportunities, while filling the void left when former campus station KICK-FM folded earlier this year.

The new streaming station will adhere to a similar format as KICK-FM — offering both news/talk and musical programming — and will continue to serve as a valuable showcase for local folk and indie-rock acts.

“We want to offer our students the chance to have everything they had at KICK-FM,” CreComm instructor Dan Vadeboncoeur (shown above) told Metro Winnipeg this week. “We’ve gone from over the airwaves to the biggest medium in the world.”

Vadeboncoeur and other CreComm instructors are currently fielding pitches from students before settling on a programming schedule. Any current RRC student — regardless of program of study — can pitch an idea for a show.

To listen online, visit radio.rrc.ca. Students interested in hosting a show on Red River Radio can contact Vadeboncoeur at dvadeboncoeur@rrc.ca.

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.