Community Support
Convocation stoles featuring Syilx, Secwepemc pictographs honour graduates
June 20, 2022
As Canadians prepare to mark National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21, ʪƵ is recognizing Indigenous graduates in a new and special way. This year for the first time, Indigenous students who cross the stage at OC convocation and commencement ceremonies are being gifted with a specially designed convocation stole, embroidered with Syilx and Secwepemc pictographs. “On National Indigenous Peoples Day and every day, it is critically important that we remember and appreciate the privilege it is to live, work and play on the beau...
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Surprise gift from Stober Foundation helps ʪƵ’s new student-led investment fund open for business
April 20, 2022
A trio of ʪƵ Business students envisioned an investment fund that has attracted overwhelming community support, including a generous $40,000 gift from the Stober Foundation. The group began fundraising in January and met their $100,000 seed funding goal in record time. Riley Dunsmore and Steven Fiust, both OC Business students, along with recent alumnus Justin Rantucci, created the ʪƵ Student Investment Fund to give students experiential learning opportunities and benefit future students with bursaries and scho...
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ʪƵ hosts panel discussion about Ukrainian crisis
March 7, 2022
World events have been hitting close to home for many in the region, and that’s why ʪƵ is hosting a virtual panel, A Conversation About Ukraine, tomorrow night. “The intention is to help our students, colleagues and community better understand the history of this conflict, and consider the impact of disinformation,” said Pamela Nelson, ʪƵ Business Professor, who has been organizing the panel. “It’s important to create a safe space which fosters truth and understanding; a space where our community can come togeth...
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OC Trades General Interest courses come to Penticton
March 2, 2022
What do hammers, bicycles and lawnmowers have in common? They are all topics in the new Trades General Interest programs launching at ʪƵ’s Penticton campus this month. The courses provide community members with the opportunity to learn hands-on skills in state-of-the-art trades shops with qualified instructors. The courses are scheduled in the evening and on weekends. Courses are also available for children in the evening and during summer camps. Participants will gain knowledge in various trades, build projects and learn how...
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Meet Katie Newman, Board Director at the ʪƵ Foundation
February 17, 2022
Q: What is your name? A: Katie Newman What are your pronouns? A: She, her Where do you work? A: I am a Director of Financial Planning and Advice Effectiveness with CIBC. Why did you want to join the ʪƵ Foundation board? A: The opportunity to impact change in my community and help to support the students' journey was very appealing to me. Q: Our mission is to support the transformative power of education. What drives your passion for education? A: Education and in ...
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Enactus OC awarded new funding to cultivate student entrepreneurs
February 1, 2022
Enactus ʪƵ has received their largest grant to date, enabling the volunteer team to launch and expand more student-led projects that create community and environmental impact. The Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC) is investing in Enactus social entrepreneurs with a $25,000 grant. Laurel Douglas, CEO of ETSI-BC, says her organization’s mission is to support economic development projects that will have long-lasting and measurable benefits in the region. “We are excited to see how this grant helps Enactus grow...
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OC supports Gitxaala Nation with vital trades training for economic and cultural growth
January 24, 2022
In one northern village, Indigenous cultural needs and massive construction projects combined to create demand for specialized ʪƵ Trades training to support community members. Located on the north coast of British Columbia, the Gitxaala Nation’s main community is in Kitkatla. It identified the need for skilled trades people several years ago, as projects such as the LNG Canada in Kitimat and port expansion in Prince Rupert were announced. But it was a smaller project closer to home that inspired Gitxaala Nation to empower it...
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Generous gift will advance OC health-care education
January 19, 2022
A local family foundation is investing in the future of health-care education with a generous gift to ʪƵ. The Merrifield Family Foundation is donating $100,000 to the Our Students, Your Health campaign for a modern Health Sciences Centre on the College’s Kelowna campus. The gift will support technology upgrades and new equipment for eight professions ranging from Pharmacy Technician Assistants and nurses to Therapist Assistants. Lane Merrifield, a well-known entrepreneur, says he values the College's focus on applied learni...
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The Okanagan Sikh Temple and Cultural Society gives boost to health care students
December 22, 2021
A $25,000 gift from the Okanagan Sikh Temple and Cultural Society will empower health care students as they pursue their education at ʪƵ. The Sikh Community began collecting donations from their congregation to support the College's $5-million Our Students, Your Health campaign and was able to raise the funds in six months. Amarjit Singh Lalli, President of the Okanagan Gurduara, says their community believes in the importance of acquiring knowledge and passing it on to future generations, which made it easy to get behind th...
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Dec. 6 Candlelight Vigils return to OC’s Vernon and Salmon Arm campuses
December 2, 2021
Candlelight is returning to ʪƵ’s campuses, as a symbolic commitment to end violence against women. Communities in the Okanagan and Shuswap are marking the 32nd anniversary of the École Polytechnique Massacre, in addition to the ongoing cases of missing women from the region, with a Candlelight Vigil on Dec. 6 co-hosted by a network of organizations and volunteers. “The SAFE Society has been partnering with ʪƵ and students for over a decade to offer the Dec. 6 event, as an important way to remember and honour wo...
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New Chair, Vice Chair for College Board
November 30, 2021
ʪƵ’s Board of Governors has a new Chair and Vice Chair. Juliette Cunningham, who has served as Vice Chair since November 2019, has been elected Chair. She succeeds Gloria Morgan whose two-year term has now completed. “It has been very inspiring working alongside Gloria and I am deeply honoured to be succeeding her in the role,” said Cunningham. “Gloria is an incredible champion for her community and for the College. I’m proud of the work we’ve accomplished at ʪƵ, and with a new strategic plan to be finalized e...
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TOTA award remembers George Hanson, supports OC viticulture student
November 8, 2021
Winemaker George Hanson, who passed away in February, was widely acknowledged for his efforts to grow the B.C. wine scene. A new award funded by the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) will commemorate his legacy, while helping a viticulture student at ʪƵ to cultivate their future in the industry Hanson so dearly loved. TOTA has donated $1,500 to create the George Hanson Memorial Bursary, which will be open to students in the College’s Viticulture Certificate program starting in January. “We are very pleased to be ...
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RBC invests in ʪƵ's future
October 27, 2021
A $75,000 gift from the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) will support the growth of ʪƵ now and into the future. RBC in British Columbia is contributing $35,000 to the Our Students, Your Health campaign for the new Health Sciences Centre on the Kelowna campus while $40,000 will support future investment in the campus. According to Courtney Hesse, RBC’s Regional Vice President for the Okanagan and Kootenays, supporting the College aligns strongly with RBC's focus on empowering youth for the jobs of tomorrow. “ʪƵ plays...
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ʪƵ professors pen in-depth book on history of Canadian corrections
October 22, 2021
Discourse about the lived experiences of those behind bars is about to break free across the country, with a special virtual book launch event next week. ʪƵ Sociology Professor Melissa Munn and History Professor Chris Clarkson joined forces to co-author Disruptive Prisoners: Resistance, Reform and the New Deal, published this fall by University of Toronto Press. The book is a collective biography that reconstitutes the histories of Canada’s federal prison system in the mid-20th century – constructed after years of extensive...
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OC Culinary Arts students serve Thanksgiving meals to students in need
October 8, 2021
ʪƵ Culinary students and instructors helped to spread Thanksgiving gratitude to students on Friday with a holiday inspired meal. Students pulled out all the stops to prepare a Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings for students in need as part of the innovative OC Serves Up program. The program was launched in the middle of the pandemic last year to combat food insecurity and has just relaunched this past week for the new academic year. “OC Culinary Arts students serve 50 meals a day to students in need as part of the OC...
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kinSHIFT: a powerful—and local—way to learn about Truth and Reconciliation
September 27, 2021
Kelly Terbasket of IndigenEYEZ has created a new sister organization for allies—kinSHIFT. Launched this spring, kinSHIFT is a tailored set of workshops for non-Indigenous allies who want to take the next step. Designed in response to increasing requests from people who want to be genuine allies, kinSHIFT is a safer space to do the work. &nbs...
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