Students
OC Audio Engineering and Music Production grad finds her groove through music during the pandemic
August 18, 2021
It didn’t take a pandemic for Kailee McGuire to realize that she should follow her lifelong passion for music. With her heart set on writing and releasing original music, McGuire decided to shadow an Audio Engineering and Music Production (AEMP) class at Ƶ to get a feel for what the program was all about. After connecting with Instructor Corey Bell and AEMP students, McGuire was hooked. She was inspired by the energy of the class and felt connected to the students, sharing the same passion for music and desire to express th...
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Meet Louise Trenholm, Automotive Collision and Refinishing student
August 5, 2021
Q: Why did you choose a career in Collision Repair? A: I’ve always had an interest in vehicles ever since I was a child. In high school, I hung out at the local Speedway in Penticton, making my love for vehicles grow even more. I wanted a career that worked on vehicles, so I decided to choose the Entry-Level Automotive Collision Repair Foundation program to help start my career as an Automotive Refinisher. Q: How did your training with OC help prepare you for your current r...
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Skogie’s 50th anniversary adds shine to student experience
July 28, 2021
Skogie’s car washes are celebrating 50 years of business by making the ride for Ƶ students a little easier. For every year the family-run business has been in operation, Skogie’s is donating $1,000 to Ƶ — for a total of $50,000 in honour of their half-century anniversary. “We've hired a lot of Ƶ students over the years,” says David Skoglund, who founded the company in 1971. “We want to support young people and help them get ahead and we also wanted to give back to our community.” The gift wil...
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Edible garden project at OC’s Penticton campus to feed students, community members
June 29, 2021
A partnership between Ƶ's Penticton campus and the Medical Arts Research Group is helping to root out food insecurity amongst students and local families. An edible garden program is being established on the north end of the Penticton campus, with the aim to provide fresh vegetables to OC students and food bank patrons in the community. Medical Arts Research Group donated the wood and fence material for the project. Raised garden beds were built in May by students in the Women in Trades Training program, and installed outsi...
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College's modern dental clinic gets a boost from 123Dentist
June 28, 2021
123Dentist, Canada’s largest majority dentist-owned network of dental practices, is giving $30,000 to support Ƶ’s state-of-the-art dental space located in the new $18.9-million Health Sciences Centre. The new clinic is a major upgrade for Certified Dental Assistant (CDA) students, who can now learn in private operatories comparable to today’s dental practices along with smart cameras and monitors for teaching and instruction. Ali Bozorgzad, Co-Founder and Executive Vice President of 123Dentist, says his organization was in...
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OC Advanced GIS grad dives deep into data to map shark population growth
June 18, 2021
When Sarah Gravel decided to sign up for geographic information systems (GIS) training, she was looking to broaden her skills in a way that would serve her Master of Marine Biology degree in a productive way. Now she is using those GIS mapping skills to understand the effects of climate change on sharks, rays and other fishes, along with developing models for population growth rates among those creatures. Ƶ’s Advanced GIS Certificate program teaches students to structure, manage and analyze data within a map. The maps we’...
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OC student follows in her father’s footsteps as RV Service Technician
June 17, 2021
As an RV Service Technician instructor at Ƶ, Victor Flint welcomes hundreds of new faces to the classroom each year, but none so familiar as his own daughter, Sharla, who is proudly following in his footsteps. Sharla will join nearly 300 students from various Ƶ Trades and Apprenticeship programs who will take an important step towards their career path at the virtual Commencement ceremony tonight (Thursday, June 17). Sharla recently completed the Recreation Vehicle Service Technician Foundation program at the...
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The road to Harvard: Ƶ graduate continues her quest for knowledge
June 3, 2021
Dr. Guessy Wang is no stranger to the graduation stage having already secured a Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Dental Surgery. Wang will be adding a third degree to her name, graduating from Ƶ with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, an impressive feat that has propelled her to Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health where she will begin her search for a solution to help address dental obstacles within Canada’s northern population. Wang came to Canada from China as an international student. She attended the...
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OC Enactus wows on the national stage with pitch competition win and top-four team finish
May 21, 2021
Ƶ Enactus students won first place in the brand-new Intuit Sustainability Pitch Competition category at the Enactus Canada National Exposition, making them the first post-secondary team to win this award and marking them as the team to beat in years ahead. Enactus OC was recognized as one of the top four teams in the country after an impressive finish at the national finals on the strength of three projects: FruitSnaps, CanSave and Rising. The winning pitch and an impressive second runner-up finish for the FruitSnaps project...
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OC grad honoured for contributions to inclusion, democracy and reconciliation
May 20, 2021
When Saige Girouard arrived at Ƶ to have her photo taken during a grad experience event this week, she took home much more than a snapshot. She left with provincial recognition of her outstanding efforts to bring people together. Girouard, a Bachelor of Business Administration student, became the first OC student to ever receive the Lieutenant Governor’s Medal for Inclusion, Democracy and Reconciliation. The Lieutenant Governor’s Medal has been a symbol of academic excellence since 1979. In 2019, eligibility for the Lieuten...
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Animation Industry Night paints picture of OC student success
May 14, 2021
Local animation studios had the opportunity to canvas the next generation of talent from Ƶ’s Animation Diploma program at the third-annual Industry Night, which showcased students’ artwork, demo reels and professional portfolios. On May 13, Ƶ opened its doors – albeit virtually – for the popular art-and-network event which brought together industry partners, community, students, faculty, mentors and supporters in celebration of the program’s 2021 graduating class and first-year students who have now crossed th...
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Stewart family invests in health at Ƶ
April 16, 2021
The Stewart family is donating $50,000 to support the education of health care professionals at Ƶ. The gift will recognize Rosemary and Richard “Dick” Stewart. Dick, a founder of Quails’ Gate Estate Winery and Kelowna City Councillor, passed away nearly one year ago at the age of 94. According to his son Ben Stewart, MLA for Kelowna West, the gift reflects his father’s passion for education. “My dad believed education creates opportunities for people to lead independent and fulfilling lives,” says Ben. “He saw education as ...
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Students invest in Health Sciences Centre
April 7, 2021
It’s an investment in future students and community health, and one the Ƶ Students’ Union (OCSU) says is even more important in light of the ongoing pandemic. OCSU is donating $15,000 to the Ƶ Foundation’s Our Students, Your Health campaign to complete construction of a new Health Sciences Centre on the Kelowna campus. “It’s always good to invest in education, but the pandemic has really brought to the forefront how important nurses and other health care providers are," says Joseph Welton, OCSU board member. ...
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Long Night long on benefits for Ƶ students
April 1, 2021
If there is power in numbers when fighting procrastination, then Ƶ was fully plugged in last week. Long Night Against Procrastination, held Thursday March 25th, was organized by Penticton Librarian Eva Gavaris, in concert with several Ƶ instructors and staff members who volunteered their time to slay the beast of procrastination. More than 230 students registered for access, and at the peak, Gavaris said there were approximately 100 students in a variety of break-out rooms. “Over the past year, Okanaga...
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College Pastry Arts students craft creative Easter confections
April 1, 2021
While no official sightings of the Easter Bunny have been reported on campus, Ƶ’s Pastry Arts students hopped into action this week, serving up smiles ahead of the holiday. Students pulled out all the stops to prepare an eggs-travaganza of chocolate eggs, bunnies, bon bons, sponge candy and other confections for the OC community. “The students outdid themselves once again,” notes Culinary and Pastry Arts Manager Cari Jahns. “When everyone saw the tables of treats assembled, the array of different items they...
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OC Indigenous Community Support Worker grad reflects on making a difference
March 31, 2021
Upcoming info sessions spotlight learning and career opportunities for studentsShannon Peltier was inspired to train to provide support to Indigenous youth and families by her Nohkom (grandmother). She found that opportunity through the Indigenous Community Support Worker Certificate program at Ƶ.The Indigenous Community Support Worker (ACSW) program is just one of the College's Continuing Studies certificate programs on display during info sessions this spring. The virtual sessions are designed to provide students with the o...
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