Durham College (DC) alumnus Brent Lessard has received provincial recognition for the leadership role he is playing in revolutionizing the future of transportation. The 2014 graduate of DC’s Mechanical Engineering Technology program was announced as the recipient of a Premier’s Award for recent graduates on November 27 at the annual gala that celebrates outstanding graduates from across the Ontario college system.

“I am incredibly honoured to receive the Premier’s Award,” said Brent. “I’ve been able to apply so much of what I learned at DC, including being exposed to diverse thinking during my studies, which has been a source of inspiration in my work. I also continue to draw on the importance of fostering a sense of community, which the college certainly did. It’s something that I have carried with me as I helped create the rLoop concept.”

rLoop, a non-profit, crowd-funded and sourced, online think tank and talent resource, was founded in 2014, a year after Brent graduated, and is focused on the development of a conceptual, high-speed transportation system called Hyperloop. Initially proposed by Elon Musk, chief executive officer at Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), the system involves the propelling of passenger or cargo-boarded pods in a low-pressure tube using sustainable and cost-efficient energy, in order to transport people from one place to another at the speed of sound.

Within the framework of rLoop’s commitment to innovation, Brent successfully connects and integrates the expertise of his colleagues, who live in various countries and time zones, speak different languages and embrace differing and unique cultures, to lead the development of a technology prototype with the potential to change the way we live and conduct business in Ontario, Canada and around the world.

His dedication has enabled him to propel the rLoop team, which is now comprised of 1,100 members from more than 50 countries, to greatness several times in the last three years.

In January 2016, he proudly guided his colleagues at the first SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Design Competition where they were awarded the Best Non-Student Hyperloop Design Award and earned a spot to compete as one of 30 teams at the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition, which took place in January 2017, in California. There, under Lessard’s direction, rLoop had the opportunity to test its Hyperloop prototype on the mile-long SpaceX track before receiving the SpaceX Hyperloop Innovation Award.

Lessard and his team were asked to return to the Hyperloop Pod Competition II in August 2017, where they tested the vehicle in the vacuum of the Hyperloop tube and achieved several Hyperloop firsts, including the first Hyperloop Pod demonstrating static levitation in a vacuum and the first Hyperloop Pod with pressure vessel tested at vacuum, capable of sustaining human life.

“Brent is a cutting-edge thinker who embodies the qualities that make a college education great – collaboration, innovation, entrepreneurship and learning through doing,” said Don Lovisa, president, Durham College. “As he and the rLoop team work toward revolutionizing the way we travel, DC’s students, employees and more than 82,000 alumni are incredibly proud he is representing the college and Canada on the international stage.”

Brent was one of 118 college graduates nominated for this year’s awards, including one other from DC, and is the sixth alumni from the college to win.

Each year the Premier’s Awards are presented to acknowledge the social and economic contributions that college graduates make to the province and throughout the world. Chosen from nominations submitted by Ontario’s 24 colleges, the award recipients have demonstrated outstanding career success related to their college experience and have made a significant contribution to their community.

For more information about the DC alumni community please visit www.durhamcollege.ca/alumni.

For the sixth year in a row, Durham College (DC) and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT)’s men’s and women’s varsity soccer teams will face off in the annual Charity Cup fundraiser.

The event will take place on Tuesday, April 4 at 6:30 p.m. at the Campus Fieldhouse. Along with the free admission, there will be a raffle, prizes, local youth soccer teams and of course, entertaining soccer.

All proceeds made before during or after the event will go towards Their Opportunity, a local non-profit organization that helps provide underprivileged youths the opportunity to enroll in organized sports by offsetting the sometimes high enrollment fees.

“I think the Charity Cup is the culmination of being an athlete and giving back to the community,” said Erik Petrovic, member of the UOIT Ridgebacks men’s soccer team. “Giving back to the community that gave us an opportunity is something that feels right.”

There will be popcorn donations starting up on Wednesday, March 29 to March 31 and then April 3 to 4 at the Oshawa Campus. Donations exchanged for popcorn will raise awareness about Their Opportunity and the game. The two teams hope to see all staff, students, friends and family out to support this fundraiser and help give a child and opportunity to change their lives.

“Organized sports provided me with so much more than physical exercise,” said Taylor McGee, fifth-year player on the DC women’s soccer team. “Organized sports allows kids to develop valuable social skills, make lasting friendships, improve their self-confidence and so much more. I want others to have the same opportunity that I had and that is why this is such a great cause.”

On March 25, Durham College’s (DC) annual Spring Open House quickly became a full house as the college welcomed more than 3,000 prospective students, as well as their family and friends, to DC’s Oshawa and Whitby campuses and Pickering Learning Site. 

Each of DC’s more than 140 full-time programs, and numerous student services, were set-up in rooms and booths across each location to showcase all that the college has to offer. Upon arrival, guests were greeted by DC’s team of enthusiastic volunteers and even had a chance to meet DC president Don Lovisa, decked out in his green DC 50th anniversary necktie as a nod to the college’s milestone birthday in 2017.

Volunteers encouraged guests to ask questions and get answers from the people who know the DC experience best – the hundreds of faculty, staff, alumni and students who were on hand to offer insight into everything from program details, to setting career goals, to what life on campus is really like, and much more.

Information sessions were held on a range of topics, including applications and admissions, career development, how to put accommodations in place through the college’s Access and Support Services, and tips on how to pay for school from DC’s Financial Aid and Awards office who walked students and parents/guardians through the process of applying for student loans, grants and scholarships that can help make the journey through post-secondary education an easier one. Walking tours were also offered throughout the day to allow guests to further explore DC’s state-of-the-art facilities, as well as on-campus housing.

Enterprising members of DC’s Enactus Canada team, comprised of student-entrepreneurial leaders who are passionate about advancing the economic, social and environmental health of Canada, and FastStart, an entrepreneurial training partnerships aimed at university and college students, made the most of the extra traffic on campus by holding a barbeque fundraiser in support of the Enactus team’s upcoming trip to Vancouver to compete in a national competition.

Those who missed the Spring Open House are still in luck – tours of the college can be arranged anytime by visiting www.durhamcollege.ca/campustours, emailing campustours@durhamcollege.ca or calling 905.721.3000.

DC’s Fall Open House will be held on Saturday, November 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

In celebration of Canada’s 150th year, and in recognition of Durham College’s (DC) 50th anniversary, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen S. Poloz returned to his hometown of Oshawa to visit the college and speak with students, faculty, alumni and community guests about Canada’s economic history.

During his speech, which was hosted in partnership with the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and Trent University Durham, Governor Poloz took his audience on an exploration of the events and turning points over the past 150 years, that have helped shape the nation and its economy, as Canada evolved from a colonial outpost into one of the best places in the world to live.

Governor Poloz took care to connect aspects of Canada’s economic past with current issues at stake for the country. “What experience has shown is that the fears of openness are misplaced,” stated Canada’s chief economist. “Protectionism does not promote growth and its costs are steep.” He also noted that exposure to competition can in fact drive innovation.

In his introductory remarks, Governor Poloz also shared his own DC story in celebration of the college’s 50th anniversary, recounting his memory of when the college first opened its doors in 1967. With student residences not yet built, the governor’s family responded to the call for host families and welcomed three students from DC’s first class into their home.

The governor’s speech was webcast live and can be viewed here.

To help mark their 50th anniversary celebrations in 2017, Ontario colleges have launched a new William G. Davis Innovation Fund contest that encourages full-time students and alumni to pitch creative projects and initiatives to compete for cash prizes.

The fund is named after former premier William G. Davis, who served as Ontario’s education minister from 1962 to 1971 and brought in the legislation that established the college system. It serves as a tribute to the bold and creative thinking that revolutionized post-secondary education in Ontario.

Entrants can be a graduate or current full-time student from one of Ontario’s 24 colleges with an idea that could improve Ontario and beyond. Applications can be made in the categories of entrepreneurialism, health and welfare, arts and culture, or community benefit.

The first-place winner will receive $15,000 to help fund the project and the second-place entry will receive $5,000.

For full details about the fund, including a detailed timeline for submissions and voting, full contest rules and regulations, please visit amazing50.ca/innovationfund. Successful entries must be achievable, sustainable, measurable, original and linked to the individual’s college experience.

Current, full-time DC students as well as alumni will be able to start posting proposals in March. A shortlist of the top applications will be publicized in August and the winners will be announced in November.