Second-year Graphic Design student Kristin Cornell can make a major addition to her resume after placing third overall, and second in the People’s Choice Award, in the annual Packaging Association of Canada (PAC) Student Competition in May.

Representing Durham College (DC) after being voted in by classmates and faculty, Kristin competed against peers from across Ontario.

Nestlé Canada hosted the 2020 competition, offering up an interesting creative brief that focused on sustainability. Competitors were tasked with designing a completely plastic-free package for Nestlé’s KitKat Minis chocolate bars.

Kristin and her classmates worked on their designs for the competition as an in-course assignment. Although the competition became more challenging due to COVID-19 and the move to remote delivery for the remainder of the winter semester, Kristin powered through and finished her design in time to compete.

After presenting her final concept to representatives from Nestlé Canada and other industry experts, Kristin received valuable feedback that she’ll now take forward into her career as she continues to hone her design skills.

PAC added the Student Sustainable Packaging Design competition in 2008. Students are given a product to redesign and present to a packaging community audience and winners receive monetary rewards and high-profile industry recognition, which often leads to career opportunities.

DC congratulates Kristin on her achievement and takes great pride in the efforts of our Graphic Design students to make packaging more sustainable.

While Durham College (DC) condemns anti-Black racism and oppression of any kind, we are not blind to the fact that there is more work to be done on campus and beyond to fully dismantle the systemic barriers faced by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Colour) students, employees and community members.

We need more than words. We need meaningful, specific action.

Recognizing this need, DC is proud to announce that on July 17, President Don Lovisa signed the BlackNorth Initiative’s CEO pledge, joining more than 200 leaders from across Canada in committing our organization to realizing specific actions and targets designed to dismantle anti-Black systemic racism and create opportunities for all those in the underrepresented BIPOC community.

The pledge commits DC to implementing and reporting on measurable efforts, including new policies, procedures and practices, aimed to not only address systemic anti-Black racism within the college but to actively work to educate others and dismantle the barriers negatively affecting the lives of Black Canadians.

As a signatory to the BlackNorth Initiative CEO pledge, DC is committing to increasing its delivery of unconscious bias and anti-racism education and, by 2025, ensuring that 5 per cent of its student positions and 3 per cent of its donations create opportunities for the Black community. The college is also committing to working to attract, develop and advance talent to contribute to a target of 3.5 per cent of executive and Board roles based in Canada being held by Black people in the same timeframe. The college’s actions and progress will be accountable through reports to its Board of Governors.

Joining the BlackNorth Initiative reflects DC’s core values of diversity, inclusion and respect that are named in the 2020-2023 Strategic Plan published earlier this year. Our participation is also a significant extension of the work both completed and currently underway at the college to identify and eradicate anti-Black racism, discrimination and oppression of all kinds.

This summer, the college’s Social Justice Week committee, together with the DC Black Student Success Network, Office of Student Diversity, Inclusion and Transitions and DC Students Inc., launched a series of online community dialogue sessions to create a safe space for students and employees to share with and learn from each other about experiences of anti-Black racism. Other recent initiatives include:

• Establishment of the college’s first Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Working Group.
• DC representation on the City of Oshawa’s first-ever Community Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.
• Development of a college Equity policy.
• Ongoing delivery of unconscious bias training for students and employees.
• Formation of a DC Black Student Success Network.

Signing the BlackNorth Initiative CEO pledge is a powerful next step towards effecting significant, positive change on our campus and well beyond.

Durham College (DC) is proud to announce its receipt of the Community Care Durham (CCD) 2020 Corporate Leadership Award. College president Don Lovisa received the honour during CCD’s annual general meeting, which was held virtually using Zoom, on June 16.

“This award honours and highlights the longstanding, mutually beneficial partnership between Durham College and Community Care Durham,” said President Lovisa. “This is a partnership that truly exemplifies the best of what public colleges can inspire in their students and employees, and contribute to their communities.”

Nominated and selected to receive the award by CCD senior leadership and its board of directors, DC is being recognized for its longstanding partnership with and contributions made to CCD, which include:

• Regularly providing placement students from programs in DC’s School of Health & Community Services (HCS) to support CCD’s Adult Day Programs and mental health support program, known as COPE, as well as providing students from the School of Business, IT & Management occasionally.
• CCD’s participation in orientation events at DC to promote volunteer opportunities to students and employees. More specifically, CCD has worked with DC’s Police Foundations program to match students with their Friendly Visiting program.
• DC Corporate Training Services creating a Personal Support Worker (PSW) Training partnership to provide CCD’s PSWs with important education specific to their clients needs, in addition to other customized training for CCD staff.
• Most recently, the team from the W. Galen Weston Centre for Food (CFF) contributing to the successful launch of CCD’s Community Food Box program. Not only did the CFF help launch the program with a generous donation of food in the midst of the college’s COVID-related campus closure, the CFF gardens continue to provide fresh herbs and produce for the weekly food boxes.

“Community Care Durham is an exemplary organization that provides vital services to vulnerable residents in our community,” said Dr. Judeline Innocent, executive dean of HCS at the college. “It is with great appreciation that Durham College receives this honour, which marks our latest milestone as we continue to lead the way in educating students to deliver community-based care, partnering on innovative ways to respond to community needs and building a brighter future for the residents of Durham Region.”

In cooperation with Indigenous Peoples’ national organizations, the Government of Canada has designated June 21 as National Indigenous Peoples Day, an annual celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ culture, heritage and outstanding contributions. This date was chosen because it corresponds with the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. For generations, many Indigenous Peoples and communities have celebrated their culture and heritage on or near this day.

National Indigenous Peoples Day is an excellent opportunity to become better acquainted with the cultural diversity of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples, discover the unique accomplishments of Indigenous Peoples in a variety of areas and celebrate their significant contribution to Canadian society. It is an opportunity to reflect upon and learn the history, sacrifices, contributions, and strength of these communities. It’s important to keep in mind that First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples each have their own unique histories and within each group, there are distinct histories.

Durham College (DC) recognizes that Indigenous communities have been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and since we are not able to gather to celebrate this year, our community members are encouraged to continue to learn and celebrate the culture. One way to get started on this learning journey is to sign up for the Indigenous Histories and Reconciliation modules available through DC Connect. This will help to support an understanding of Indigenous histories in Canada and engage with reconciliation and decolonization, personally and professionally.

DC is situated on the Traditional Territory of the Mississaugas and the territory that is covered by the Williams Treaty, and we are thankful for the opportunity to teach and learn on the lands of the Peoples of Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation. Please visit durhamcollege.ca/indigenous to continue to learn about Indigenous culture.

You can also stay connected by following the First Peoples Indigenous Centre on social media:

• Facebook (Suswaaning.Endaajig)
• Instagram (Suswaaning_Endaajig
• Twitter (DCs_FPIC)

June is Pride month, which is a time to come together and celebrate the 2SLGBTQ+ community and their freedom to be themselves.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact our communities, Durham College (DC) recognizes that many individuals may be experiencing feelings of disconnection and loneliness and that without access to safe spaces, many community members may not be able to live openly.

DC works to foster and sustain an environment of inclusiveness and empowers everyone to achieve their highest potential without fear of prejudice or bias. For DC Pride 2020, the college wishes to encourage everyone to review resources, participate in programming, and virtually connect with their supports. Most importantly, celebrate Pride.

Remember that you are not alone and, though we are apart, we will recognize, celebrate, and continue to support our 2SLGBTQ+ community at DC.

The Durham College (DC) Board of Governors (BOG) is pleased to announce Michele James as the new board chair and Kristi Honey as vice-chair, respectively, effective Monday, July 1, 2020.  The appointments are for a one-year term.

As chair for the BOG, Michele brings over 30 years of leadership in the health care sector to the role. Currently the vice-president of People and Transformation at Scarborough Health Network, Ontario’s third largest community hospital. Michele’s diverse portfolio includes oversight of the human resources function for the organization’s 5,200 employees. Michele also spent several years in the private sector at IBM and PricewaterhouseCoopers.  Michele is a life-long volunteer and has been involved in a number of community organizations.  She is a strong advocate for inclusion and is currently the volunteer chair of the Advisory Committee for the Black Physicians Association of Ontario. Michele has been selected as one of the 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women for 2020.

As vice-chair for the BOG, Kristi brings over 20 years of private and public executive leadership experience to the role. Currently the chief administrative officer for the Township of Uxbridge, she is also a DC graduate and Alumni of Distinction recipient for her success as an entrepreneur. An active volunteer in the community, Kristi is a champion of human rights and environmentalist causes having been recognized for her efforts by Women of Influence in their Global Series as one of Canada’s leading women driving equality, diversity, and inclusion nationally and internationally.

Michele and Kristi have both served on the Board of DC for four years.The BOG is responsible for the governance of DC. It is accountable to the students, employees and communities the college serves, making sure that it is effectively and appropriately managed to achieve its established mandate and to provide needed services.

As chair, Michele will be responsible for ensuring the board meets its responsibilities and established mandate through leadership, openness and transparency. To learn more about the roles of chair and vice-chair of the board, read the Board policy.

Please join in congratulating Michele and Kristi on their new roles.

Durham College (DC) wishes to congratulate all of the nursing professionals – including a number of DC alumni – who were recently honoured with 2020 Lakeridge Health Nursing Education Bursary Awards.

The annual awards, which were given at the end of this year’s National Nursing Week, are distributed by the various Lakeridge Health hospital foundations to support continuous learning for nurses that enables them to continue providing the safest and highest quality of care.

Special congratulations go out to DC student Arielle Baubie, the recipient of this year’s Dr. George Blake Mentorship & Bursary, on which the college is proud to partner. The bursary provides a student in a mental health nursing placement with the opportunity for mentorship and learning in the specialty of Mental Health and Addictions Nursing.

Durham College (DC) second-year Marketing – Business Administration student, Ryan Ashton, found success at the Great Canadian Sales Competition (GCSC) earlier this year as he advanced through the semi-finals, securing a ticket to the final round in September.

Held annually over the course of several months, the GCSC is the largest post-secondary competition in Canada. This past year, over 2,800 students competed in three rounds to showcase their skill in sales and marketing while connecting with some of the country’s biggest employers. In the final round later this year, Ryan will compete against 18 other finalists for a $10,000 prize while receiving one-on-one mentorship from a senior business leader at Sysco, a GCSC sponsor.

Seven DC marketing students also made it to the semi-finals, including Malcolm Hooper, Adriana Luciani, Brendan Scott, Ashleigh Hutchinson, Harini Amitkumar Thakkar, Dinith Indipa Vittanachchi and Cyprian Villaroel-Mckenley – who achieved Top 3 in his national category. During this round, they had the opportunity to connect with recruiters, learn more about future career paths and attend regional events hosted by GCSC sponsors like Manulife, Shopify, WeWork and Telus.

Congratulations to all DC students who represented the college in the semi-finals of the GCSC, and good luck to Ryan in the next round!