On March 23, Durham College (DC) opened its doors to more than 3,700 prospective students and their families at the Oshawa and Whitby campuses and Pickering Learning Site for the college’s annual Spring Open House.

The event gave visitors the opportunity to explore DC’s extensive facilities, take guided tours, check out support services, including Financial Aid and Awards and the Access and Support Centre, and learn about the college’s more than 140 full-time programs and hundreds of continuing education offerings.

At the Oshawa campus, prospective students were the first to preview the new Esports Gaming Arena in the Student Centre, while visitors at Whitby attended cooking demonstrations in the W. Galen Weston Centre for Food and learned about exciting upcoming plans for expansions to the campus.

On hand throughout the day was DC president Don Lovisa, dean and principal of the Whitby campus Rebecca Milburn, as well as current students, alumni, faculty and staff who eagerly connected with community members and shared their first-hand knowledge and experience related to all things DC.

Spring Open House also gave curious students the opportunity to learn more about DC’s first degree program, the Honours Bachelor of Health Care Technology Management – which welcomed its inaugural class in September 2018, and the Artificial Intelligence Analysis, Design and Implementation graduate certificate, a new offering beginning in 2019.

Anyone who missed the Spring Open House can still learn more about all that DC has to offer. Campus tours and information sessions can be scheduled online, via email or by calling 905.721.3126.

DC will hold its Fall Open House on Saturday, November 2.

On March 7 and 8, the Enactus Durham College (Enactus DC) team placed third in the Scotiabank Youth Empowerment Challenge at the annual Enactus Canada Regional Exposition event in Mississauga. This was the first time in Enactus DC’s three year history that they have placed at the competition. The team was up against a competitive field of 39 colleges and universities from across Ontario and Quebec.

The award-winning project, Girls EnPower, was conceived by Enactus DC and is committed to transforming young women in vulnerable circumstances into smart, strong and bold entrepreneurs, instilling in them confidence and positive decision-making skills. The group project was presented by second-year DC students, Alexandra Gillis in the Horticulture – Food and Farming program and Sedona Randall, in the Culinary Management program.

Through this mentorship program girls learn the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and are given the chance to thrive within a positive peer community of DC students and faculty role models. This year the project’s focus is leveraging DC’s award winning W. Galen Weston Centre for Food. By working with young women in a professional, state of the art culinary teaching facility the belief that a post-secondary education is unattainable is dispelled.

Enactus is an international non-profit organization dedicated to creating social change through entrepreneurship. DC’s chapter was introduced to the college in 2016 through FastStartDC, the college’s entrepreneurial centre, to create a club of student leaders looking to make a positive economic and social impact on society.

On March 5, in celebration of International Women’s Day, Durham College (DC) faculty member and alumna, Shauna Bookal, was recognized by the Toronto Raptors and Tangerine Bank for her role as a community sports leader who has inspired, motivated and encouraged positive change in the lives of girls throughout the Greater Toronto Area.

For Shauna, the best part of this recognition was having an opportunity to give some of the female athletes she works with a once and a lifetime experience when she invited them along to a meet and greet with some of the top executives of the Toronto Raptors and Tangerine Bank.

This is the second time the Toronto Raptors has recognized Shauna, a graduate from the Sport Administration program, for her role as a leader in sports, having received their State Farm, Exist to Assist Community leaders Recognition Award in 2016.

Also a teacher for the School of Business, IT & Management in the program she graduated from, Shauna’s involvement in the industry ranges from grassroots activities, like volunteering for basketball clinics and house leagues, to national-level activities, having assisted in running the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Americas Championships as a member of their games organizing committee.

Shauna also volunteers her time and expertise by sitting on large sporting event organizing committees like the Pan Am Games, Invictus Games, North American Indigenous Games and Ontario ParaSport Games.

Growing up she was fortunate to have role models that encouraged her to get involved and give back to the community. Seeing kids laugh, smile and having the time of their lives makes all the sacrifices and the long days worth it for Shauna.

On March 4, Durham College (DC) recognized outstanding student academic achievement and community generosity at the annual Student and Donor Recognition Evening.

Held at the W. Galen Weston Centre for Food, the event honoured DC’s scholarship and bursary award recipients as well as the numerous individuals, organizations and corporate donors who support students and post-secondary education. The evening also brought donors together with the students who benefit from their generosity.

Other highlights of the event included DC president Don Lovisa paying tribute to the late Roger Anderson, former Durham regional chair and a long-time DC benefactor, as well as remarks delivered by Joyce Payne, a first-year Police Foundations student.

New awards and the donors behind them were also recognized during the event including the following:

• Viking Fire Protection Scholarship.
• Mike Shulga Memorial Award.

Durham College (DC) is proud to congratulate Allison Hector-Alexander, director of the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Transitions at the college, on her receipt of the 2019 Madiba Award presented February 2 at the Annual Durham Black History Month Celebration in Ajax. This auspicious award recognizes a community leader of African ancestry in Durham Region who embodies Nelson Mandela’s values, visions and commitment to overcoming barriers.

At DC, Allison is an advocate of students and employees alike. Her influence on campus is extensive. She developed the college’s policy, training and programming to support DC’s sexual violence mandate, was the driving force behind the creation of all-gender washrooms on campus and led the college in launching the Black Student Success Network, an initiative that provides opportunities for mentoring, networking and overall support to Black students. In addition to being honoured with the Madiba Award, Allison has also been recognized as a champion by Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PLFAG) Canada Durham Region and received the Diversity Champion Award from the Local Diversity & Immigration Partnership Council.

Her influence goes beyond the walls of DC. She has been instrumental in bringing to life the Black History Month Professional and Mentorship Development Day in partnership with the Congress of Black Women for Black students in college and high schools. Recently, Allison led the creation of access, transitions and retention programming for community members who may be considering pursuing higher education but may be facing multiple barriers. She is known to advocate for women who are survivors of abuse and developed and facilitated skills programs to assist them from violence to independence. She has worked with a wide range of clients including at-risk and street-involved youth, Ontario Works recipients and new immigrants.

At DC, Allison oversees the college’s diversity and inclusion services, the First People’s Indigenous Centre, the Ontario Access and Inclusion program, the Health Promotions Strategy and all orientation and transitions programming for new students.

In recognition of an extraordinary career, Durham College’s (DC) director of athletics, Ken Babcock, was announced on January 28 as a 2019 Oshawa Sports Hall of Fame inductee. The announcement was made to City Council, followed by a media conference at the Robert McLaughlin Art Gallery. A formal induction ceremony will take place on Wednesday, May 29 at the Tribute Communities Centre.

Beginning his career with the college in 1987, Ken has been an outstanding leader and mentor, having helped many Durham Lords sports teams achieve an astonishing 42 provincial gold medals and 105 overall medals in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA), and an additional five gold and 22 overall medals in the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association (CCAA).

His influence at DC goes beyond coaching, as Ken was a driving force behind the construction of the Campus Fieldhouse and Vaso’s Field in 2003, the Campus Ice Centre in 2005 and the Campus Wellness and Recreation Centre in 2007, all of which serve students and employees, but also the wider community.

“Ken has spent many years guiding young athletes to achieve success both on and off the field. His accomplishments are a testament to his unwavering dedication and passion for athletics at DC and beyond,” says Don Lovisa, president, DC. “The entire DC community is extremely proud of Ken and this well-deserved recognition.”

Over the span of his sports career, Ken helped found the Canadian Collegiate Baseball Association in 1994, created the Durham College Sports Hall of Fame in 1997, helped launch the OCAA Hall of Fame in 2003, and developed and launched the University of Ontario Institute of Technology varsity athletics program in 2003.

He has also given back to the Oshawa community beyond the campus, primarily through Baseball Oshawa, where he has coached since 2005 and served as president since 2012. He was also a member of the organizing committee for the 2000 Ontario Summer Games, the 2008 Ontario Special Olympics Spring Games as well as the baseball portion of the 2015 Toronto Pan-Am Games.

The Oshawa Sports Hall of Fame honours the achievements of five Oshawa individuals and teams every year, recognizing those who have attained prominence and distinction in sports and who have made a major contribution to the development of sport.

Former DC Men’s Basketball coach, Peter Gordon, was also was also announced as a 2019 inductee.

Durham College (DC) was proud to host more than 400 of Ontario’s brightest young minds, along with their teachers, families and friends, on January 12 as they competed in the annual FIRST® LEGO® League Ontario East Provincial Championship.

Known by its acronym that means For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, FIRST is a U.S.-based, not-for-profit public charity that inspires young people to be science and technology leaders. Leadership and innovation was on full display at this year’s competition, held in DC’s Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre at the college’s Oshawa campus, as teams of students, ages nine to 14, showcased their hard work and skills.

Teams first presented research projects to judging panels before unleashing their robots, which the students designed, built and programmed using LEGO MINDSTORMS® technology, on to table-top playing fields.

This year’s challenge theme INTO ORBIT was all about space.  Teams were tasked with the challenge of solving physical and social problems faced by humans during long-term space travel.

While students were on campus, DC’s Dr. Elaine Popp, vice-president, Academic also encouraged them to think about the broader connections between what they do each year at these competitions and how it might lead them to future STEM opportunities.

“As a leading post-secondary institution, we know that the skills you learn today are the building blocks of further learning and exploration in science, technology, mathematics, engineering and the trades,” she shared with the young students. “By participating in the FIRST LEGO League, you are stepping into the unknown – a journey that could take you anywhere.”

At the end of a day filled with fierce and fun competition, team CTRL-Z from Bayview Glen School in Toronto was crowned the winner and awarded an opportunity to compete at the FIRST® LEGO® League World Championship held in Detroit, Michigan from April 24 to 27.

As a gold-level sponsor and host of FIRST LEGO League, DC offers students what is often their first experience in a college environment and helps them to envision where their passion for robotics, technology and engineering can take them to pursue a post-secondary education.

For more information about FIRST LEGO League, please visit www.firstroboticscanada.org.