Info for
Quick links
Download our Mobile app
Icon for Apple. App Store Icon for Android. Google Play

A year of accomplishment for DC student musician Cale Crowe

As his last live performance of the year quickly approaches, Durham College (DC) student Cale Crowe feels confident about setting new goals for 2017.

On Friday, December 30, the third-year Music Business Management (MBM) student will play his 112th show of the year at Oshawa’s The Moustache Club, greatly surpassing his goal of doing 100 shows in 2016.

In addition to besting his goal, Crowe also landed a plum MBM work placement position at Warner Music Canada as a digital marketing intern.

“I wouldn’t have been able to land this internship if it wasn’t for my program at DC,” said the modern folk-rock troubadour, who has several videos on YouTube. “The MBM program has taught me how to be a better speaker and listener. The classes also provide safe learning spaces where it’s acceptable to make mistakes and to learn from them. The professors are there to not only share their knowledge, but to make sure students understand it, and that’s because they care about both the students and the future of the music industry.”

Crowe’s placement has allowed him to connect with people in different departments at Warner Music Canada and gain diverse experience. “A lot of my job involves collecting raw data and helping my superiors and supervisors analyze and interpret it. I’ve also done some work with the A&R [Artists & Repertoire] department.”  

His studies and training at DC have provided him with a foundation for a career and a life in music that he has always wanted, said Crowe, who was born and raised in Alderville, near Cobourg, and performs regularly in Kingston, Peterborough and Oshawa.

While 2016 has been a very good year for him, 2015 wasn’t bad either as Crowe released his debut album, Stars and Promises, which is available on iTunes. Looking ahead, as he prepares to graduate in 2017, Crowe feels positive about his life in music. “I crave the atmosphere that surrounds the music industry – be it live performance or administrative work, or something in between, as long as I’m contributing to music I will be satisfied.”

Crowe says he may even set a goal of 200 live shows in the New Year.

Photo credit: Lana Missen

DC grad awarded by gallery for her creative photography

Durham College (DC) graduate Stephanie Foden has been recognized for finding art from behind the camera.

The 2011 graduate of Media Art and Design’s (MAD) Print and Broadcast Journalism program, has won the Emerging Photographer Award at this year’s Robert McLaughlin Gallery (RMG) Exposed photography exhibition and auction on November 12. The award prize is a solo exhibition at the Oshawa gallery during the Contact Photography Festival in May. She also won the Community Choice Award as voted on by attendees of RMG Exposed.   

Foden said the college’s programs, resources and staff enabled her to explore many facets of media work. “I had some wonderful profs in my first and second years, such as Brian Legree (Journalism) and Gerry Rose (retired, Journalism professor and program coordinator).” She especially credits her third-year broadcast professor, Anna Rodrigues, for inspiring her to progress as a professional. “She’s a very innovative teacher and is always looking for new media and different forms of storytelling,” said Foden.

“With an open mind, I explored each field of journalism. I easily took to photography more than anything else. The ability to rent equipment and explore this possible career option helped my decision.”

In her third year, she focused on photojournalism learning valuable skills such as blogging, social media and how to integrate different forms of media into her storytelling. “I also learned more about being a documentarian and long-form storytelling, which I enjoy more than anything,” explained Foden, adding that she also enjoyed her college field placement at Canadian Geographic in Ottawa. “They had me working on incredible stories for both the magazine and multimedia for their website. After the internship they sent me on assignment and it was an amazing way to start my career off.”

Following graduation, she was hired as the managing editor of Downtown Oshawa News (DON). DON was developed by Rodrigues with funding from DC’s research and innovation funds as a project-based learning experience for journalism students.

Foden is currently planning her solo exhibition for the RMG in the spring, and is working on a personal project in Brazil. “I hope to continue to progress as a photojournalist, both working on personal work and assignments.”

Her RMG awards are an example of the valuable community relationship the gallery and the college have. “As a former associate dean of MAD and this year’s Chair of RMG Exposed, I was particularly pleased with Stephanie’s award-winning work,” said Charlotte Hale.

DC has been a sponsor of the RMG Exposed event for seven years. Students in the Fine Arts – Advanced program in the School of Media, Art & Design are given memberships and use the gallery for research and exhibitions throughout the year. Students also connect with local young artists, writers, photographers and musicians at RMG Fridays, in which live music, interactive art and social networking occur each month.

Grad credits DC for preparing her for a new career at Global News

Recent graduate Katie Scott is applying what she learned in the Broadcasting – Radio and Contemporary Media program at Durham College (DC) to her new career as a national online journalist covering entertainment and lifestyle stories at Globalnews.ca.

“My Durham College education prepared me for my current role at Global News by teaching me the skills I needed in order to land an internship and stand out from the crowd,” said the 2016 graduate. (The program was formerly Broadcasting for Contemporary Media.)

“My DC education taught me a lot about meeting deadlines in the broadcasting industry. I was also able to explore every aspect of broadcasting before deciding which part of the industry I wanted to work in,” she said.

“I love entertainment and I was very happy that a lot of my projects at DC encouraged me to report on my favourite celebrities. I also felt that having a radio show on Riot Radio, called Spill The Tea, was an amazing experience and allowed me to teach others about the entertainment industry while debating hip-hop topics with my two co-hosts,” she said.

Scott added that she loves the diversity of her work at Global News, where she did her field placement as part of the college’s program. “In my work, an average week consists of pitching and writing stories about anything that is happening in the entertainment industry or viral videos. I come into work every morning and I discuss the trending stories for the day with my editor and we discuss what topics are worth covering. We also work with the online video team to create video content for the stories we publish, sometimes doing voice-overs.”

As a part of Corus Entertainment, her stories are also available on SoCast radio outlet websites and Facebook pages, such as those belonging to Q107 and Fresh FM.

Scott says that she has already learned so much from her editors as she continues to hone her skills. But it was her start at DC that put her on a pathway to success in her new career. “I would love to come to speak to DC students about what I do. In fact, one of my teachers from the program, Anna Rodrigues, has asked me to come in and speak to interns getting ready for their field placements next semester.”

Phil Raby, professor and program co-ordinator of DC’s Broadcasting – Radio and Contemporary Media (BRCM), said, “Our BRCM is one of the few two-year diploma programs in Canada that teaches not only traditional radio and television production, but also a variety of content creation skills for new and emerging online media.” He added, “Passionate and driven students like Katie, who make the most of that training, wind up with a diverse set of skills and knowledge that make them very desirable prospects for a wide variety of forward-thinking employers like Corus Entertainment.”

DC students’ field-to-fork “Five-Mile Burger” is tops at Taste Canada competition

A burger, and the story behind it, won the day for Durham College (DC) students at a national competition this month.

Culinary Management students Victoria Rinsma and Jonathan Soligo, and Advanced Baking and Pastry Arts student Kristin Atwood competed against their peers from other colleges in the Taste Canada Cooks the Books competition at the 2016 Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto on November 12.

With competitors tasked with preparing dishes provided by Taste Canada cookbook authors, the DC team took on Barry C. Parsons’ recipe for a peanut butter sriracha bacon cheeseburger from his cookbook Rock Recipes 2. Not only was their recipe creative and delicious, but the story behind the dish provided the extra dash of local flair the students needed to win the title of Best New Student Chefs.

“Since starting at DC, I have really found a love and passion for locally-sourced food as well as growing your own ingredients. So being able to promote and showcase those things at the competition was great,” said Rinsma.

“We applied our field-to-fork philosophy in making the burger, as we do with everything at DC’s W. Galen Weston Centre for Food (CFF),” said proud coach Peter Lee, professor and program coordinator of the Culinary Programs at the CFF in Whitby.

In their presentation of the burger to competition judges, the DC students described where each locally-sourced ingredient came from, inspiring Parsons to dub it “the Five-Mile Burger”.

Many of the key ingredients such as onions, peppers, zucchini and the student-prepared relish came from the CFF gardens. The star ingredient, a triple-A sirloin, came from the CFF’s Advanced Butchery lab. The bacon was made pancetta-style and double-smoked by the students to make the pan-seared burger double delicious. No ordinary bun would do for this creation. So a recipe from DC’s Advanced Baking and Pastry Arts post-graduate program for a special brioche bun served as the proverbial icing on the cake.

The competition also required students to create a signature garnish featuring canola oil in honour of event sponsor the Canola Council of Canada. In keeping with DC’s field-to-fork vision, the team also made beer-battered onion rings with an onion from the CFF garden and a blonde ale beer from Whitby’s own Brock Street Brewing Company. The rings were cooked in canola oil and served with spicy sesame aioli sauce made from canola as well.

If the description of the students’ burger and onion rings is making you hungry, Lee says Bistro ’67, DC’s full-service teaching-inspired restaurant inside the CFF, may feature it on the menu in the new year. So start lining up now! 

From Durham to Disney

Jessica Stoiku conducted a phone interview for The Chronicle with the Pedersens about their journey. Photo by Alex Kang

They’ve made the leap from Durham College to Disney.

Husband and wife Celeste and Chris Pedersen graduated from Durham’s animation program a year apart in 2007 and 2008. Although they’ve been working on different timelines, the couple found their way from Durham Region to California, and have been working for Walt Disney Studios since 2013. Their passion and dedication has led them to working on Disney’s latest film, Moana, which opened in theatres Nov. 23.

The Chronicle conducted a phone interview with the Pedersens about their journey.

What is the day in the life like for you at the studio?

Celeste: I guess it starts the same. We live pretty close to the studio so we drive in the morning or sometimes we walk, which is great because California is beautiful and sunny. My work is shot-based, so we’ll have meetings with my department. We’ll have shots assigned to us. So again reviewing the work that we’ve done.

Chris: While Celeste is more of the shot side of production, I’m more of the character side. So I’m more rigorous. I create the controls and build for the animators to  actually pose, move the characters to bring them to life. I work closely with the look department and modelling and animations. So we work together to create this character. We have team meetings often – we get together and touch base to make sure everything is going smoothly.

What has been your favourite part about working on the film?

Celeste: Just working at Disney for me has been like a dream since I was little. Being here and working with some of the people I’ve looked up to is just incredible. To see the stuff you’ve been working on actually on screen is incredible.

Chris: I second that. It’s pretty incredible working with the people that have been working at the studio for as long as I remember watching movies growing up. A lot of those people are still working here. It’s pretty incredible. I like being challenged a lot. They’re always pushing the envelope here to make the best quality films. I love just the challenge of that.

Have you ever had something you were working on go completely wrong?

Chris: There are always little challenges here and there. I wouldn’t say there was anything that went sort of completely wrong. Story changes. Sometimes characters come and go, so we adapt to those changes. We do our best to foresee those things…and work together to troubleshoot them.

Celeste: We’re [in] a very collaborative environment. People come together really quick to try and work through it.

How has Durham College helped you get to where you are today?

Celeste: I’ve always wanted to work for Disney. Going to school at Durham helped prepare me to get into this field.

Chris: Growing up I always loved watching the Disney movies, but animation was never something as a child I kind of thought myself getting into. I always found myself leaning toward engineering. I loved Lego and building and creating things. That’s similar to what I do now. My job is very technical. There’s a lot of building, inventing and coming up creative solutions, which I really like.

Who inspired you along the way during your time at Durham College?

Celeste: All the teachers were incredible at Durham. They were all very supportive, very encouraging. I always doubt myself. Am I good enough to do that? You get discouraged sometimes, but the teachers are always there to support you and tell you, ‘you can do it.’ They’re the ones that got me my first job outside of school, and I was very appreciative of that.

Chris: They’re always so super supportive. One moment though that sort of stood out for me was in third year animation class. I remember working on an animation shot. I just remember something clicking for me with animation and all of a sudden I understood it and that was sort of a milestone point for me with my student career. I feel that sort of launched me into feeling confident with animation. Getting my first job was really dependant on Durham and the teachers. The fact that the course was so well rounded it allowed me personally going into a more technical path. It also gave me the base knowledge to pursue that.

This story was edited for style, length and clarity.

Jessica Stoiku

Jessica Stoiku is a second year journalism student at Durham College. With a passion for writing, she enjoys exposing the arts and culture stories of people within the community for The Chronicle. She hopes to work for a publication that focuses on human interest and issues on a broader scale.

DC students and staff host filmmaking demonstration

Recently over 30 Durham College (DC) students and employees from the School of Media, Art and Design (MAD) hosted a filmmaking demonstration at the Docville Movie Set in partnership with the second annual Durham Regional Film Festival.

For over two hours, students shot footage on five movie sets consisting of a cabin, general store, saloon, jail and mine using 10 60D cameras (two at each set). The demonstration was attended by more than 75 people who were treated to a behind-the-scenes look at how a film is made. Audience members also participated by acting out the script that was written by DC Advanced Filmmaking students under the guidance of professor Kevin D. Fraser. After four hours of editing, a five-minute film was screened on the same day.

“Filmmaking is a way to change the way people think about the world,” said Greg Murphy, executive dean, MAD. “To get your voice, your story out there, whether it’s about you, or somebody else, or something you have completely imagined, it’s a way of telling stories. We are helping people to do that and really preparing the next generation of content creators for Canadian media.”

Students were mentored by DC faculty and staff including Kris Felstead, Phil Raby, Jennifer Bedford, Kevin Fraser, Colin Burwell, Jim Ferr, Oliver Fernandez, Keir Broadfoot and Margret Campkin, as well as Carla Sinclair, chair of DC’s Media Fundamentals program advisory committee.

Additionally a ‘making of’ photomontage of the filmmaking demonstration was shot by MAD Photography students under the guidance of faculty members Al Fournier, Tim McGhie and Brian Stephens.

Durham College student’s mural installed at City Hall

A mural design created by Allanah Larsen, a graduate of Durham College’s (DC) School of Media, Art & Design (MAD) in the Fine Arts – Advanced program, was recently installed at Oshawa City Hall.

Located on the retaining wall facing Centre Street outside City Hall, the city’s newest piece of public art features a stained-glass-like pattern that shows detailed glimpses of Oshawa and its main attractions within an evolving colour scheme.

A timeline of abstract art, the mural was produced by Allanah and her fellow students from MAD’s Community Collaboration class, including Alex Duffy, Stephanie Galanis, Shawn Robinson Gray, Maria McGarny, Vincent S. F. Neal, Kristen Sali, Schott Shepel and Kristie Yuill.

As part of the Civic Square community mural project, a partnership between the City of Oshawa and DC, students were asked to develop mural concepts based on feedback from Oshawa community members about their aspirations for the city. Three finalists were selected by the City of Oshawa and guest adjudicator Linda Jansma, senior curator, The Robert McLaughlin Gallery. Community members were then asked to vote for their favourite entry to determine the winning design.

The City of Oshawa and DC are both pleased with the collaborative efforts behind the community-inspired mural, which now serves as a new focal point within Oshawa’s Civic Square and is playing a large role in the revitalization of the space.

“This has been such a fabulous experience for the school,” said Greg Murphy, executive dean, MAD, DC. “We need partners to give us an opportunity to make a contribution to the cultural landscape of Oshawa, and the city has been a great partner. I’m grateful for the effort and expertise that a lot of generous people gave, but especially for the wonderful leadership of this project from MAD faculty Dani Crosby and Sean McQuay”.

DC students bring field-to-fork to life at second annual Harvest Dinner

Traditionally, harvest time is a time for community celebration. That was certainly the case at Durham College (DC) on September 22 as students, faculty and more than 130 community members came together for the second annual Harvest Dinner in celebration of the amazing work being done at the college’s Centre for Food (CFF) at the Whitby campus.

The sold-out event brought DC’s field-to-fork vision to life and marked the culmination of countless hours spent in the fields, labs, classrooms and kitchens as students and faculty from the culinary, horticulture, hospitality and events programs worked side-by-side to plan and execute an evening that guests won’t soon forget.

“Watching our students in action at all stages of the planning and execution of this event filled me with immense pride,” said Don Lovisa, president, DC. “The Harvest Dinner is both an incredible opportunity and an immense undertaking for everyone at the CFF and I want to extend my sincere thanks to everyone, and our students and employees in particular, who helped make the evening a resounding success.”

CFF ambassador and celebrity chef Jamie Kennedy was also in attendance to show his support and greet guests. The multi-course, family-style meal was served under the stars, surrounded by the CFF’s fields and greenhouses, and featured recipes inspired by and featuring food planted, picked and prepared by DC students.

“It’s extremely meaningful to have so many members of the community joining us tonight to celebrate our students’ achievements,” said Kevin Baker, dean, CFF. “Tonight’s dinner embodies what field-to-fork is all about and this experience of working together to put it into action is one our students will draw on throughout their careers.”

The evening’s delicacies started with sweet corn cakes with cranberry caviar, and baba ghanouj served on a beet chip passed during the cocktail hour. Next, the meal was presented in three rounds that featured a wide range of flavours and ingredients, including a pickled-and-cured platter of vegetables and venison-pork salami; pan-seared trout with lemon geranium and chili; a Caprese salad made with DC-produced mozzarella; smoked Ontario turkey with braised fennel and cranberries; and roasted Ontario pork loin with red cabbage and apples, among numerous other dishes.

“To be in the gardens harvesting produce this morning and then see our guests enjoying the fruits of that labour this evening is a special experience,” said Ryan Cullen, a second-year student in the Horticulture – Food and Farming program and student governor with the college. “It’s wonderful to see all the programs working together and students applying what we’re learning to one convivial harvest experience.”

Anyone who missed out on the Harvest Dinner is still in luck. CFF produce and other local ingredients will continue to inspire the dishes being served at Bistro ’67, the CFF’s full-service, teaching-inspired restaurant, which recently received a prestigious Feast ON designation for its use and support of locally sourced products. Garden Fresh Wednesdays will continue at Bistro ’67 until the end of November and upcoming Jamie Kennedy Thursdays special dining experiences are scheduled for Thursday, November 17 and Thursday, December 15. There will also be a celebration of Bistro ‘67’s new Feast ON designation with a 100-mile dinner on Thursday, October 20. Food lovers can also enjoy pre-packaged meals and daily lunch specials from Pantry, the CFF’s unique retail store for student-created goods, or expand their own culinary skills and knowledge through the CFF’s cooking experience classes and demonstrations.

For more information, visit www.durhamcollege.ca/cff. 

DC grads find success with Healthcare Leaders like Philips, GE and acute Healthcare Systems

It’s been a long journey, but Kerri-Ann Williams, a recent graduate from the Biomedical Engineering Technology program at Durham College (DC), has found success in her new role as field service engineer, Technical Leadership at General Electric Healthcare (GE Healthcare).

Her new job began with a rigorous training program that gives new employees the opportunity to work with a wide range of medical equipment and maintain and install medical devices such as ultrasounds and X-rays. Once her training is complete, Williams will be a full-fledged field service engineer with key responsibilities including device installation, servicing, repairs, training clinical staff and providing excellent customer service.

A native of Jamaica, Williams moved to Canada in 2011 and began her academic journey with DC in 2013. She credits the college for its excellent learning environment that supported her education and gave her the confidence to participate within the school.

“The program had a strong focus on developing the technical aptitude and hands-on skills required in the field of biomedical engineering technology,” said Williams. “One of the key things I noticed during my placement was that I was very familiar with the procedures and jargon used by the various healthcare workers that I had to interact with.”

Academic success wasn’t the only thing Williams pursued while at the college; she held a number of positions outside the classroom including DC Experience team member, co-chair on a fundraising committee for the Alumni Association and a work study student for two years with the Strategic Enrolment Services office.

The opportunities within the school helped Williams demonstrate her strengths in the field and build her confidence, which led to receiving excellent references for her job search. As a new graduate, Williams offers a piece of advice to future DC students: “I want to encourage new students, especially new immigrants, to step out of their comfort zone and put themselves out there. Get to know your new home and the wonderful people.”

DC student’s Gord Downie tribute helps raise funds for brain tumour research

When Durham College (DC) student Branson Schell returns to campus this September for his second year in the Animation – Digital program, he’ll have quite an addition to his portfolio. Schell’s water colour portrait of Tragically Hip lead singer Gord Downie went viral and is now being featured on t-shirts that will raise money for brain tumour research.

Downie announced in May that he has an incurable brain tumour; he’s now travelling Canada with the Tragically Hip on the bittersweet Man Machine Poem tour that will likely be his last.

An avid Tragically Hip fan, Schell was inspired to pick up his paintbrush by Downie’s music and circumstances. “It was only my second painting ever and it took about half an hour to complete,” said Schell. “I’m used to working with charcoal and pencil from my hand-drawing classes at DC, but I felt like I really need to use colour this time to capture him [Downie].”

After posting the portrait to his Instagram and Facebook profiles with the hashtag Gord Downie, Schell’s work began drawing attention and made its way to fellow fan Christina Parente who asked for permission to share the image on her Downie tribute website, deargord.ca. Next, popular music journalist Alan Cross included Schell’s painting in a poll to choose a Downie tribute image to be printed on t-shirts for a fundraiser in support of the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada. Schell’s artwork was announced the winning fan-favourite on July 20 after earning nearly 60 per cent of the hundreds of votes that were cast.

“I’m proud of the painting, and the attention it’s getting is great, but I’m even more proud of how it’s going to help raise awareness and funds for more brain cancer research,” said Schell.

He and his friends will be watching the live broadcast of the Tragically Hip’s final concert on Saturday, August 20, at an outdoor event in his hometown of Cobourg, Ont. He plans to have some t-shirts on hand to keep doing his part to fundraise.