Tech Talk and the Virtual Research On Call team showcase the skills, talents and career highlights of two Durham College professors, Anna Rodrigues; a professor in the Journalism – Print and Broadcast program, and Cesar Juarez; a faculty member of the School of Media, Art, & Design.

Anna, who has a Master of Education with a specialization in Digital Technologies from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology is an experienced journalist and new media professional. She shares her work experience, both past and present, providing advice for students to carve a meaningful and lasting career. Watch Anna’s video.

Cesar is a media and technology buff with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and Media Studies from the University of Toronto, and has seen the industry evolve from print and film, to going digital. He states that honing a broad spectrum of skills within your industry can truly pay off, which is the route that he took. Cesar advises students to know where they are going, and proceed without fear. Watch Cesar’s video.

Tech Talk is a video podcast series in Ontario that allows experts to present their stories of success to inspire students, and is designed to educate and expose people to possible career opportunities and the paths they may use to get there.  It pertains mainly to the areas of science and technology, relating it to the environment and society.

Over a period of six decades, Kenneth Jenkins has taken a number of Continuing Education classes at Durham College to support his career goals and in some cases, just because the topic interested him on a personal level.

“Initially I enrolled to expand my opportunities, to move ahead in the company I worked for and to expand my qualifications in the job market,” said Jenkins. “I realized much of what I was taking was enlightening, rewarding and enjoyable for life outside my job.”

One particular area that interested Jenkins was a French language course, which ultimately proved to be difficult for him due to the onset of severely deteriorated hearing. Although he successfully completed the course, Jenkins resigned himself to the possibility that it could be his last opportunity for enrolment in a continuing education program.

Rather than give up on his journey of learning, Jenkins decided to try a new approach by taking advantage of one of the many online courses offered at Durham College.

“I decided to try online learning and enrolled in a Political Geography course,” he said. “Online courses have expanded the opportunities for me to continue learning.”

Although he was intimidated by the technology, Jenkins found that he was able to quickly adjust and succeed in the class due to the academic and technical supports provided to him at the college.

“I felt somewhat apprehensive coping with this new learning venue,” he said. “But the availability of online assistance and the quality of technical support I received helped me to overcome my apprehensions and I was able to enjoy the course.”

Jenkins continues to be impressed with Durham College and the diversity of its curriculum and delivery methods.

“DC has expanded its curriculum over time, there are many courses available to satisfy ones interest or to stimulate new interests,” he said. “The courses I’ve taken have exceeded my expectations.”

Durham College announced today that John Davidson, a photography professor with the School of Media, Art & Design (MAD), has won the 2013 Beaches International Jazz Festival’s Annual Juried Photography Exhibition.

The fourth annual exhibition, which took place at the end of July, tasked participants with capturing images that display the essence of jazz music, jazz musicians and the audience who supports them with Davidson winning for his submissions titled Tab’s Guitar and Havana Guitar.

“The Jazz in Motion photography exhibition is a real marriage of two of my passions – jazz and photography,” said Davidson. “There were many wonderful entries and I feel very fortunate to have placed first.”

As the first-place winner he will have his work and biography displayed on the Beaches International Jazz Festival website and will be invited to return to next year’s competition as a juror.

Davidson, a part-time professor who has been with the college since 2006, teaches within in a variety of programs under the School of MAD including Pre-Media, Interactive Media Design, Advertising and Marketing Communications and Digital Photography.

“On behalf of the entire Durham College community I extend my sincere congratulations to John on this wonderful recognition,” said Greg Murphy, dean, School of MAD. “In addition to being a true testament to his talent, this award is a great example of our faculty’s commitment to continuing to gain real-world experience they can bring into the classroom and share directly with students.”

In addition to his teaching duties, Davidson also helped with the creation and implementation of the college’s History of Photography course. He continues to maintain his photographic work with both corporate and private clients.

“It is important to explore many of your interests as it will allow you to bring more to the classroom,” added Davidson.

Amanda de Souza is living proof that anything is possible if you set your goals high and work hard to obtain them.

A 2007 Advertising and Marketing Communications Management (formerly Advertising) program graduate, de Souza is a successful graphic designer and artist living and working in New York City (NYC).

Although she has learned much and evolved in her career, she still remembers and values the lessons she learned while a student at Durham College.

“The classes I took and projects I worked on in my program were very similar to the kind of work I’ve done in the real world,” de Souza said. “We had also focused on portfolio development and interviewing skills, so by the time I was interviewing for jobs I was extremely confident.”

Prior to graduation, she completed a field placement that allowed her to work as a writer/producer for three years at a Toronto-based digital agency post-graduation. The position furthered her marketing and advertising skills while fostering her natural love of art.

She then moved to NYC and worked for a number of agencies in various roles including as an executive account assistant, a graphic designer and a community manager.

Today she works as a senior designer at W Magazine with Condé Nast with an impressive client roster including Proctor & Gamble, Universal, Starbucks and Panasonic. In addition, she shows and sells her art in galleries in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

De Souza was also selected as a 2013 artist for Sing for Hope Pianos, a public art project that saw a piano she painted displayed in Central Park, included in a concert at Lincoln Center and featured in the New York Times.

“It was surreal to be selected and I was overjoyed. I was so surprised at how much of a reaction it received from visitors and New Yorkers alike,” said de Souza.

She credits her success to hard work, a positive outlook and a willingness to tackle new challenges, qualities she feels current students can benefit from as she did.

“If you are passionate about what you want to do and put in everything you have, opportunities will open up to you. Surround yourself with people who lift you up and encourage you. Have courage,” she said. “Each time I reached a milestone, getting an internship, my first job, a promotion, moving to Toronto, moving to New York, I always kept thinking, what’s my next challenge? I’ve realized there is no limit, anything is possible.”

Being a role model for children with disabilities wasn’t Scott Bremner’s goal when he started his career, but it’s something he is proud of and hopes to continue to be.

Bremner, a Journalism – Print and Broadcast alumnus is host and community producer of DurAbility, a television show that endeavours to improve the lives of people with disabilities by helping them navigate the challenges and opportunities they face every day.

“I got a call from a parent who thanked me for what I was doing because now she can tell her son with a disability to go out and follow his dreams,” Bremner said.

In addition to his TV show, Bremner is also a motivational speaker sharing his personal experiences and the obstacles he has overcome to connect with his audience.

“I talk a lot about bullying, the different types you encounter when you have a disability,” said Bremner. “And about finding the drive in yourself to keep going and the steps you need to take to benefit yourself.”

Bremner credits his professors at Durham College for helping him get to where he is today and he appreciates the lessons he learned in the Journalism program that have helped him to become a good professional.

“The instructors taught me the type of person you need to be to do this work,” said Bremner. “And they taught me you can still be a good person while asking those tough questions.”

Bremner plans to continue to be an advocate and role model for people with disabilities and to contribute positively to the people he comes in contact with.

“It’s great that I’ve been able to do this on my own while still helping my community,” he said. “Attending Durham College helped me a lot.”

Durham College’s International office was pleased to recognize the achievements of Dipika Sharma, an international student in the Human Resources Management graduate certificate program on July 11, awarding her a $500 scholarship.

The scholarship was available to a new international student in either the International Business Management or Human Resources (HR) Management program who attained a 3.0 GPA or higher in the 2013 winter semester. Sharma far exceeded this requirement by achieving a 4.32 GPA.

“I was just totally shocked when I saw the email,” said Sharma. “I was sitting with my friend and he knew what my facial expression was exactly, it was completely shocked and happy too.”

Prior to attending Durham College, Sharma achieved a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Rajasthan in Jaipur, India. Upon the recommendation of friends, she researched post-graduate programs including Durham College’s offerings.

“When I looked on the website it was the ‘Success Matters’ logo that really interested me to go through and research it,” said Sharma. “I was very interested in the HR field out of all the business fields so I pursued the (Human Resources Management) program.”

Sharma attributed her success as an international student to multiple factors including her extracurricular activities that helped her achieve a Canadian experience which included volunteering with Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Ajax-Pickering, Denise House in Oshawa and the Indo-Canadian Culture Association at Durham College. As well, she praised her home stay family and program faculty for providing immeasurable amounts of support.

“It has been a lot different from my Indian experience,” said Sharma. “It has been more interesting and I think that is why I was able to score a high GPA. I was a good student in India to but I felt it was more interesting giving presentations, doing research and making projects, I just love all that.”

Sharma plans on extending her time in Canada as she looks to pursue another HR program either with the college or the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT).

The International Office currently assists approximately 300 international students and will be offering textbook scholarships for the fall 2013 semester for new international students with exceptional International English Language Testing System scores. 

Are you self-motivated and love the outdoors? Then get your hands dirty with the new Horticulture – Food and Farming program at Durham College’s Centre for Food (CFF) beginning in September 2013.

This program focuses on disease and pest management, plant propagation, soil and plant nutrition, food and agriculture regulations, food processing and other food quality skills. Students also benefit from instruction in entrepreneurship, marketing and sales.

Program coordinator Corrie Stender says there’s more to farming than planting and harvesting and this program prepares students to be successful agricultural entrepreneurs.

“Regardless of your best intention, if the business plan isn’t in place you can’t make a living or sustain a farm,” she said. “The business aspect of the program is to assist the students in considering what needs to be included to make a viable and sustainable business. And it’s not always the most obvious things.”

This program also informs students about the pressures of running a farm aside from just producing a bountiful harvest and addresses external issues that may be overlooked by farmers.

“It could include things like insurance, advertising, hydro costs, water costs – even if a student chooses to work for someone else, and perhaps even optimize or troubleshoot these issues for their employer,” said Stender.

Students will have the opportunity for hands-on work in the areas of soil amending, planting, tending and harvesting; the characteristics of soils; which soils support specific vegetation; and ways to amend these soils.

“This program is really meant to take students on a journey of the whole process, right from preparing the soil and planting the seeds all the way through to the final sale to the customer and every process in between,” said Stender.

Durham College celebrated the academic achievements of approximately 150 Durham Region secondary school students from the Centre for Success program on June 17.  The program, hosted on campus through the School College Work Initiative, helps students graduate from secondary school by engaging them in a college environment as well as demonstrating that they can be successful in post-secondary education. 

Gail MacKenzie, manager of Strategic Initiatives at Durham College, attributes the continued success of the program to its ability to be an alternative route for secondary school students.

“The change of venue, to get them out of their traditional high school environment where they haven’t been successful for a number of reasons and all of a sudden put them on a college campus where they feel like college students, they instantly mature and become responsible for their own learning and success,” said MacKenzie.

This year’s event marked the seventh successful year of the educational initiative.  The project has grown significantly over the years from the first pilot project in 2006 with 14 students to the current program that will see almost 300 students enrolled between September and June at both the Oshawa and Whitby campuses.

Adriana McDonough, co-ordinator with the Durham Catholic District School Board points to the yearly success of the program for its longevity.

“It has been a hugely successful program right from the start. We have had success rates anywhere from 80 to 92 per cent,” said McDonough. “These are students that have struggled with credit completion in high school and they come here and they seem to thrive and succeed and see a bright future ahead of them.”

In addition to the Durham College administration and staff, students were joined by their families, teachers and representatives from the partnering school boards:  Durham District School Board, Durham Catholic School Board, Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board and Peterborough Victoria Northumberland Clarington Catholic District School Board.

Struggling with some of your program’s courses? Take a deep breath and pay a visit to the Student Academic Learning Services (SALS) office for the help you need, delivered the way you need it.

SALS has been helping Durham College (DC) students excel academically and earn the credits they paid for through strategically organized workshops for more than 10 years.  Their services offer a variety of classes that directly reflect student life as well as each individual learning techniques to ensure optimal results and a good grade.

Located on the second floor of the Student Services building, SALS is open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and has staff to assist students in their quest for academic excellence. They also offer services at the Whitby campus from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Nicky Patel, Manager of SALS, says these resources have become even easier for students to access since the addition of SALS to DC Connect last September. “You don’t even have to go to (the office) if you don’t want to, everything you need is right online,” she said.

Recognizing that each student has specific learning styles, SALS has developed their workshops to meet the unique methods each person uses to store information most efficiently.

Since the launch of SALS on DC Connect, there have been 2700 self-registered members who have downloaded the tool for extra help. There are currently 469 resources available online through SALS as well as video modules, quick tips and a personality test to determine your own learning style, as well as practice tests and quizzes created by faculty to allow students to get the most out of these workshops just by putting in the effort.

“As a student who has been out of school for a long time, readjusting back to studying and being in a class was extremely hard for me,” said Jimmy Whorms, a first-year student in the Mechanical Technician – Mechanical Maintenance and Control program at the Whitby campus. Then I decided to try SALS. I was suddenly able to understand math formulas, and as a result, I was able to salvage my grades for the first semester, now I’m looking forward to making the honour roll for my second semester!”

Patel has seen the positive results of SALS first-hand and says if help is sought soon enough there is no reason any student should ever have to fail a class.

“84 per cent of students who came for help last year received their credit,” she said.

Some say those who can’t do teach, but whoever said that hasn’t met Durham College Professor, Kevin Fraser.

Teaching in the Digital Video Production program, Fraser is also a TV writer, editor and documentary filmmaker who was recently nominated for a Golden Sheaf Award in the Documentary and Arts Culture category at the Yorkton Film Festival for his short film, Analogue.

Held from May 23 to 26, the Yorkton Film Festival is the longest running festival in North America and showcases the best of the best in Canadian short cinema. Fraser was honoured to have gained recognition.

“I was really happy (to be nominated),” said Fraser “When you start a project from scratch, especially an artistic one, you’re never sure how it will turn out, much less that people would take it in such a positive way.”

Analogue follows a group of artists who use outdated or antiqued processes in a world that is becoming digital. It expands on the importance of individual craftsmanship and the beauty that comes from doing things the old fashioned way, capturing the true essence of hard working composers.

It took Fraser about two years to finish his documentary all the while balancing his job, getting his masters and raising his daughter. Fraser holds a master of fine arts degree in Documentary Studies from Ryerson University and has written for a variety of TV projects for many years.

Before becoming a professor at Durham College, Fraser worked as a new media producer for a commercial production house and his love for creating cinematic adventures stemmed from his experiences.

After five years of work, he completed his first documentary, Living as Brothers, in 2011. The movie is a story of Jamaican migrant men who work in the orchards of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., sometimes for 20 years or more.

This is Fraser’s first nomination and he shows no signs of slowing down on his movie-making career and how he can incorporate his passion into his teachings.

“As a professor at Durham, I’m always looking for the next thing so I can share them with my students, whether it’s a non-linear documentary, crowd sourcing or online collaborations,” he said. “I think my next project has to incorporate some new ways of working, just to keep things interesting!”