Zain Shafique is not your average college student. When his birth country of Pakistan was hit by floods, Shafique chose to volunteer with UNICEF to help victims. After aiding his countrymen, he decided to study abroad in a country with a much different culture and climate, a decision that turned out to be a great one.   

Since arriving at Durham College in 2012, he has been elected as the Board of Governors’ student representative; serves as an international student mentor and; hosts his own radio show on Riot Radio. All that on top of his academic studies in the college’s Computer Programmer Analyst program.

“The one and only factor that motivated me is my mindset of giving back to society as much as I can in order to make a positive difference,” said Shafique.

The focus of his radio show, Culture Shake with Zain, is to reach out to international students and raise their awareness of the activities and opportunities available to them at Durham College. Shafique encourages students to get out of their dorm rooms and take advantage of what the campus and surrounding area have to offer.

“I know that there is still a huge population of students that do not know about the different activities which are present on the campus,” said Shafique. “It is really beneficial for them to know how to get involved.”

While behind the microphone Shafique draws on the experience he obtained while working in Pakistan as part of UNICEF where he was part of Achay Dost, a radio show for the Youth of Pakistan. On Culture Shake, he stresses that international students need to embrace the diversity of the people and experiences that Canada has to offer and get out of their comfort zone and try new things. 

Lauren Toyota has had one wild ride since graduating from the Music Business Management (MBM) program in 2003. From hosting and producing a string of Vancouver-based television shows to interviewing celebrities on MuchMusic, Toyota has definitely been busy in the close to 10 years since leaving Durham College.

Breaking into the television industry isn’t an easy task, but starting in the right place always helps. For Toyota, who attributes a lot of her success to her instincts, personality and work ethic, Durham College was the start of a successful and exciting career.

“The practical components of the Music Business Management program, such as running music festivals, networking and being involved in all aspects of that, were beneficial to what I did as a television producer and host when I first started my career,” said Toyota. “It was just encouraging to have teachers who actively worked in the music industry leading by example and helping the students, especially myself, with networking and job opportunities even after graduating.”

Now, Toyota appears on air daily as a host for MuchMusic’s flagship show, NEW.MUSIC.LIVE. (NML). As the co-host of NML, Toyota conducts high-profile artist and celebrity interviews such as Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Will Ferrell and world-famous boy band One Direction; shoots field segments; travels across the globe for television, film  and music video on-set visits; researches assigned topics; writes scripts; and completes other pre-show preparation.

“The best part of my job is interviewing people and being on air everyday doing different things,” added Toyota. “No day is ever the same!”

The sky is the limit for this Durham College grad, who sees herself one day hosting her own show on a network in either Canada or the USA.

“School can provide you with great job placements and connections but you also have to make your own opportunities happen while in school,” added Toyota. “Don’t wait until after you graduate to start looking for work and make those calls. Keep up the momentum!”

The first graduating class of Durham College’s Digital Photography program presented an exhibition titled DC Vision at the Ajax Public Library on April 4.

The second-year students participated in the exhibit as part of their final project for their Field Trips and Visiting Lecturers’ class. The exhibition is designed to showcase a variety of photographic styles and genres using studio or environmental portraiture, street, landscape and still-life photography.

One of the college’s newest course offerings, the Digital Photography program is designed to prepare students for commercial success, allowing them to gain technical, aesthetic and critical thinking skills.

The exhibit will be on display until Thursday, April 18, during regular library hours. Please call 905.683.4000 for room viewing availability as the gallery space is occasionally used for library programming and may not be open to the public at all times.

The highly anticipated Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games (TO2015) won’t kick off until July of 2015 but the Games’ organizers are already urging community members to become a part of the nearly month-long athletic competition.

Students in the Sports Administration, Sport Management and Sport Business Management program welcomed two members of TO2015 to Durham College’s Oshawa campus on March 27 and listened as they enthusiastically described the elements and excitement involved with hosting and co-ordinating an event of this magnitude.

Ian Troop, CEO and Louise Lutgens, senior vice-president, Community and Cultural Affairs, were on-hand to not only describe what the games entail but how they can change the area around them.

“These Games get the whole community engaged,” said Troop. “That’s why they call it the people’s Games’, they’re not as formal and they give fans a chance to meet the athletes.”

Organizers expect 10,000 athletes from 41 countries taking part in 51 sports at more than 40 different venues. Some events will also serve as Olympic qualifiers for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

In addition, the event will generate 15,000 jobs as well as thousands of volunteer and internship opportunities – something that caught second-year Sport Management student Brian Stoute’s ear.

“With my graduation happening next year and the Games starting in 2015, it could present the opportunity for future employment with them,” said Stoute. “I think this visit is very important to meet (Troop and Lutgens) and create a network with them.”

“This is going to be a huge event and I would love to be involved in it.” 

The 2015 Pan Am Games will be held from July 10 to 26 while the Parapan Am Games will take place from August 7 to 14. While Toronto, Ontario is the host city, venues for the event stretch as far south as Welland, as far north as Minden Hills and as far east as Oshawa, where they will host boxing events at the General Motors Centre.

Ashleigh Graham, a graduate of the Legal Administration/Law Clerk program is a perfect example of planning out your future by using all available resources.

After obtaining an English degree, Graham felt she needed more education in order to find a rewarding career. She decided that the hands-on experience obtained from a college program that included an internship would give her an advantage over the competition when it came to applying for a job after graduation.

“I did my homework and looked at the successful hire rates of graduates and compared Durham College’s curriculum to other schools in Ontario,” said Graham. “In the end, I decided Durham College offered much more.”

Graham interned with the Town of Whitby’s Solicitors Office and at a small, private firm in the region as part of her program’s requirements, providing her with the opportunity to apply the knowledge she had learned in the classroom.

During her internship, Graham attended a job fair hosted by the college’s Legal Administration Club. Motivated to find her dream job, she met with representatives from McMillan LLP, a large legal firm located on Bay Street in Toronto, Ont. With her drive and passion, as well as the real-world experience obtained from Durham College, she landed a one-year contract with the firm before she had even graduated.

Graham is now a permanent employee at McMillan LLP and assists three of their lawyers in the Financial Services department.

Like many students graduating from high school, Caley Bedore’s first career path didn’t turn out to be the right one for her. While enrolled in a sports administration program at a university it became clear to Bedore that her love of creative writing was the direction she wanted her education – and ultimately her career path – to go.

Once she decided to follow her passion she had to find the right fit, both in terms of a school, and a program. That fit proved to be the Journalism – Print and Broadcast program at Durham College.

“I applied to a few different colleges for journalism and creative writing and I ended up choosing Durham College because it’s close enough to home, yet far enough from home, and when I came here to visit it just gave me a good feeling,” said Bedore. “The sense of hands-on learning that is going to work in the real world was so nice.”

While in the Journalism – Print and Broadcast program, Bedore discovered a new interest – television journalism. From this realization, she applied for and obtained an internship at CHEX Newswatch in Peterborough, Ontario.

Things continued to fall into place for Bedore and upon completion of her internship she was offered a permanent position at the station. She is now working as a videographer and has had the opportunity to anchor the news; produce shows; and forecast the weather.

“Durham College helped me get my foot in the door and gave me a grasp of what I had to do,” said Bedore.

For students in Durham College’s Sports Administration, Sport Management and Sports Business Management programs, it was a chance to meet one of Canada’s sports media titans. For Keith Pelley, it was a chance to dish about the Toronto Blue Jays.

The president and CEO of Rogers Media couldn’t contain his excitement about the upcoming baseball season, and shared his hopes with more than 60 students at the Oshawa campus on March 11.

Pelley, also the former president of Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium and former president of TSN, also divulged the four most important keys to achieving a job in the sports industry.

“The top four things you need to succeed at your job is work ethic, attitude, knowledge and intelligence,” said Pelley. “Since you’re already at college, you already have the knowledge and intelligence. So your work ethic and attitude is very important.”

“You have to be prepared to do anything – take the word ‘no’ out of your vocabulary.”

This advice especially rang true with Chase Hadden, a second-year Sports Administration student who knows that hard work can equal reward.

“What I took from it was that if you work harder than anybody else, they’ll look at you and notice that and consider you for a better position further down the road,” said Hadden.

Prior to joining Rogers in 2010, Pelley also served as president and CEO of the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts franchise with which he won a Grey Cup in 2004.

In addition to sharing stories about his passion for sports and his drive to succeed, he also answered a number of the students’ questions, ranging from resumé tips; sports broadcasting rights; and whether an NFL team would ever come to Toronto.

While stressing that the sports sector is highly competitive, he also told the audience that they should make sure it’s something they love to do.

“You’re going to spend more than 50 per cent of your life at your job so make sure you find something you’re passionate about. Do not live for the weekend.”

Durham College proudly announced recently that Virginia Harwood, a professor with the School of Justice & Emergency Services, has been awarded the College Sector Educator Award by the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE). She is being recognized for her efforts to promote and support the development of her peers with regard to teaching excellence. This includes helping to support and ensure the success of her fellow professors and students and the teaching and learning leadership she provides both in and outside of Durham College.

“On behalf of faculty, staff and students at Durham College, I extend my warmest congratulations to Virginia on this wonderful achievement,” said Don Lovisa, president, Durham College. “This national award is reflective of her strong commitment to seeking innovative ways to inspire excellence in her peers including innovative mentoring and coaching techniques and her desire to promote new curriculum delivery and teaching methods among her colleagues in order to ensure students have the best post-secondary experience possible during their time on campus.”

In addition to her role as a professor, Harwood, a 1987 alumna of the college’s Legal Administration/Law Clerk program, also developed the college’s Mediation – Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) one-year graduate certificate program in 2010, which she continues to teach in and co-ordinate. Designed for individuals with existing educational or industry experience, the program includes a hybrid delivery model that enables students to participate in online chats and assignments and use digital technologies to interact with guest speakers.

“I am truly honoured to have been nominated and selected as a recipient for the College Sector Educator Award,” said Harwood. “I am extremely proud to represent Durham College.”

Harwood joined the college in 2002 after spending 17 years working as a law clerk for a major Toronto law firm and as a sole practitioner working in civil litigation; family law; estates; legal research; and real estate. An avid lifelong learner, she is a member of the Institute of Law Clerks of Ontario; holds a qualified mediator designation from the ADR Institutes of Canada and Ontario; is an affiliate member of the Ontario Bar Association – ADR section; and is a volunteer member of the Board of Directors of the Durham Community Legal Clinic.

In addition to receiving the College Sector Educator Award, she was recognized with Durham College’s Vice-President, Academic Faculty Award for Academic Excellence in August 2011 and in 2012 was nominated for an Association of Canadian Community Colleges Teaching Excellence Award.  

Harwood holds an advanced diploma in Legal Administration/Law Clerk; a certificate in Adult Education; a Bachelor of Education in Adult Education; a certificate and advanced certificate in ADR; and is a part-time student in the Master of Education program at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. In addition, she volunteers on several committees; mentors new faculty; is co-facilitator of the Teaching in Community program; and established the college’s Campus Conflict Resolution Services.

Nominations for the STLHE College Sector Educator Award were received from educators across Canada.

Nominees asked to provide evidence of their own teaching excellence and participation in activities that support the teaching excellence of peers including student, peer and supervisor feedback; leading workshops; presenting at conferences; mentoring others; participating on academic committees; being active in academic associations; researching

and publishing related to teaching; and leading projects and program teams. Harwood will receive her award at the 2013 STLHE Conference in Cape Breton in June.

A national association of academics interested in the improvement of teaching and learning in higher education, STLHE’s membership is comprised of faculty as well as teaching and learning resource professionals from post-secondary education institutions. 

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