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Paramedic students volunteer at the Durham Region 2019 Ontario Parasport Games

From February 8 to 10, Durham Region hosted the 2019 Ontario Parasport Games in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, welcoming over 500 athletes, coaches, guides, and support personnel.

As athletes competed in 11 parasports at eight different venues across the region, 18 Durham College (DC) students and alumni from the Paramedic program in the School of Justice & Emergency Services stepped up to volunteer as first aid providers during the games.   

“The paramedic student and faculty volunteers from DC were professional, friendly, and inclusive throughout the games, and were excellent ambassadors for our community,” said Don Terry, co-chair of the Games Organizing Committee.   

“This was a wonderful opportunity for our students to participate in experiential learning while also giving back to the community,” added Jen Walker, a faculty member in the Paramedic program at DC. “It was terrific to see our students having fun, whether they were meeting athletes, cheering them on in their sports, or collaborating with other medical professionals to provide services as needed.”

Alongside experiences like this one, students in the Paramedic program are exposed to ongoing clinical and field placement opportunities during their time at DC, helping them become highly skilled first responders and compassionate caregivers who meet community members’ emergent and non-emergent health needs.

For more about the Durham Region 2019 Ontario Parasport Games, please visit their website or watch their 2019 celebration video.

Enactus DC hits milestone with Girls EnPower project

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.

Students’ strength and program pride shine at DC Justice Games VII

Students from the School of Justice & Emergency Services (JES) put their strength, speed and teamwork on display at the seventh annual Durham College (DC) Justice Games. Held at the Oshawa campus on March 13, the friendly competition brought together contenders from 10 JES programs, including alumni, to represent in seven events.

Beyond bragging rights, the Justice Games gives students the opportunity to showcase their training and network with professionals from Durham Regional Police Service, York Regional Police, Toronto Police Service, Town of Whitby Fire and Emergency Services and regional paramedics.

The event also brought the JES community together to remember and commemorate former Firefighter – Pre-service, Education and Training students Adam Brunt and Tasha Nickelchock. Most valuable player awards in each of their names were awarded to the students identified as demonstrating the highest levels of performance, leadership and sportsmanship over the course of the event.

This year’s MVP winners were Joel Campbell and Melanie Hope.

Students also took home prizes for first and second-place finishes in each event.

The winner of the Justice Cup, which is awarded based on the number of first and second-place finishes by competitors from the same program, was Police Foundations.

Students from following DC programs took part in this year’s event:

Fun on the ice with DC’s president in support of United Way

On March 12, the lobby of the Campus Ice Centre was filled with the smell of fresh popcorn and hot chocolate, for the enjoyment of all who came out in support of United Way Durham Region at the family skate with Durham College (DC) president Don Lovisa. He was joined by DC employees, students and members of the community.

The college has a longstanding history of supporting United Way through its annual campus campaign. This important organization provides funds to the network of health and social services agencies serving our community’s most vulnerable individuals and families.

The event saw Lovisa lace up his skates for the first time in 16 years as he led the way for a fun evening on the ice. While there were some first-time wobbly moves and impressive expert spins, the ultimate winner was United Way.

DC faculty recognized as community sports leader

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.

DC and DDSB sign MOU to increase transition and access programming for high school students

Durham College (DC) is pleased to share that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Durham District School Board (DDSB) to further partner on transitions, outreach and access programming for secondary school students. DC president Don Lovisa and Mohamed Hamid, superintendent of education for the DDSB, signed the MOU at the college’s Oshawa campus on March 7 with key leadership from both organizations present.

Under the agreement, DC and the DDSB will see an increase in communication and sharing of information and processes in order to support students and help create a smooth transition from high school to post-secondary studies.

Through greater access to DDSB schools, the college will also extend its RISE programming during key periods in the secondary school academic cycle to encourage students to pursue higher education. Part of the Ontario Post-Secondary Access & Inclusion Program (OPAIP), RISE stands for reach, include, support and elevate. Under the portfolio of the college’s Office of Student Diversity, Inclusion and Transitions (OSDIT), RISE supports current and prospective students who need assistance overcoming barriers that may be preventing them from considering, accessing or pursuing a post-secondary education. Supports include one-on-one coaching, mentoring and dynamic programming.

“This new agreement will help students be better informed and prepared for post-secondary education before they start the application process,” said Shauna Moore, OSDIT student success coach. “By becoming more aware of the doors that are open for them through transition programming, they will be ready to hit the ground running when they arrive at DC.”

The MOU will also allow for future experiential learning opportunities for DC students, strengthen working relationships with the DDSB and enhance diversity and accessibility practices at DC and the DDSB.

High school students get taste of campus life as DC hosts FIRST® Robotics Competition

While competing in the FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC) Ontario District Durham College (DC) event on March 2 and 3, high school students from across the province also got a first look at where they could be headed next while visiting the college’s Oshawa campus.

For the fifth year in a row, DC hosted more than 1,000 of the province’s brightest young minds, along with their mentors, family, friends and fellow robot enthusiasts, at the annual event. Competitors demonstrated their technological and engineering skills as they operated complex, 140-pound robots they had designed and built in only six weeks.

During the competition’s opening ceremonies, Marianne Marando, DC’s associate vice-president, Academic, shared additional campus highlights with attendees, including the upcoming opening of DC’s Esports Gaming Arena at the Oshawa campus and the work being done in the college’s AI Hub.

After two days of intensive battles, organized with the help of numerous, dedicated volunteers, the following teams comprising the Red Alliance were declared district champions:

  • Team 2220 MMRambotics
  • Team 610 Crescent Coyotes
  • Team 4783 RoboRavens

See all awards winners and results.


Students had a lot of fun while gaining real-world engineering experience, developing leadership skills and learning to work as a team under pressure and tight timelines.

Winners of the DC event now move on to the FIRST® Ontario Provincial Championship at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre in Mississauga, April 10 to 13, where they will compete for a spot at the World Championships that will be held in Detroit, Michigan, from April 24 to 27.

Learn more about FRC.

DC celebrates special connection between donors and students

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 partners with NEXT Canada to provide AI mentorship

Durham College (DC) has been selected by NEXT Canada, a national non-profit focused on increasing national prosperity by accelerating the development of high potential entrepreneurs and innovators, to provide vital connections between experienced Artificial Intelligence (AI) mentors and students enrolled in the newly launched NextED AI Business Strategy & Application Course. A pilot initiative for NEXT Canada, NextED is powered by Riff Learning, a spin-out company of MIT Media Lab, and is quickly establishing itself as Canada’s premier AI-adoption program for business.

“The profile of the Durham College Hub for Applied Research in Artificial Intelligence for Business Systems has been steadily rising since its launch a little over a year ago,” says Don Lovisa, president, DC. “To now be partnering with NEXT Canada and working alongside other AI experts from MIT and Oxford University, among others, is an incredible testament to our DC team and the work being done in our AI Hub.”

The Next ED AI Business Strategy & Application Course leads students through an intensive eight-week program focused on developing a disruptive AI innovation and learning hands-on techniques to apply AI to a specific business problem. In the last four weeks of the course, as participants develop a business plan for an AI solution, DC will support students by providing them access to mentors who are AI Hub industry partners.

“DC’s AI Hub mentors will bring expertise in really diverse sectors, including customer service, health, real estate, shipping and logistics, agriculture, digital media, finance and education,” says Debbie McKee Demczyk, dean of the college’s Office of Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. “Delivering these mentorship services as part of the NextED course capstone project is an exciting opportunity to further demonstrate and strengthen DC’s leadership in the Canadian AI ecosystem.”

The AI Hub at DC offers industry partners access to technical expertise, state-of-the-art facilities and platforms, and student talent, to help them uncover business insights while providing intelligent and autonomous solutions that increase their company’s productivity and growth.

DC students test their skills and collaborate in emergency simulation

On February 23 and 24, more than 175 Durham College (DC) students put their classroom and lab training into action and to the test in an intense, two-day emergency simulation exercise at the Oshawa campus.

Bringing together students and employees from the schools of Justice & Emergency Services, Health & Community Services and Media, Art & Design, as well as peers from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, the exercise followed a detailed script that saw volunteers simulate a mass-casualty emergency stemming from an explosion.

Unfolding in real-time, day one was dedicated to the emergency simulation while day two focused on mock trials generated from the previous day’s events. The exercise provided students with valuable experiential learning as well as a better understanding of how members of emergency services, health and social services, legal services and the media work together during an emergency.

Students from the following DC programs participated: