In 2015, Durham College (DC) Horticulture – Food and Farming first-year student Alisha Kingsley found a job on Kijiji. Hoping to earn some experience in her chosen field before starting at DC, she connected with Jason Atkins and Brenda Brown, two Whitby residents who wanted to grow and enjoy home-grown food with friends and family throughout the year. The duo planned to build a greenhouse that utilized a 760-gallon aquaponics system to feed crops placed in raised beds, and Kingsley was brought in to ensure its success.

She was appointed to supervise every aspect of the project including construction operations and material, installation of the water and feeding systems and daily maintenance and care of each crop. It was a task she happily accepted and one that has proven to be an ongoing challenge, making it the perfect way for her to hone her skills and master her trade. Kingsley has faced a number of setbacks that only a project like this could present – excavating the pit where the greenhouse now stands took 100 hours alone – but she views every one of these experiences as an opportunity to learn.

“My DC education has run parallel with the practical experience from the ‘mini farm’, and my main goal in both is to learn,” said Kingsley. “I’ve learned about the families of crops, their needs, and what I need to do to grow delicious food.”

Construction of the greenhouse was completed some time ago, but Kingsley’s work hasn’t finished. Troubleshooting occupies a large portion of her time as she cares for each individual crop, monitoring its needs and special nutrition requirements and maintaining the aquaponics system that feeds the greenhouse. As the warm weather begins to arrive, Kingsley must be on the lookout for pests and disease that could damage the crops, while her upcoming summer project with Atkins and Brown will shortly bring the added challenge of leaving the greenhouse and growing plants outdoors.

“Alisha was the best thing that could have happened to this project. We all underestimated what it would take to build a greenhouse,” remarked Brown. “One scoop of dirt, one piece of wood, one pane of glass at a time, it came together. Alisha’s ability to problem solve has proven to be invaluable in the flexibility required to get it done.”

Using all the knowledge she gained through this project and her first year of studies, Kingsley is working with Atkins and Brown to create a permaculture garden complete with fruit trees and perennial crops, doing so in such a way that ensures the plants grow harmoniously and no materials are wasted.

“After finishing my first year I now understand all aspects of my due diligence as a farmer and I can make educated decisions building a business of my own. Making the decision to attend DC has set my farming plans in motion,” she said.

Students enrolled in Durham College’s (DC) art programs prepared a glowing display for the ninth annual DC student work exhibit at the Whitby Station Gallery. The exhibition ran until May 22, with a special reception and awards presentation on May 19. Admission to the Station Gallery is free and open to all lovers of art in the community.

This year’s display featured more than 200 stunning works across a variety of mediums, spanning all three years of DC’s Fine Arts – Advanced program, and the one-year Foundations in Art and Design program. Student volunteers joined Fine Arts program co-ordinator Sean McQuay and gallery curator Olexander Wlasenko in greeting nearly 250 guests during the opening weekend and hundreds more over the course of the show.

Shows from previous years have been very popular with the public, making the student gallery a fantastic way for DC students to show their creativity and talent to the community. Every year, the event proves to be one of the best retention and recruitment tools available to each of the participating programs by showing students just how far their ability and enthusiasm will take them.

DC’s Foundations in Art and Design program acts as a stepping stone for students, introducing them to basic techniques and principles of aesthetic appeal, allowing the choice to branch into any aspect of visual art. Similarly, the Fine Arts – Advanced program offers a wide range of knowledge in visual arts by encouraging students to experiment with a variety of mediums, materials and techniques, giving budding artists the confidence and skills required to lead a successful career in arts and visual communication.

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) recently selected June MacDonald-Jenkins, a Nursing program faculty member, to help develop its standardized licensing exams for entry-level registered and practical nurses (RN and PN).The Nursing program is offered collaboratively by Durham College and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology.

MacDonald-Jenkins participated in the NCSBN’s National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) item (exam question) writing panel March 7 through 10 in Chicago, Illinois.

“It was an honour to take part in the NCLEX Item Writing panel,” said MacDonald-Jenkins. “This was a wonderful opportunity to network with other nursing professionals on a national and international level, and to demonstrate the University of Ontario Institute of Technology’s and Durham College’s commitment to preparing students for the NCLEX exam.”

Nursing boards in the U.S. and Canada use the NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN to determine whether a candidate is prepared to enter the nursing field after graduating from an accredited nursing program.

Each year, hundreds of nurse educators, clinicians and managers help create the exam by participating in development panels. The NCSBN selects qualified volunteer applicants based on experience working with entry-level nurses, clinical specialty and nursing expertise to fill the following positions:

• Item writers: Create the questions administered in the exams.
• Item reviewers: Examine the questions the item writers create.

Canadian nurses represent 20 per cent of the volunteers invited to participate.

Volunteers are approved by their provincial/territorial regulatory body. The panels take place throughout the year in Chicago.

Durham College’s (DC) student newspaper, The Chronicle, was awarded second place in the General Excellence category for college and university newspapers at the annual Better Newspapers Awards gala, sponsored by the Ontario Community Newspapers Association (OCNA).

“We are thrilled our students have been honoured for the high quality of their journalism,” said Brian Legree, professor and co-ordinator of the Journalism – Web Print and Journalism – Broadcast and Electronic Media programs at DC.

 The gala, held on April 22 in Vaughan, Ont., marks the 17^th time since 1986 that The Chronicle has been recognized by the OCNA with a General Excellence award. A variety of categories were used to critique each newspaper including overall design, front page, quality of content and diversity. Competition judge Patricia Lonegran credited The Chronicle’s students and employee advisors for producing an excellent newspaper.

“Readers receive a mix of relevant news, features and profiles,” wrote Lonegran. “The paper is well laid out with a clean design and good use of space. The Chronicle also includes well thought out editorials, with reasoned local opinion relevant to the reader, something that seems lacking in many of the entries.”

The Chronicle has been a source of information and entertainment for the campus community for the past 43 years, and continues to spread the news to students and employees.

For more information on The Chronicle or to read the latest stories, visit http://chronicle.durhamcollege.ca/.

And the best place in Canada to find a job is…Oshawa!

That’s the latest news from the Bank of Montreal, which ranked Canada’s major cities for its annual Regional Labour Market Report Card and placed Oshawa at the top of the list in terms of job creation; a jump of 27 spots compared to its 2015 ranking. Although historically known as an automotive city, Oshawa has blossomed into an education and health science hub in recent years, with Durham College (DC) making a significant contribution to the city’s improved economic climate.

DC is proud to be a part of the Oshawa community and to be playing a major role in the city’s continued growth and development. As home to the college’s largest campus and with more than 1,700 full- and part-time employees, Durham College is one of the largest employers in Oshawa and Durham Region.

At the same time, DC brings much more than just direct economic benefits to the communities where it operates. The college serves as focal point for new ideas, entrepreneurship and skills training. As a result, Oshawa and its neighbouring communities get the benefits of DC’s job-ready graduates, trained by industry leaders to take on the challenges of today’s new economy.

Economic activity in Oshawa and the surrounding area continues to grow. The upcoming refurbishment of the Darlington nuclear reactor, the expansion of highway 407 and the growing numbers of small and medium-sized businesses taking advantage of lower operating costs all provide opportunities for DC’s graduates to settle in Oshawa once their education is complete.

As well, DC will be making its own contribution to Oshawa’s growth in the coming months with the construction of the new Centre for Collaborative Education (CFCE), which will replace the Simcoe building on the college’s Oshawa campus. With funding from the Government of Ontario and private sources, the new centre will feature state-of-the-art classrooms and learning environments, while housing DC’s Aboriginal Student Centre and the Entrepreneurship Centre, including the Spark Centre.

As it prepares to celebrate its 50^th anniversary in 2017, Durham College looks back with pride at its contributions to the communities it serves and looks forward confidently to a prosperous future for Oshawa and Durham Region.