Durham College (DC) is proud to announce that Ryan Cullen, an alumnus of the college’s Horticulture – Food and Farming program and now its field co-ordinator, received the John Dobson Enactus Fellow of the Year at the 2018 Enactus Canada National Exposition, an annual forum to address social issues through entrepreneurial action. The honour recognizes the outstanding contributions of faculty members as mentors to students involved in the Enactus teams at their respective colleges.

Held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in May, the exposition also saw the Enactus Durham College team showcase its Grassroots project, an outdoor education food facility – including a solar greenhouse created in a converted school portable – to create an accessible food and farming hub in Durham Region. In partnership with St. Mary High School in Pickering, the project aims to educate elementary and secondary school students about food-related issues.

Enactus DC co-presidents Eleanor Lau and Greg Barnes, students in the Music Business Management and Electromechanical Engineering Technology programs respectively, along with Justin Pantaleo, Marketing – Business Administration; Stephen McMahon, Entrepreneurship and Small Business; and Tyler Simpson, Marketing – Business – Transfer to UOIT Bachelor of Commerce (Hons), represented DC at both the regional and national expositions this year.

Enactus is an international non-profit organization, with a global network of 36 countries, dedicated to inspiring students to use the power of entrepreneurial action to transform lives and shape a better, more sustainable world.

Enactus was introduced to DC in 2016 through FastStart, the college’s entrepreneurial training program, to create a club of entrepreneurial student leaders looking to make a positive economic and social impact on society.

In Enactus DC’s first year of operation, the team started two projects. In addition to Grassroots, Project YO (Youth Opportunities) aims to help at-risk youth in Durham Region not only bridge into college, but stay in college and become successful post-secondary students.