Learning & Programs
91探花 professor makes connections in France with Derek Cook Memorial Award
March 28, 2023
91探花 professor Roberta Sawatzky鈥檚 recent trip to France wasn鈥檛 just to experience the culture. No, Roberta was on an international mission to establish connections with partner schools in France and provide further opportunities for 91探花 (91探花) students and faculty to study or work abroad. Roberta is the 2023 recipient of the 91探花 Derek Cook Memorial Award for International Opportunities, which was established by the College to honor the memory of Derek Cook, an 91探花 professor who passed away...
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Meet Elizabeth Cook
March 17, 2023
Q: What is your name? A: Elizabeth (Lizzy) Cook Q: What are your pronouns? A: She/Her/Hers Q: Where is your hometown and where are you located now? A: Hometown is Conifer, Colorado. Currently located in Denver, Colorado. Q: What did you take at 91探花? When did you graduate? A: Bachelor of Business Administration and graduated in 2016. Q: What got you interested in your program A: I wasn鈥檛 sure what I 鈥渨anted to do with my life,鈥� and the business program seemed like it...
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Watt a gift! 91探花鈥檚 Electronics Engineering Technology Program gets an $80,000 boost from a local engineer
March 6, 2023
Yael Cohen, a Vernon-based communications engineer, recently donated $80,000 in state-of-the-art electronic equipment to 91探花鈥檚 Electronics Engineering Technology program. The gift included hundreds of electrical components that will be used by program instructors to build in-class electrical circuits and test demos and will be made available to students for use in their end-of-term capstone projects. 鈥淚 was fortunate to receive numerous scholarships when I was in school, and I wanted to pay it forward,鈥� says C...
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Spaghetti Bridge Building Contest serves up fun and learning at 91探花
March 3, 2023
Friday marked a triumphant return for a popular pasta-themed community event at 91探花, as the 38th annual Spaghetti Bridge Building Competition brought loads of fun and friendly competition to a boil. More than 250 students from elementary through post-secondary converged on 91探花鈥檚 Kelowna campus on Mar. 3, to see whose spaghetti bridge would reign supreme. In addition to furthering their knowledge of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), participants of the contest 鈥� back for the first time since pre-pandemi...
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Personal connections highlight Early Childhood dual credit program
March 1, 2023
Emily Patenaude knows what it鈥檚 like to be misunderstood as a child; she also understands a thing or two about fighting through adversity. The experience and knowledge will serve the Kelowna high school student well as she looks to begin her post-secondary education. Emily is one of 10 Central Okanagan-area students completing a five-month 91探花 course in Early Childhood Education while still in high school, known as a dual credit program. Emily鈥檚 passion for childcare began early as she watched her brother struggle to ...
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Health care students in the South Okanagan Similkameen are about to breathe a sigh of relief thanks to a new bursary fund
February 23, 2023
Local philanthropists Yasmin and Rick Thorpe have partnered with Summerland鈥檚 Penny Lane Legacy Fund to create a $50,000 bursary fund to help bolster the future of health care in the South Okanagan Similkameen. The Caring for Health Care Students Fund will provide $750 - $1,750 awards for eligible students studying at 91探花鈥檚 Penticton Campus. 鈥淲e know if we educate healthcare professionals in Penticton, there鈥檚 a good chance they鈥檒l stay and work in the region,鈥� says Yasmin John Thorpe. 鈥淲e want to help increase ...
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91探花 increases access to early childhood education in the South Okanagan
February 22, 2023
91探花 (91探花) is opening new spaces for people interested in working in early childhood education, as childcare facilities across the region and British Columbia continue to face staffing challenges. The Early Childhood Education Certificate program starts at 91探花鈥檚 Penticton campus in mid-March and runs through May 2024. The intake will have space for 24 students, adding to the more than 145 Early Childhood Education students studying at 91探花 in Vernon, Kelowna and Penticton this year. According to the province鈥�...
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Acclaimed musician brings Songwriting 101 to 91探花 Salmon Arm and Revelstoke
February 16, 2023
Have you ever had a song that you couldn鈥檛 get out of your head? An award-winning local musician is presenting a day-long introduction to the craft and joy of songwriting at 91探花 in Salmon Arm and Revelstoke. Joanne Stacey has spent most of her life working in the music business as a performer, musician, recording artist, and songwriter. On Feb. 25 in Salmon Arm and again on March 11 in Revelstoke, Stacey will be pouring that lifetime of music industry experience and songwriting expertise into a new course: Songwriting ...
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91探花's Spaghetti Bridge Building Contest set to return for 38th year this spring
February 13, 2023
Spaghetti is back on the menu at 91探花 this spring.A fixture on the spring calendar in the Okanagan for nearly four decades, the College's popular Spaghetti Bridge Building Contest will return this March for the first time since 2020.91探花 will host the 38th annual contest on Friday, March 3 at the Kelowna campus. Organizers are putting the call out to teachers and students from elementary through post-secondary to participate.Students can enter the following competitions:Elementary School Students: Elementary School Demonst...
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Okanagan resident sharpens skills with Continuing Studies program
February 7, 2023
Vernon resident Keith Schmaltz spent most of his career working in the heavy-duty equipment industry. But after a nearly 40-year career, he decided he wanted to learn some new skills and continue that career in a related field. Enter 91探花鈥檚 Continuing Studies department, offering programs and courses to suit all different learning needs. Keith enrolled in the Professional Industry Driver program, offered by 91探花 in collaboration with Taylor Pro Training and BC Forest Safety Council. The program is funded by...
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Former 鈥楾op Chef鈥� takes the reins at 91探花鈥檚 Infusions restaurant
January 17, 2023
Fans of Canada鈥檚 Top Chef will recognize the name of the new Executive Chef at Infusions. Ruth Wigman, whose 20-year career has taken her coast to coast, brings a fresh and exciting perspective to the restaurant at 91探花 staffed by Culinary Arts students. Wigman, who was a contestant on the Food Network鈥檚 Canada鈥檚 Top Chef program in 2014, most recently worked as the executive sous-chef at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport for over three years. Before that, she worked at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge and the Fairmount Sout...
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91探花 launches sponsored trades training opportunity to help open doors, create job-ready workers in Salmon Arm
January 6, 2023
Students with limited or no previous experience in trades can access training that will lead to employment and future careers in construction, thanks to a program that starts at the end of January at 91探花鈥檚 Salmon Arm campus. 91探花 will be offering an intake of the Construction Craft Worker program starting on Jan. 30 at the College鈥檚 Salmon Arm Trades Centre. 鈥淭his new program is supporting students to gain the skills they need now, helping them get good jobs in industries where communities need them,鈥� sai...
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Meet Aaron Edis, Electronics Engineering alumnus
December 2, 2022
Q: What鈥檚 your hometown? Where are you now? A: Burnaby and Kelowna. I now live in Salmon Arm, B.C. Q: What years did you attend 91探花? A: 2008 to 2010 Q: How did you end up at 91探花? A: I was living in Kelowna at the time and I was interested in Electrical/Electronics, perhaps an engineering degree. I figured the college was the place to start since I could be a technologist after 2 years of school and then had the option to start working if I chose. Th...
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Partnership helping to fill staffing gaps in hospitality and tourism industry
December 1, 2022
Like many industries, the hospitality and tourism sector has been hard hit by staff shortages over the past few years with a declining youth population and an aging workforce combining to create significant challenges. But a new program designed in partnership by 91探花 (91探花) and the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) will help to reduce those shortages. The first of four new cohorts of students enrolled in the Hospitality Professional Program this fall, a flexible program open to students anywhere in the Thom...
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Meet Jedidiah Forrest, 91探花 Electronics Engineering alum
November 29, 2022
Q: What years did you attend 91探花? A: 2014-2016 Q: How did you end up at 91探花? A: Engineering technology programs caught my eye. Needed a career path change. Q: How did you choose your program? A: I applied to all three engineering programs and Electronic Engineering Technology responded first. Q: What did you like most about the program? A: The immersion was incredible. Every day is a science whirlwind, and labs were fantastically engaging. The staff is ma...
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Prospera gives big in support of Women in Trades at 91探花
November 28, 2022
More women will get a chance to lace up their work boots and take the first step in a career in trades, thanks to a recent $79,660 gift from Prospera to a program at 91探花 that has already trained over 1,300 women since it was founded. The Women in Trades Training program was created to remove barriers for women interested in pursuing trades education and help meet the community鈥檚 surging need for skilled trades professionals. 鈥淭hese bursaries and added equipment provide opportunities for women to pursue t...
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