Each year, the Women Centre of Grey & Bruce Inc., has displays set up in schools around the Owen Sound area. This display has been to the Owen Sound and Orillia campuses and has received a great response from the students there. The displays are a tribute to the women who have lost their lives due to domestic violence at the hands of their intimate partner. For every woman and child who has died since 1995 in Ontario, a pair of shoes is dedicated, along with a brief description of how their lives were ended. 

The exhibition is intended to improve the awareness of violence toward women. Every year, the list grows with several new names of women, and often their children, who are caught in the crossfire of an abusive relationship. This display raises awareness to more people to try and create change.

Sports Day gives students and staff a chance to get to know one another, be active, work together, and enjoy sportsmanship.

Events included team pyramid building, tug of war, volleyball, three-legged races, ultimate chicken, and an obstacle course. Students enjoyed a pizza lunch and prepared for the team cheer contest. It is a tradition on Sports Day that the team with the best cheer receives the “cheer belt

Students won prizes donated by area businesses. The day was a success and the weather was perfect. All students left with a prize, a positive attitude, and smiles on their faces.

The 12-week (480-hour) Georgian College course prepares students for employment in the field of emergency communications and is designed to assist them in becoming proficient in call taking, dispatching, 911 and computer aided dispatch (CAD) duties.

Successful completion of the program will prepare students for a career in police, fire or ambulance dispatching, and will also be beneficial in all areas of call centre employment.

“Public safety communications is a fast-growing, financially rewarding and ever-changing career,” says Ron Welbourn, program co-ordinator. “Agencies are constantly seeking hard working, qualified people to fill vacant positions. Our program is designed to assist students as well as meet industry demand.”

The program is a great way to fast track into a new career; other similar programs can take up to two years to complete. And all subjects are 100 per cent job-related. Students also have the opportunity to take calls in a simulated environment, so they can gain the skills and confidence they need to be job-ready right after graduation.

The College also offers other one-day professional development courses designed to offer current communicators opportunities to expand on their knowledge of public safety communications. These include, but are not limited to, stress mastery, taking suicide calls, hostage negotiation, domestic violence, police incident command and fire incident command. These critical call management days are included within this course.

Students also benefit from a career day with fire, police and ambulance personnel, who will talk with candidates and review their resumés, etc.

Public Safety Communications Professional is being offered in conjunction with Proven Ways. More than 10,000 students have received training through the Georgian and Proven Ways partnership since 2001. A Georgian College certificate is awarded upon successful completion. Course cost is $8,593.54. The next intake runs Nov. 8 to Dec. 16, 2010 and restarts Jan. 10 to Feb. 18, 2011.

For more information, contact Ron Welbourn at (705) 325-2740, ext. 3088, 1-800-525-2705, by e-mail at info@provenways.ca or visit www.provenways.ca .

This program is eligible for Second Career Strategy funding.

 As part of the review process, a provincial audit team interviewed instructors and program co-ordinators in both a new and a long-term Georgian program to assess the quality of each. This article focuses on the Child and Youth Worker program, established at Georgian in the fall of 2006.

Child and Youth Worker, a three-year advanced diploma program at Georgian’s Orillia Campus, provides students with the knowledge and skills to support children and youth with social, emotional and behavioural challenges.

 Instructors interviewed by the PQAPA audit team talked about all aspects of the program, from its development to how they ensure student success.

“We continually observe issues and trends occurring in child and youth work and listen to our stakeholders, which include students and community partners/potential employers, to ensure the program turns out graduates capable of assuming work in the demanding field,” says Kathleen Cameron, program co-ordinator.

 They also elaborated on the deeper meaning behind establishing the Child and Youth Worker program.

 ”In addition to being instructors in the program, we have a deep connection to child and youth work and are committed to helping our students succeed,” says Kathleen. “There are so many examples of how our faculty members put their heart and soul into providing students with quality learning experiences, it’s hard to pick just one. We have a special affinity for youth and truly want our students to have a positive, enriching experience.”

 Instructors’ enthusiasm for their work affects students as well. They regularly give back to their community and participate in a number of activities throughout the year, including organizing the College’s annual participation in Night in the Cold to raise awareness of poverty and homelessness in central Ontario.

 Students in the first graduating class have done well for themselves – many of them were snatched up by local employers before they graduated.

When the Child and Youth Worker program was first established, instructors and program co-ordinators hoped to have enough students to fill one intake. In fact, there were so many interested applicants, the College added a second section. Demand continued and in January 2008 the program established a January intake. This fall there will be approximately 225 students in the program.

 The PQAPA is a provincial standard for college post-secondary program quality assurance. It supports the responsibility of each college to manage the quality of its own programs and is intended to review the existing quality assurance practices in place at each college.

Inset: Scott Grant is a graduate of the Child and Youth Worker program at the Orillia Campus.

Karen Bell

The Order of Orillia, established in 2001, recognizes those who have enriched the lives of others and contributed to the well-being of the community through their achievements.

Karen’s volunteer efforts have focused on youth and those with special needs. These include organizing a task force of students in the Justice and Public Safety Institute (JPSI) and CYW programs at Georgian who actively volunteer in the community and implement what they see as important initiatives in communities, locally, nationally and internationally.

Some of her other major volunteer endeavours include:

• Simcoe County Therapeutic Riding for Developing Equestrianship (STRIDE), a horseback-riding program for individuals with physical and developmental challenges.
• Photo Voice, a therapeutic photography program for at-risk youth to express their feelings through photography.
• Black Light Theatre, a therapeutic drama and music program through which youth express their thoughts and feelings about local and international issues that concern them.
• Play Works, a community partnership-building initiative, spearheaded by Georgian College, to make the community child and youth friendly.
• Restorative Justice, an alternative to sentencing for youth in conflict with the law.

“There’s never a ‘me’ when it comes to these things, only a ‘we’,” says Karen. “I can’t express how grateful I am and how much of an honour it has been to be involved with so many incredible people, students and community members who have been equally passionate and committed to the programs initiated in the community.”

Mary O’Farrell-Bowers represented the Campus and its students as the “celebrity dipper” for this year’s Polar Bear Dip.

She has also worked hard to fundraise, because while it’s an extremely fun event, supporting the two worthy charities that will benefit is also serious work. O’Farrell-Bowers raised more than $4,000 for Telecare Orillia and the Orillia Youth Ladies Slo-Pitch League.

“I’m sure there would be warmer ways to make this contribution,” says O’Farrell-Bowers. “Still, I am very proud to represent our Campus in the Polar Bear Dip. This is one opportunity for Georgian to give back because we recognize that the community supports us in numerous ways.”

In particular, she refers to more than 1,100 work placements created for Georgian students every year. Almost all of these are located in Orillia and area, and wouldn’t happen without the ongoing partnership of businesses and employers across the region.

The Orillia Campus has a long tradition of supporting worthy community causes. A few years ago, someone on Campus tried to make a list detailing the community involvement of all staff and students. It went on for seven pages.

“I think it’s great that our Dean is leading the Polar Bear Dip, because she’s supporting two charities,” says Emily Charron. As a current member of the Orillia Students’ Administrative Council (SAC), and incoming president, Charron has been involved in numerous campus fundraising events. “Just last week, we hosted our annual charity gala and raised almost a thousand dollars for the Orillia Youth Centre. Last year, the proceeds went to Jubilee House,” she says.

O’Farrell-Bowers herself is no stranger to community fundraising. Last May, after only a few months in the Dean’s position, she shaved her head to raise money for Cops for Cancer. That effort raised several thousand dollars.

Mitchell teaches in the Communicative Disorders Assistant program; part of Georgian’s University Partnership Centre. Her story provides a clear example of the major economic impact the College has on Orillia and area.

In her first few months in the City, Mitchell bought a condo in Orillia, hired local painters to redecorate, and purchased all new lighting and furniture from local stores. It was only the beginning.

“I’ve gradually managed to move all of my services to Orillia,” she says. “I have my car serviced here and a local accountant now does my taxes. I’ve found an esthetician in Orillia, and a cleaning woman. I have a local dentist and this week I have an appointment with an Orillia optometrist to get my eyes checked.”

All of these businesses benefit from Mitchell’s employment at Georgian. Multiply that effect by the spending of numerous staff on the Orillia Campus, not to mention the student spending which has an even greater economic impact, and it all adds up.

That’s the conclusion of a study just completed by Dr. Chris Sarlo of the School of Business and Economics at Nipissing University. He calculates that Georgian’s Orillia Campus contributes $22 million every year to the economy of Orillia and the immediately surrounding area.

And the estimate is a conservative one because it only considers the spending of staff and full-time students who actually live in the Orillia area. Commuters, who would spend mostly in their home communities, aren’t included in the study. Neither are part-time students because they generally already live in the area.

Sarlo does include a percentage of benefits spent locally – Mitchell’s trips to the dentist and optometrist are an example. He also includes money the College spends locally on supplies and services, and the spending of parents and other visitors who come for preview days or convocation.

Sarlo adds a multiplier effect of 1.5 per cent to his calculation, because all of this spending generates further ‘rounds’ of income and spending within the community. For example, Mitchell’s accountant will go out to dinner at a local restaurant. Her auto mechanic will buy shoes at a downtown store.

By Sarlo’s calculation, the multiplier effect means the Orillia Campus of Georgian College, “is responsible for a total of 174 full-time jobs in the community, 174 jobs that would not be there but for the existence of the Orillia Campus.” His report concludes, “The Orillia Campus of Georgian College contributes significantly to the local Orillia economy . . . This is $22 million that would be taken out of the local economy if the Orillia Campus did not exist.”

Mitchell is happy to make that economic contribution, but that’s not what brought her here. In North Bay, she was a speech language pathologist who provided work placements for the Georgian students she now teaches. They were great ambassadors for the Sunshine City.

“I had a really good feeling for Orillia before I ever moved here,” she says. “The students always spoke very highly about Georgian, the Orillia Campus in particular and the City of Orillia in general. That’s why I was interested in the job when it was posted. I knew the quality of the students and I respected their opinions. I knew about the waterfront and Mariposa Market and Theo’s before I ever came to Orillia!”

You can’t put a price tag on that.

Each year, the students spend countless hours organizing bake sales and other events for animal shelters and rescue organizations that partner with the Veterinary Technician program.

Last year, the students raised more than $800 from their fundraising events.

Thanks to their hard work, and the generous support of the College community, they also collected a large assortment of cat and dog food, disinfectant supplies, Canadian Tire money, cat litter, toys, treats and more.

The money and supplies are greatly needed for local animal shelters and rescue organizations to care for the animals in their care. They rely strictly on donations from the public until the animals can be placed into permanent homes.

This article begins a new series of monthly columns focusing on the Orillia Campus of Georgian College. It seems fitting to begin with a visit to the Veterinary Technician program.

When I drop in, two second-year students have their hands full working with two very exuberant shepherd-mix puppies.

Since arriving from an animal shelter near North Bay, the puppies have undergone full physical examinations, including blood and urine tests, performed by the students. Today they are being taught to walk on a leash.

Nicole Shellswell of Oro-Medonte is with a puppy named Lulu.

“We try to socialize them more, exercise them, teach them basics like “sit” and “stay”, she explains, while at the same time trying to prevent Lulu from wriggling from her arms.

The partnership with independent animal shelters across central Ontario is a win-win for both the shelters and the College.

“During their three-week stay with us the animals receive complete physical exams and training,” says veterinary technician program co-ordinator Tine Curran. “Students put in practice everything they’ve been learning in the classroom, from animal husbandry skills, to lab-work, to record-keeping.”

At the same time, the work helps to make the animals more adoptable. When they return to their shelters, they’re more likely to find permanent homes.

Since its inception in 2003, the veterinary technician program has become one of Georgian’s most popular. The  new facility on the Orillia Campus has already undergone one major renovation and expansion, just a few years after opening. Every year, 60 new students are welcomed into the two-year program; only a fraction of the 600 who apply.

“There are a number of reasons for the popularity,” says Curran. “Certainly having the new modern facility and equipment is a draw. We also have fantastic and consistent staff – most have been here from the beginning. One of our faculty members is actually a graduate of our first class.”

It’s a measure of the programs success that its students have twice won Georgian’s Governor-General’s award. The award is presented annually to the full-time student with the highest grade average from all programs across all seven Georgian campuses.

Georgian’s Veterinary Technician program is also the only one in Canada promising two semesters of co-operative work experience.

“Often, the second co-op turns into a full-time job when the student graduates,” says faculty member Megan Harris. “The strength of our graduates is tied to their real experience and the co-op placements allow them to demonstrate their competencies.”

Working at the Orillia Campus clinic is also a mandatory part of the students’ education. Whenever there are animals in residence, there must be students to care for them, which means everyone takes turns on evening and weekend shifts to clean, exercise and care for the homeless pets.

The clinic can’t provide services to the public, but the veterinary care provided to the shelter animals operates under the same standards as a regular veterinary clinic. The on-campus clinic is also accredited as a “Good Animal Practice” facility by the Canadian Council on Animal Care.

For most students like Nicole, this program is also a labour of love.

“It’s always a learning experience and I do love the animals,” she says. “Right now, I want to take Lulu home with me. I know I can’t, of course, but I’m happy that my work with her means she’ll have a better chance of finding a home with someone who can care for her.”

PHOTO: (l to r) Veterinary Technician students Nicole Shellswell with Lulu and Rebecca Buck with Hopper.

Join us at Open House Nov. 14

Here’s your opportunity to visit Georgian College’s Barrie, Orillia, Owen Sound and Midland campuses and meet faculty, co-ordinators and/or deans.

Come along for a campus tour – led by our teams of Peer Ambassadors.

Join us any time between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Sat., Nov. 14. Just drop by and explore:

• Academic programs, including full- and part-time
• Alumni services and student services
• Admissions criteria
• Housing and residence life
• Answers to all your questions regarding OSAP, bursaries, scholarships, awards and general financial needs
• Athletic facilities
• Campus tours, interactive demonstrations, prizes and much more

In Barrie, register at the University Partnership Centre entrance.

In Midland, please register at the main entrance.

In Orillia, register in the upper foyer.

In Owen Sound, register at the front entrance.

For more information, call 705-722-1560 or send an e-mail inquire@georgianc.on.ca.