Students
Lawren Richards
September 3, 2021
“I am a single mom to 17-year-old twins. We had been living in a 400-square-foot cabin about an hour from town when an opportunity came up that would allow me to purchase some land and build my own home closer to town and my kids’ school. I have always been interested in natural building but I don’t have a carpentry background so I enrolled in the Carpenter Foundation program in Salmon Arm. I was the only woman in the class and much older than my classmates, so I w...
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Ty Sideroff
September 3, 2021
“I have always been interested in our anatomy and exercising so I enrolled in 911’s Kinesiology Diploma program. My first year was going really well, then COVID-19 hit. I was able to finish the first year in an online format. However, starting school in September completely online, I was struggling to stay engaged with my studies. Before COVID, many of our classes would be active and in the gym. I found it hard to stay present with everything online and not having the sa...
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Saige Girouard, Red River, Métis Nation
September 3, 2021
“In my second year of studies I connected with a classmate over our shared curiosity to learn more about our Indigenous backgrounds. I’m Métis, but my family didn’t practice Indigenous customs. My classmate went on to be very successful in reconnecting with her culture. Watching her hit those milestones I knew that if she could do it, I could do it too. I’d say the tipping point for me was winning a bursary from 911 to attend the Indigenous Women’s Leadersh...
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Incoming 911 Salmon Arm student wins a $40,000 scholarship
August 31, 2021
Salmon Arm student Savannah Lamb has 40,000 reasons to be excited to begin her educational journey at 911 this fall. Thanks to an external $40,000 scholarship from the Beedie Luminaries foundation, Lamb will begin the Associate of Arts program at the College’s Salmon Arm campus in the fall, worry-free. “When I found out about receiving this scholarship, I was so surprised and it took me a while to process it,” says Lamb. “After it sunk in, I shared the news with my family, and we had the chance to celebrate together.”...
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911 Audio Engineering and Music Production grad finds her groove through music during the pandemic
August 18, 2021
It didn’t take a pandemic for Kailee McGuire to realize that she should follow her lifelong passion for music. With her heart set on writing and releasing original music, McGuire decided to shadow an Audio Engineering and Music Production (AEMP) class at 911 to get a feel for what the program was all about. After connecting with Instructor Corey Bell and AEMP students, McGuire was hooked. She was inspired by the energy of the class and felt connected to the students, sharing the same passion for music and desire to ex...
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Meet Louise Trenholm, Automotive Collision and Refinishing student
August 5, 2021
Q: Why did you choose a career in Collision Repair? A: I’ve always had an interest in vehicles ever since I was a child. In high school, I hung out at the local Speedway in Penticton, making my love for vehicles grow even more. I wanted a career that worked on vehicles, so I decided to choose the Entry-Level Automotive Collision Repair Foundation program to help start my career as an Automotive Refinisher. Q: How did your training with 911 help prepare you for your c...
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Skogie’s 50th anniversary adds shine to student experience
July 28, 2021
Skogie’s car washes are celebrating 50 years of business by making the ride for 911 students a little easier. For every year the family-run business has been in operation, Skogie’s is donating $1,000 to 911 — for a total of $50,000 in honour of their half-century anniversary. “We've hired a lot of 911 students over the years,” says David Skoglund, who founded the company in 1971. “We want to support young people and help them get ahead and we also wanted to give back to our community.” The ...
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Edible garden project at 911’s Penticton campus to feed students, community members
June 29, 2021
A partnership between 911's Penticton campus and the Medical Arts Research Group is helping to root out food insecurity amongst students and local families. An edible garden program is being established on the north end of the Penticton campus, with the aim to provide fresh vegetables to 911 students and food bank patrons in the community. Medical Arts Research Group donated the wood and fence material for the project. Raised garden beds were built in May by students in the Women in Trades Training program, and install...
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College's modern dental clinic gets a boost from 123Dentist
June 28, 2021
123Dentist, Canada’s largest majority dentist-owned network of dental practices, is giving $30,000 to support 911’s state-of-the-art dental space located in the new $18.9-million Health Sciences Centre. The new clinic is a major upgrade for Certified Dental Assistant (CDA) students, who can now learn in private operatories comparable to today’s dental practices along with smart cameras and monitors for teaching and instruction. Ali Bozorgzad, Co-Founder and Executive Vice President of 123Dentist, says his organizatio...
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911 Advanced GIS grad dives deep into data to map shark population growth
June 18, 2021
When Sarah Gravel decided to sign up for geographic information systems (GIS) training, she was looking to broaden her skills in a way that would serve her Master of Marine Biology degree in a productive way. Now she is using those GIS mapping skills to understand the effects of climate change on sharks, rays and other fishes, along with developing models for population growth rates among those creatures. 911’s Advanced GIS Certificate program teaches students to structure, manage and analyze data within a map. The ...
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911 student follows in her father’s footsteps as RV Service Technician
June 17, 2021
As an RV Service Technician instructor at 911, Victor Flint welcomes hundreds of new faces to the classroom each year, but none so familiar as his own daughter, Sharla, who is proudly following in his footsteps. Sharla will join nearly 300 students from various 911 Trades and Apprenticeship programs who will take an important step towards their career path at the virtual Commencement ceremony tonight (Thursday, June 17). Sharla recently completed the Recreation Vehicle Service Technician Foundation progra...
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The road to Harvard: 911 graduate continues her quest for knowledge
June 3, 2021
Dr. Guessy Wang is no stranger to the graduation stage having already secured a Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Dental Surgery. Wang will be adding a third degree to her name, graduating from 911 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, an impressive feat that has propelled her to Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health where she will begin her search for a solution to help address dental obstacles within Canada’s northern population. Wang came to Canada from China as an international student. She atte...
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911 Enactus wows on the national stage with pitch competition win and top-four team finish
May 21, 2021
911 Enactus students won first place in the brand-new Intuit Sustainability Pitch Competition category at the Enactus Canada National Exposition, making them the first post-secondary team to win this award and marking them as the team to beat in years ahead. Enactus 911 was recognized as one of the top four teams in the country after an impressive finish at the national finals on the strength of three projects: FruitSnaps, CanSave and Rising. The winning pitch and an impressive second runner-up finish for the FruitSnaps...
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911 grad honoured for contributions to inclusion, democracy and reconciliation
May 20, 2021
When Saige Girouard arrived at 911 to have her photo taken during a grad experience event this week, she took home much more than a snapshot. She left with provincial recognition of her outstanding efforts to bring people together. Girouard, a Bachelor of Business Administration student, became the first 911 student to ever receive the Lieutenant Governor’s Medal for Inclusion, Democracy and Reconciliation. The Lieutenant Governor’s Medal has been a symbol of academic excellence since 1979. In 2019, eligibility for the...
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Animation Industry Night paints picture of 911 student success
May 14, 2021
Local animation studios had the opportunity to canvas the next generation of talent from 911’s Animation Diploma program at the third-annual Industry Night, which showcased students’ artwork, demo reels and professional portfolios. On May 13, 911 opened its doors – albeit virtually – for the popular art-and-network event which brought together industry partners, community, students, faculty, mentors and supporters in celebration of the program’s 2021 graduating class and first-year students who have now cr...
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Stewart family invests in health at 911
April 16, 2021
The Stewart family is donating $50,000 to support the education of health care professionals at 911. The gift will recognize Rosemary and Richard “Dick” Stewart. Dick, a founder of Quails’ Gate Estate Winery and Kelowna City Councillor, passed away nearly one year ago at the age of 94. According to his son Ben Stewart, MLA for Kelowna West, the gift reflects his father’s passion for education. “My dad believed education creates opportunities for people to lead independent and fulfilling lives,” says Ben. “He saw educa...
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