Learner success translates into academic awards

Bow Valley College (BVC) is giving out $162,000 in awards and scholarships.
The awards, said BVC President and CEO Sharon Carry, are an important part of student success.
“Studies have shown,” she said, “student awards and scholarships encourage learner persistence. That means they’re more likely to complete their program and excel in their studies if their work is acknowledged.”
The scholarships and awards recognize academic excellence, student leadership, and/or financial need.
Three students — Renee Clement, Correctional Studies; Jennifer Herman, Correctional Studies; and Oumria Simoussa, Academic Upgrading, received the Ralph and Colleen Klein Scholarship, valued at $1,682 each.
The Cal Wenzel Family Foundation Awards, each valued at $5,000, recognize learners in the Business and Industry Department who set an example of leadership. The recipients were Sherry Atlan, Interior Decorating and Merchandising; Borislav Denchev, Business Administration; Laura Isturiz, Business Administration; Kerri Marin, Events Management; Medini Prasai, Business Adminsitration; and Whitney Shackleford, Dental Business Assistant.
Trico Homes generously sponsors $5,000 awards to English as a Second Language students. The Adopt-a-Student Entrance Award, a Calgary Sun post-secondary initiative, was awarded to ESL students who transitioned into career programs. The recipients were Stephanie Ingram, Interior Decorating and Merchandising, and Abdulkhaleq, Accounting and Financial Management. Two students — Lily Hu and Khamis Jeanro, both of ESL and Languages programs — receive $5,000 awards from Trico Homes for enrolling in career programs, following success in their ESL programs.
Richard Gotfried of Trico presented the award, noting Khamis spoke no English when he arrived in Canada.
“He is now transitioning into basic education,” Richard said, “but I think he’s far beyond that after my discussions with him. He is a peer role model in his community and we know he will continue to touch the lives of others in the future.”
Sharon sponsored two President’s Awards, each valued at $2,000 and recognizing a ‘natural leader and positive role model who selflessly supports fellow students.’ The award recipients — Stephanie Wilson, Events Management, and Brandy Michelle McCune, Practical Nurse — value teamwork, exemplify ethical behaviour, and advance the greater good.
Sharon recognized Stephanie, about whom you can more here, as a respected role model in her Business and Industry program.
“She has a strong foundation in communciation, leadership, and organizational skills and she understands the importance of cultivating strong interpersonal relationships,” Sharon said.
The Celebrating Student Futures ceremony, held at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, is unique because the donors and sponsors sit with the students who receive the awards.
Sharon thanked the donors and sponsors for their contributions for learner success at BVC.
“Because of these awards, Bow Valley College is a place of learning with doors wide open,” she said. “Thank you for being here and for seeing the effect of your involvement in BVC.”
BVC Board of Governors President Scott Thon echoed Sharon’s words, noting donors and sponsors allow the College to provide learners with an opportunity to achieve success.
“If you ask any one of our students what really makes it possible to achieve, you would hear about support network — of their family, their peers, their instructors,” he said. “And of course, there is each student’s own drive and determination.
“But I believe it is that unexpected benefit — like a scholarship or grant — that gives them an extra boost. It is a vote of confidence that says their hard work has paid off … that we all believe they have done something worthwhile, that we have a lot of faith in what their plan is for society.
“Thank you for showing us we really can change someone’s world.”

Posted with the persmission of Marketing and Communications at Bow Valley College
Written by Angela MacIsaac, Media Relations Coordinator, Bow Valley College

Celebrating Countless Contributions

Last month Bow Valley College Education Assistant learner, Kelly Batt, wrote a letter to Mayor Bronconnier about the work that Education Assistants do each day in schools all over Calgary. As a result the City of Calgary has officially recognized today, May 6, 2009, as Education Assistant Day.

In celebration of this special day the Bow Valley College Alumni Association, Calgary Board of Education and Foothills Academy are sponsoring a recognition event for Education Assistants. This is the second annual celebration for Education Assistants and it is expected that over 100 Education Assistants from across the city will be in attendance.

If you work with, or have a child who is supported by an Education Assistant please take a moment today to tell them that they are appreciated – today is a day to celebrate the countless contributions that Education Assistants make every day in our education system!

Calling all LPN Alumni from AVC and BVC!

The BVCAA is doing it again ... we are running a contest to send two lucky Practical Nursing Alumni to the Spring CLPNA conference at the Telus Convention Centre on April 16 & 17, 2009. The winners will receive a full registration package that includes all meals, sessions and the gala dinner on April 16. To enter just click on the following survey link and answer a few short questions about alumni engagement and how this conference will benefit you.

Enter here

Winners will be announced on Thursday, April 9 - all entries received before 9:00 a.m. Thursday, April 9 will be entered to win!!!

March Career Madness at Bow Valley College

The BVCAA has partnered up with BVCWorks and the recruitment office to present a two and a half week career tool-kit extravaganza!

The series of events kicked off on March 5 with a Career Fair for Health Care Professionals at Franklin Station Campus, hosted by BVCWorks. Day two (March 6) at Main Campus the College staged its first Career Exploration Day combined with the Spring Open House. The event hosted a tradeshow to showcase the programs and services available at Bow Valley College, and was supplemented by a panel presentation with BVC faculty, students and alumni, and special workshops focused on choosing a career and funding options at BVC. Throughout the day, for the first time ever at BVC, a live Twitter feed was being monitored for questions and comments from prospective students and alumni who were unable to attend.

This week BVCWorks is hosting Career Week, March 9 – 13, which includes a variety of employment focused activities, such as drop-in resume and networking workshops open to students and alumni.


To round out March Career Madness the BVCAA will once again be offering Backpack to Briefcase sessions through until the 19th of March:




Monday, March 16 – Mock Interviews: Co-sponsored by BVCWorks, Career Connection and the BVCAA, Main Campus, Room 603, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (each appointment will be 20 minutes in length) Make an appointment today!

Tuesday, March 17 – Face the Fear of Public Speaking – BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!!! Facilitated by Jeff Jewett, Main Campus, Room 603, Noon – 1:00 p.m. Reserve your seat today!

Thursday, March 19 – Let’s Talk Taxes, facilitated by Alan Frank, Room 603, Noon – 1:00 p.m. Reserve your seat today!

2nd Annual Legal Assistant Networking Reception a hit!

On February 19, long time donor and advocate for Bow Valley College, Liz Smith, sponsored the 2nd Annual Legal Assistant Alumni Networking Reception at the Bow Valley Club in Calgary. In attendance were current students, alumni and instructors from the Legal Assistant Diploma program at Bow Valley College along with staff from the BVCAA and Liz Smith & Associates.

In the current economic times placement services, such as those offered by Liz Smith & Associates, are holding their ground as important players in the search for a gainful employment. Liz addressed the guests with words of encouragement and an offer to act as a resource for anyone who had questions or concerns about their career as a Legal Assistant.

Elza Bruk, Dean of Business and Industry, gave a welcome from the College and presented Smith with an engraved frame with a photograph of the guests from the 2008 event. "Look around the room", said Bruk, "the people around you are a clear representation of the amazing work that is being done in the Legal Assistant program at Bow Valley College. It has been proven again and again that those people who obtain a post-secondary education excel in life, your choice to get an education will set you apart for the rest of your career."

Following the short program guests mingled and had an opportunity to reconnect with old classmates and instructors. There was also a good amount of networking between current students and alumni from the program. Liz Smith recognized the value of the event when she said, " I see many faces from last year's reception and even more new faces, a few years from now we will need to get together in a much larger space to accommodate the growth!"

Look for the 3rd Annual Legal Assistant Networking Reception in February 2010! If you are a Legal Assistant and missed out on this year's event please contact the BVCAA and update your contact information so we can add you to our database.

Protect yourself on Facebook

Hey, we’re on Facebook!

Facebook is a social networking site where people meet and reunite in cyberspace.
Many individuals, however, are concerned about protecting their privacy on the internet.

That’s OK! We’re here to help.

If you become a fan of a page, such as the Bow Valley College Alumni Association or Careers at Bow Valley College pages, others don’t have unfettered access to your account. They would need your email address and password to gain access, so make sure your password is a combination of letters and numbers that only you know.

Once you do become a fan to a page, a link will appear on your profile’s Info page, letting all your friends know that you are fan of that page.

Your profile picture and name also will show up in the Fans section of the page you have joined.
Unless you’ve made use of the privacy settings on Facebook, you might be allowing strangers access to your personal information . . . so get protected!

The first step you can take is to enable ONLY your friends to view your page. You can do this by accessing the Privacy settings here:

Clicking on Privacy Settings will take you to this page, where you can click on Profile:

And you end up here, where you can select from several privacy options which prevent people from accessing the information on your page.

It is also a good idea to set separate privacy levels for your photo albums. Otherwise, a photo you post can appear on the newsfeed for one of your friends’ pages and all their friends can access your photo.

To change those settings, go to your photo album page and click the Album Privacy link:

It will take you to this page where you can, once again, select from several security levels for your photo albums.

The Careers at Bow Valley College page is a partnership between Marketing and Communications, Human Resources, and Careerbuilder.ca The page lists career opportunities and features news, program descriptions, event announcements, and photo albums at the College.

It is intended as a recruitment tool for faculty, staff, and students . . . so, even if one or two of your friends click through to our page and learn something about BVC, it helps us get the word out about the wonderful work we do here.

Become a fan of Make it Happen at Bow Valley College here!

The Bow Valley College Alumni Association page is a Facebook group for alumni of the College. The intention of this page is to inform alumni about upcoming events and announcements that pertain to the alumni program. It is a great way to keep informed on the growth and development of the Alumni program, while using your favourite form of social media.

Join the Bow Valley College Alumni Association group today!

Content posted with the permission of Marketing and Communications at Bow Valley College.

Alumna of the Month: Karen Filbert, Events Management Certificate 2005

Karen Filbert graduated from the Events Management Certificate in 2005, prior to taking the Event program she had completed a Bachelor’s degree at the University of Lethbridge and came to Bow Valley College to enhance her skills so that she could transition into a career in Event Management. In early 2006, not long after completing her program, Karen joined the BVC team as the Special Event Officer in Fund Development. During her career at Bow Valley College Karen has planned and executed several high profile annual events, such as the Golf Tournament and Learn a Better Living Breakfast. Recently Karen has been seconded into the position of Acting Senior Development Officer at BVC and is one of the 2009 recipients of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education’s Rising Star Award – presentation of this award took place in February at the Annual District VIII conference in Seattle, Washington.
In her spare time Karen also does contract work from her home business, is co-chair of the 2009 National Philanthropy Week committee and is the President of the University of Lethbridge Alumni Association's Calgary Chapter.

1. Name?
Karen Filbert

2. Program and year?
Events Management Certificate, 2005

3. Current position?
Acting Senior Development Officer, Bow Valley College

4. What is your fondest memory of your time at AVC/BVC?
Whenever we (team) got to make the final presentation at a Convention or Trade Show after being up all night to get things together.

5. Tim Horton’s or Starbucks?
Tim’s

6. Who was your favorite instructor?
Too many to name!

7. Chocolate or vanilla?
Vanilla

8. How do you foresee yourself staying connected to BVC?
I feel very connected already, I work here at BVC of course will always be connected being an alumna. As to capacity, as the BVCAA moves forward, I’m sure there will be many opportunities to volunteer.

9. What is your favourite thing to do in Calgary?
That would be shoe shopping and hanging out with friends.

10. What advice would you give to current learners taking the same program you did?
Be strong, be smart, be creative – events are creative by nature, but also detailed and subject to change. You must always have plan B in place (or at least be able to think wisely on your feet).

11. What is your favourite place that you have travelled to?
Greece

Congratulations to Karen on the Rising Star Award!