News. Ideas. People. 2016

National champions Seneca Sting draws to the button with a gold medal performance in women’s curling.

Building identity and community First Peoples@Seneca is helping Indigenous students find success A Publication for the Seneca College Community and reconnect to their culture. The currency of creativity Seneca’s talented graduates are fueling the rapidly-growing creative economy with their ideas and skills. 2016 Career Prep: 29% eNews receive Alumni 80% of graduates said that Seneca prepared them well for their career. 40% websites over visit Seneca Enjoyed their experience as a Seneca student. 73% RED read 95% Student Experience: You loved studying at Seneca. loved studying You Student Experience: magazine WHAT DID SENECA ALUMNI SAY? DID WHAT RED YOU ENJOY READING Our alumni magazine and email is the way you most like to hear from us. over 89% of Alumni said that Seneca has strong academic programs. Academics: 017-216-411 “VOLUNTEER” 2016 As a guest speaker to current students As a mentor to current students 40.8% 28.4% AFFORD TO STAY “MAKE A TO ASSIST FINANCIAL STUDENTS WHO CAN’T IN SCHOOL” 32.2% CONTRIBUTION 20.4% To find out more, visit senecacollege.ca/alumni To 27.1% ALUMNI SAID THEY TO... WANT Sharing your story as a Seneca alumna/alumnus guest speaker or donor. Your support will impact the lives of Seneca students. Your guest speaker or donor. Thank you for your feedback. We have listened and we'll be in touch again soon! Thank you for your feedback. We Seneca and provide a helping hand to students who are following in your footsteps. Seneca and provide a helping hand to students who are SENECA TEAMS” “COACH It startsand showing your pride. But you can also be a mentor, by simply keeping in touch As a proud member of our alumni community, we hope you will choose to stay engaged with As a proud member of our alumni community,

If you have anything else you’d like to share with us, please email us at [email protected] If you have anything else you’d like to share with us, please SENECA” SA_REDinfograph8.11.16.pdf 1 2016-08-11 8:58 AM 2016-08-11 1 SA_REDinfograph8.11.16.pdf “TEACH AT WANT TO GIVE BACK: HOW ALUMNI WANT Other Providing employment/ internship opportunities to Seneca Students

ALUMNI SURVEY RESULTS RESULTS SURVEY ALUMNI

FINDINGS BASED ON OVER 4,000 SURVEY PARTICIPANTS ON OVER 4,000 SURVEY FINDINGS BASED

TOLD US! TOLD YOU ASKED. WE K M Y C CY MY CM CMY 2016 Contents

16 Cover story We’re all related Across various programs, Seneca and intertwined, like is producing graduates who are the spider web of a energizing Canada’s growing dreamcatcher. At some creative economy. Their innovative ideas and finely tuned skills point, it all connects. are increasingly in demand and 24 delivering valuable results.

ajczak A home away from home at Seneca t Monica Rutledge With the guidance from First anne ra anne (Police Foundations), Police Service’s Aboriginal Peoples@Seneca, Indigenous alumni COVER ILLUSTRATION:

PHOTO: j o PHOTO: Peacekeeping Unit (pictured) have rediscovered their roots. Shout

RED 2016 1 RED Featuring

President’s message ...... 3 Cover story ...... 17 Up front ...... 4 Alumni stories ...... 22 On campus ...... 7 Giving back ...... 35 Pro files ...... 11 Back in the day ...... 44

News. Ideas. People.

Published by Seneca College Advancement and Alumni

8 The Seneca Way, Markham L3R 5Y1 (416) 491-5050 x77941 Toll free: 1-888-ALUMNUS senecacollege.ca/alumni [email protected] Facebook: Seneca Alum : @senecaalumni Instagram: @senecaalumni

Project Manager Barry Naymark, Manager, Seneca Alumni

Managing Editor Corey Long, Associate Director, Campaign and Major Gifts

Contributors David Agnew Katie Colvin Mary Del Bianco Renata Dinnocenzo 7 Laura-Ann Farid Tiffany Hsieh A championship delivery Aaron Mark (CCM) Seneca’s Women’s Curling team, led by Lisa Pires Ryan Phipps skip and athlete-of-the-year Stephanie Sonia Novello Vanhuyse, brought home national gold. Jasmine Yeung (BMT) Tan-Ling Yeung

Photography Ricardo Bernardino (IDP) Steve Frost Joanne Klimaszewski Joanne Ratajczak Linda Stapleton Roberto Vasquez Garbis Yaghdjian

Cover design Shout

Art direction and design Underline Studio

Printing and distribution Andora Graphics Inc.

RED magazine is published annually by Seneca College Advancement and Alumni. All material is ©2016 and may be reprinted with the permission of Seneca College. Seneca alumni receive RED free of charge, and it is available at: senecacollege.ca/alumni.

Seneca College respects your privacy. We do not sell or trade mailing lists. Contact 14 26 Advancement and Alumni at Seneca if you would like to receive RED electronically or to Advocating for mental heath The lady on Leafs Lunch update your mailing address. The Honourable Michael Wilson delivered Broadcasting grad Andi Petrillo is breaking down barriers in the testosterone-filled Seneca’s charitable registration number is a keynote address at the first RBC Mental 107967168RR0001. Health Symposium at King Campus. world of sports broadcasting.

2 RED 2016 President’s message UP FRONt This fall, colleges across Ontario will begin film, media and fashion. More broadly, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the creative problem solving skills are instilled birth of our province’s college system. Since in students in all our programs, and it the first Board of Governors gathered in shows in the kinds of careers they choose 1966 to lay Seneca’s foundations, the past to pursue — in business, health sciences, five decades have been an extraordinary community service and technology. story of growth and evolution, focused on As demand for our programs continues providing great education for hundreds of to grow, so too must Seneca. Construction thousands of students. is well underway at King Campus, which Over the next year, Seneca will be host- will allow us to welcome an additional ing events and activities to commemorate 1,500 students annually, beginning in Sep- our first 50 years. We will also be embark- tember 2018. ing on the next leg of our journey with new Construction is also underway for academic and strategic plans. the Centre for Innovation, Technology As we map the path forward, we are and Entrepreneurship at Newnham reminded of the vision Seneca’s founding Campus. This exciting new innovation President Dr. William T. Newnham had hub will include space dedicated to cross- for the kind of educational experience our disciplinary learning and training, business institution would produce: “The Seneca incubation and acceleration, a gallery for graduate will make an informed and per- student work and Indigenous artifacts and ceptive citizen, well-fitted to give much of laboratories for advanced manufacturing himself to others and to derive much from and design. David Agnew life’s experiences.” These exciting projects complement the Seneca graduates, whether from our great work being done across Seneca by our earliest days, or from last spring’s convoca- students, faculty and staff. They are also tion, continue to amaze us all with their the direct result of the positive reputation accomplishments, and their commitment to we’ve established over the past 50 years, In a world of uncertainty, give back in support of current students. thanks to you—our alumni. that cries out for positive and Our alumni share a certain kind of work Keep up the great work. inclusive leadership, a Seneca ethic and pragmatic outlook that sets them attitude goes a long way. apart. In a world of uncertainty, that cries out for positive and inclusive leadership, a Seneca attitude goes a long way. We see that in the many ways our graduates are making meaningful contributions where David Agnew they work, live and volunteer. President This year’s RED cover story focuses on the ever-expanding creative economy. Our future prosperity relies on our ability to be ost creative, to leverage critical thinking, good /Fr y communication, and teamwork, just as President Newnham predicted. ul en s k Seneca’s Faculty of Communication, Art : Sak : and Design is producing countless gradu-

photo ates contributing in flourishing sectors like

RED 2016 3 UP FRONT

Sylvia Jade Seneca’s YouTube star is proof that personality sells

Business Administration–Marketing grad unlike many social media personalities Sylvia Ta (known on social media as who forego school. Sylvia continues “Sylvia Jade”) quit her job as a marketer to grow as a performer and hopes her last year because it was taking time away viewers will grow along with her. from her more lucrative profession as a “Being on YouTube isn’t about being YouTuber. With 193,000 subscribers, who an expert. It’s about having personality tune in for advice on fashion, lifestyle and and being able to connect,” says Sylvia. beauty, the demand for new content is “My value comes from knowing that I am high. Sylvia produces all her own videos changing and affecting someone’s life that and also posts a steady stream of photos I don’t even know. A lot of them consider on Instagram, where 32,000 followers me the sister they never had.” comment on her travel experiences, new Sylvia has developed a niche following outfits, hairstyles and the service she gets of young women, aged 19 to 25, who, at restaurants—good and bad. like her, are building their identities and Sylvia began posting on YouTube when their lives during a time of drastic change still in high school, talking about makeup in how we communicate and relate to products. Now, at 23, she is a social media each other. brand ambassador for companies like “I have YouTube friends who have Town Shoes, P&G, Unilever and Lancôme, more subscribers than me,” says Sylvia. whose products she discusses, applies or “But you have to remember that your models in her videos. To maintain a genu- content is different than everyone else’s, ine conversation with her viewers, Sylvia and so is your market.” is selective with her brand partnerships, choosing only those she loves. It’s a fine line, considering these companies are employing her to make them look good in the wild west of social media marketing. “If I feel like a brand doesn’t want things said in a natural way, then I don’t work with them,” says Sylvia. “If it’s not in my own words, my viewers are going to see that.” Sylvia is a savvy businessperson and knows that the world of social media is fickle. She half-jokingly laments that one day she may be “too old” to be a successful Sylvia Jade applies the YouTuber. Her education has given her Subscribe to Sylvia’s finishing touches as she YouTube channel: youtube.com/ preps for her next video. a strong foundation for life post-YouTube, user/beautycakez

4 RED 2016 UP FRONT $9B Revenue generated by YouTube in 2015, $5 billion of which was re-paid to content creators.

Being on YouTube isn’t about being an expert. It’s about being able to connect.

SYLVIA JADE’S ONLINE PRESENCE 20m video views on YouTube 193k YouTube subscribers 9,616 Facebook page likes 8,361 Twitter followers

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Town Shoes, CoverGirl, Pantene, Olay, Dove, TRESemmé, Nexxus, Disney, Google, Microsoft, Lancôme, Unilever

RED 2016 5 OPPORTUNITIES

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pap_CHP_2015_016_Recruit_Post-secondary-Opportunities Print_9x12.indd 1 2016-08-11 1:15 PM Worth repeating A “CITE” to behold Student design combines Federal and provincial fund- style and safety. ing leads to new innovation p. 8 centre at Newnham. p. 10 On Campus Varsity sports National championships in curling and badminton

It was a year to remember for the Seneca Sting, as national championships were won in two sports. The women’s curling team captured Ontario Colleges Athletic Asso- ciation (OCAA) gold for the first time since 1997-98, winning the annual OCAA Curling Championship with a 6-1 record. This foursome was chalked with stars, including skip Stephanie Van Huyse, who was named Seneca’s Female Athlete of the Year and Seneca second (and Athletic Association President) lead Kim Headley, an OCAA first team Courtney Mabee delivers at all-star, as well as vice Kendra Pierce and the CCAA Championship. second Courtney Mabee. The win earned the Sting a ticket to the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Seneca’s impressive badminton perfor- (CCAA) Championship in London, Ontario. mances also included women’s duo Rachel Under the leadership of coach Peter Cador- Congratulations Linda Nham and Yan Zhou, who went 4-1 in in, the women capped off a historic season round robin play before advancing to the bringing home gold, with only one loss CCAA Championship match, eventually throughout the bonspiel. It was Seneca’s capturing the silver medal. The two also first-ever CCAA Championship in curling went undefeated to win gold in the OCAA and its 11th overall. Championship. For Yan, it was her second Linda Stapleton receives Meanwhile, in badminton, Wenchao Shi Art King Award straight year taking OCAA doubles gold. earned the Sting its 10th national title, win- The men’s doubles team of Allan Tong and Linda Stapleton, Director of Sport and ning men’s singles at the CCAA Champion- Recreation, was named the 2016 Peter Nie also took home bronze CCAA ship, hosted this year at Vancouver Island Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association medals. Following a successful 2015-16 (CCAA) Athletic Director of the Year. University in Nanaimo. Wenchao was up for campaign, Seneca is now the proud owner the challenge, defeating the reigning Under Linda’s leadership, the Sting of six CCAA badminton titles. have captured a number of CCAA and national champ to secure his gold medal— Ontario Collegiate Athletic Association championships. She has also been a feat he accomplished three weeks after instrumental in creating pathways for going undefeated at the OCAA Champion- students as they prepare for their careers.

ships. For his outstanding season, Wenchao Catch the scores and highlights of all

PHOTO: SENECA COLLEGE SENECA PHOTO: was named Male Athlete of the Year. Seneca’s varsity teams: @SenecaSting

RED 2016 7 ON Alum wins Premier’s Award Marc Caira (Business CAMPUS Administration - Marketing) was the 2015 winner of the Premier’s Award in the Business category. Marc (middle) is Vice Chair of Restaurant Brands International and a new member of Seneca’s Board of Governors. WORTH REPEATING

Winning design at Toronto Fashion Week Fashion student Royanne Reid was recognized in the Visibility by Design competition for her outerwear piece (pictured). The competition has Ontario postsecondary students create stylish outerwear with enhanced visibility and safety features.

This year, Seneca celebrated a Premier’s Award, saved endangered turtles and raised a tipi on campus. These, and other accomplishments, reflect on the great work of students, faculty and alumni.

8 RED 2016 ON CICan awards Seneca’s excellence For more on this and other news, Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) download Seneca’s mobile app, CAMPUS named Lab Technician Hadi Majzoub follow @SenecaCollege or “like” the recipient of its Staff Excellence Seneca on Facebook. Award. The Social Service Worker— Immigrants and Refugees program was also selected as the silver recipient of the CICan Program Excellence Award.

HELIX partners with Futurpreneur Canada President addresses HELIX, Seneca’s on-campus business Canadian Club incubator, signed an agreement with David Agnew spoke at Futurpreneur Canada that will provide young the Canadian Club of entrepreneurs immediate funding for their Toronto, representing business ventures. This is the first agreement Colleges Ontario as its of its kind for a postsecondary institution. Chair. His speech focused on the need to deliver a transformative student- centred postsecondary WORTH education system.

Sacred space at Newham Campus Welcoming federal politicians A tipi can now be Seneca hosted a number of found at Newnham political dignitaries, including the Campus, which Honourable John McCallum, Minister has been designated of Immigration, Refugees and a sacred space to Citizenship (pictured, left); Geng Tan, provide teachings MP, Don Valley North and Robert and perform Oliphant, MP, Don Valley West. traditional Indigenous REPEATING ceremonies.

Campaign for Students surpasses goal The fifth annual Campaign for Students raised $109,569. The Seneca Student Federation donated an additional $100,000. An anonymous donor matched donations from first-time donors, and gifts for the King Campus expansion, raising an additional $21,557. A visit from an acting legend Stage, television and motion picture actor Ben Vereen led a special masterclass on campus for students Province’s first Mechatronics lab in the Acting for Camera and Voice With help from Siemens Canada and and Independent Songwriting and the provincial government, Ontario’s Performance programs. first Mechatronics Simulation and Demonstration Centre opened at Newnham Campus. This facility houses state-of-the-art workstations within an industry-customized teaching space.

Turtles released to their natural habitat With the help of Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre, TELUS and World Wildlife Fund, 15 at- risk snapping turtle hatchlings were rescued and incubated under the direction of Seneca professor Dr. Sue Carstairs (pictured). Once old enough, they were released to their natural habitat at King Campus. ON CAMPUS $2B Federal funding provided over the next three years for infrastructure projects at universities and colleges in Canada.

The CITE building at Newnham Campus is slated to open in September 2018 and will be a hub for innovation, entrepreneurship and creativity.

incorporates Indigenous design. The project is being funded by the federal and provincial governments and Seneca under the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund. It is also endorsed by Seneca’s Aborigi- nal Education Council and a number of partners, including the City of Toronto, Husky Injection Molding Systems, Siemens Canada, Southlake Regional Health Centre, Umbra and ventureLab. Infrastructure expansion at Newnham Campus “Our goal is to make every Canadian innovation-ready, ready to spot the oppor- Funding announced to build tunities, to imagine possibilities and to Centre for Innovation, Technology discover new ideas,” said Parliamentary Secretary Fergus. “CITE is an innovation and Entrepreneurship facility that will bring applied research and commercialization, specialized training and business incubation and acceleration activities under one roof.”

Learn more about applied research at Seneca: senecacollege.ca/research/ The federal and provincial governments and medium-sized businesses. It’s a have announced $27.3 million in funding wonderful opportunity for us to reach out to build Seneca’s Centre for Innovation, to our community.” Technology and Entrepreneurship (CITE) Scheduled to open in September 2018, objectives of seneca’s new CITE building at Newnham Campus. CITE will be a hub for Seneca’s innovation In early September, President David and entrepreneurial activities as well as an 1. Provide capacity to develop Agnew was joined by Greg Fergus, Parlia- expanded location for the mechatronics businesses that advance Canada’s economic development and global mentary Secretary to the Minister of Inno- program and mechanical engineering tech- competitiveness. vation, Science and Economic Develop- nology programs currently at Jane Campus. 2. Help Seneca develop specialized, ment and Deb Matthews, Ontario Minister It will also be the new home for the cross-disciplinary training aligned of Advanced Education and Skills Develop- Office of Applied Research and Innovation, with industry needs. 3. Increase opportunities for local and ment for the announcement. which now includes Seneca’s on-campus regional businesses to benefit from “This is going to be very much a entrepreneurship incubator HELIX. Seneca’s applied research initiatives. community-facing facility,” said President The building will face Agnew. “Our doors will be open to small and includes an innovation gallery that

10 RED 2016 On experience: International growth: What hiring executives New academic agreements are looking for. in and . p. 12 p. 15 pro files Alumni Sponsorship Program Industry relations take flight, connecting grads to future careers

In June, Seneca’s School of Aviation opened the doors of its Peterborough Campus for the Aviation Career Expo, an event supported by the Alumni Sponsorship Program. Flight students had the opportunity to showcase their talents, learn from peers and connect with Aviation Program Advisory Committee (PAC) members and industry affiliates from Air Georgian, Rite of passage: After Flight Safety International and Charter one’s first solo flight is a dip in the C-FTUB. Air Transportation Services Inc. Work during co-op placements was exhibited, demonstrating the value of experiences gained through time spent in “As an alumnus, I know how important Claire Orban were the honoured recipients industry settings. As well, a competition events like this are for students,” says for their contributions to safety, leadership took place where fourth-year students had Joe Zigrossi. “It’s their opportunity to meet and professionalism within the program. three minutes to present their thesis potential employers and network with The Aviation Career Expo served as research to a panel of experts, including industry insiders. I also thought the thesis a great platform for future graduates to PAC members and alumni Steve Linthwaite presentations were well-researched, launch exciting careers and navigate (Jazz Aviation), Piyush Gandhi (Porter concisely delivered and indicative of the the world of aviation, guided by leaders Airlines), Karen Deme (Bombardier) and high standards expected from Seneca’s in the industry. Joe Zigrossi (Global Aerospace). aviation students.” Thesis topics included expanding drug One of the day’s highlights was the and alcohol policies for pilots and introduc- presentation of the Jazz Aviation Pathway ing scenario-based training earlier in the Awards, which consist of a $3,000 scholar- Flight training curriculum. The winning ship and an opportunity to participate as presentation, by Sailesh Varsani, focused on a cadet in the Jazz Aviation Pathway pro- methods of noise abatement for Seneca’s gram. Third-year Bachelor of Aviation Take a 360-degree tour of Seneca’s flight facilities in flight operations at Peterborough Airport. Technology students Philippe Gagne and Peterborough: senecacollege.ca/fulltime/FPR.html

RED 2016 11 The Conference Board PRO of Canada calculates the FILES average cost to hire an executive is $43,000, For managers, it’s $17,000 and technical experts $13,000.

How can new graduates differentiate Anne-Marie Tseretopoulos themselves? New graduates have to has seen hiring trends leverage their experiences. If you don’t have the specific work experience, have you change rapidly since volunteered? Have you mentored someone? graduating from Seneca’s Your school experience is relevant as well. Take whatever you have in terms of techni- Human Resources cal or soft skills, look at the job description Management program. and convert that into experiences that Her experience with are applicable. companies like TD, How can candidates make a good first impression? You want to represent your Citibank, FCB and Rogers own personal brand, but also be relevant to has given her invaluable the industry to which you’re applying. In my past role at an advertising agency, as insight into acquiring and well as in the marketing, and communica- nurturing talent. She shares tion industries, the dress is more causal and creative. If you come in wearing a suit you her thoughts on network- may not make the right impression. It’s all ing, transitioning and about being authentic and a good fit.

how candidates can stand How do you advise people who are in out in a crowd. between jobs? It’s entirely a business reality. It happens to everyone, and there shouldn’t be a stigma around it. Even if it is a result of a negative situation. Just take On Experience what you learned and adapt that to where you want to go. If you learned something Anne-Marie Tseretopoulos about the kind of industry you shouldn’t be Vice President, Human in, retool and transfer to something else.

Resources, Brookfield Asset Is mentorship becoming more ingrained Management in corporate culture? Employees should seek out mentors. Larger organizations How have hiring practices changed since have more established formal mentoring you graduated? We are always hiring for programs, but I also see it happening skill and competencies to do the job, but organically. People generally like to share there is a to hiring for potential. their experiences. The advice is there, What’s the person’s potential? Not just people are just shy about soliciting it. for the job, but for advancement within You also need to know how you want to the organization. Transferable skills are be mentored. what everybody’s looking for, as well as problem solvers who are accountable, What is the biggest lesson you have resilient and adaptable. Having the ability learned in your career so far? Apply to communicate effectively and work in yourself and be open to everything. You teams helps too. might feel like you’re working against the grain and it doesn’t make sense, but trust What role does networking play in the environment and trust the leaders. hiring? Nearly every job I’ve gotten has They know what they are doing. And been from networking. People are shy about zak remember to have fun. a jc networking because they feel like they are t asking for something; but it’s really about

people helping each other. I never turn Ra a nn e down an exploratory conversation, if it is

introduced by someone I respect. J o PHOTO:

12 RED 2016 PRO FILES 21M Number of patients treated with Boston Scientific products annually.

After hearing John Abele, students said they wanted to be entrepreneurs to change the world for the better.

HELIX guest entrepreneur speaker series John’s social-minded approach to One of the highlights of the presentation business informed his career at Boston was John’s comprehensive list of recom- A masterclass on Scientific and was evident in his remarks, mended books on leadership. He also which resonated with the many young touched on topics ranging from Uber’s leadership and innovation people who attended his presentation. assent and business’s role in the public “Tonight when I asked my students, sphere, to the value of passionate leader- ‘What is the purpose of being an entrepre- ship and why he liked hiring people who neur?’ they all said ‘to make money,’” says grew up on a farm. (Answer: They know Deneena Davis, a teacher for the York how to innovate.) John Abele is one of the world’s most suc- Region School Board. “After hearing John John’s takeaway message? We only have cessful business leaders and a pioneer Abele, they said the purpose of being an one planet. Look after it. developer of medical devices and approach- entrepreneur was to ‘change the world for “We’re here alone on this little blue es to non-evasive surgery. The co-founder the better.’” ball,” he said during his lecture. “Particu- of Boston Scientific and owner of the Prior to his talk, John met with compa- larly with things like climate concerns, if Kingbridge Institute and Conference nies from HELIX, Seneca’s on-campus we make a mistake, we don’t necessarily Centre, was at Newnham Campus in April, incubator, to hear their business pitches get a do-over.” where he addressed more than 120 students and offer advice on their ventures. and community partners about the value “For our students and HELIX business of creative leadership. leaders to have an audience with John His hour-long discussion covered vari- Abele was an invaluable experience that ous issues associated with developing and they will never forget,” says HELIX sustaining authentic leadership across all Director Chris Dudley. “It’s not every day Be rn a r d ino sectors, and the responsibilities of business that fledging entrepreneurs get to pick a r d o leaders to be community builders and the brain of a globally renowned innovator Watch John Abele’s lecture and interviews from the event at senecacollege.ca/helix. To learn more ambassadors for development and environ- and leader, who is so generous with his about the leadership programs available at Kingbridge,

PHOTO: R ic PHOTO: mental stewardship. time and advice.” visit kingbridgecentre.com

RED 2016 13 At least 500,000 employed PRO Canadians are unable to work FILES due to mental health problems each week. The economic cost of mental illness is estimated at $51 billion annually.

“Street Nurse” Cathy Crowe provided the afternoon keynote address at the in- augural RBC Mental Health Symposium at Seneca.

RBC Mental Health Symposium The symposium also featured an intro- important mental health conversations,” ductory keynote address from The Honour- says Fizza. “It’s been wonderful to meet Seneca and RBC host able Michael Wilson, a longtime mental some of this country’s most influential health advocate and Chair of the Mental advocates and professionals in the mental York Region’s first-ever Health Commission of Canada. Michael health care community.” mental health symposium has worked tirelessly in the political and This biannual symposium is the result advocacy arenas to help reduce the stigma of a $150,000 commitment from RBC over that often prevents people with mental the next five years. RBC has also donated illness from seeking treatment. $150,000 for mental health community Cathy Crowe, a respected author, film- outreach, including a capstone research maker and professor, was the other keynote project for Seneca’s MHI students. Seneca and Royal Bank of Canada teamed presenter. Cathy, who refers to herself as The event concluded with the presenta- up to present the inaugural RBC Mental a “street nurse,” rose to public prominence tion of the RBC Community Partners Health Symposium, hosted at King Campus through her work with Toronto street- Award, which was given to Blue Door in May. involved individuals in the early 1990s and Shelters. Since 1982, Blue Door has The unique gathering was the first of continues to advocate for homeless popula- provided safe, supportive shelter space its kind in York Region. Nearly 300 partici- tions. She shared her insights on the linkag- and services, at no cost, for people in pants met to discuss best practices and es between mental health challenges and York Region who are homeless or at risk research on emerging trends in mental a lack of safe and affordable housing in of becoming homeless. health care and the emotional well-being centres across Canada. of children and adults. Fizza Jaffari, a recent graduate of The event, themed “trauma and practice Seneca’s Mental Health Intervention (MHI) across the life span,” included panel discus- graduate certificate program, said the sions, networking opportunities and art symposium presented an unprecedented Be rn a r d ino displays focusing on the issues of trauma learning and networking experience. a r d o Learn more about Seneca’s Mental Health resistance and resilience, as well as trauma- “This symposium has given Seneca Intervention graduate certificate program:

informed practice and compassion fatigue. students the opportunity to participate in senecacollege.ca/fulltime/MHI.html R ic PHOTO:

14 RED 2016 In the first Seneca/CoEP PRO project competition, HELIX FILES entrepreneur Travis Clement placed first for his point-of- contact device that identifies allergens in food.

Brenda Tapp-Cosgrove, Professor, School of Health Sciences (left), works with nursing students at INSCOL in Chandigarh.

International growth Highlights from the Pacific President Agnew formalized seven mission included a partnership with agreements in India. As a result, Seneca is Seneca signs agreements MindChamps to explore a Singapore- partnering with Max Institute of Health headquartered joint degree program Education and Research to provide in China and India in early childhood education. Another exchanges and contract training opportuni- partnership with Jinling Institute of ties for students from both institutions. Technology will include various academic Seneca is also entering into an agreement pathway agreements. with INSCOL to offer health and medical Seneca also formalized an agreement training for youth over the next 10 years. with Suzhou Industrial Park Institute of Seneca also embarked on a tri-party Seneca recently expanded several of its Vocational Technology to provide students agreement with College of Engineering educational activities with international with opportunities to work and learn in Pune (CoEP) and the City of Markham to partners in China and India. Thanks to Suzhou. In collaboration with Suzhou launch a project competition in health care a series of agreements President David Erjia Early Childhood Education Group, through HELIX, Seneca’s business incuba- Agnew signed during two Ontario trade Seneca will enhance teacher training and tor. In May, three HELIX companies missions, Seneca has teamed up with top provide opportunities for Seneca students competed against two CoEP ventures. industry leaders to train the next genera- to complete pacements and co-ops at Additional agreements were signed tion of engaged global citizens. a daycare centre in Suzho. with Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Last November, President Agnew was In early 2016, President Agnew Services Ltd., IILM Institute for Higher part of a delegation that accompanied and other postsecondary, business and Education of Delhi and Thakur Institute Premier Kathleen Wynne to Nanjing, political leaders travelled to New Delhi, of Management Studies. Following the trip, Shanghai, and Beijing. The Chandigarh, Hyderabad and Mumbai an agreement with the National Associa- mission focused on the science and tech- with Premier Wynne. The week-long tion of Software and Services Companies nology, clean-tech and agriculture sectors, mission strengthened Ontario’s economic, was signed to train Indian civil servants. as well as partnerships in health care and political and cultural ties with new part- This year, more than 70 of them visited education. President Agnew also visited nerships in the research, infrastructure, Seneca for short term training programs Singapore during his trip. technology, science and health sectors. offered through Seneca Business.

RED 2016 15 How Seneca is fuelling a growing creative economy

Text by Corey Long Illustration by Shout

16 RED 2016 RED 2016 17 a cultural and economic phenomenon primarily at Seneca@York, FCAD offers program options in anima- hidden in plain view. tion; art; event management; game art and animation; graphic de- It’s hard to see because it’s ev- sign; visual effects; fashion arts; broadcasting; illustration; media erywhere: the clothes on your back, design; independent songwriting and photography; acting; cosmet- the app on your phone, the movie ics; corporate communications and journalism. on your flat screen, the animated The responsibility of creating an environment that prepares critter your kid loves: These prod- graduates to be creative for a living is that of FCAD’s Dean Michael ucts of creativity generate money—as it turns out, quite a bit. Maynard, whose goal is to have all his students value creativity and According to the Ontario government, the creative industries in approach projects from a design perspective. Ontario contribute $12.2 billion in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) “When you look at multibillion dollar, multinational corpora- to the province’s economy annually. That’s more than the energy tions, that have built their profits and their success through industry, 70 per cent of what auto manufacturing generates, and it design,” says Michael. “Every one of their products has a label on surpasses the GDPs of Ontario’s agriculture, forestry and mining it indicating who the designer is. If our students think about their sectors combined. projects from a global perspective, it makes so much more sense What is the creative economy? The term came into prominence and puts the creative economy on a grander scale.” in the late 1990s. A 2010 European Commission report about the The diversity of programs that make up FCAD speaks to the entrepreneurial dimensions of cultural and creative industries many career opportunities Seneca graduates can consider upon cites an early definition of “creative industries” as those requiring graduation—all of which are contributing in some way to the flour- “creativity and talent with potential for wealth and job creation ishing creative economy, internationally and locally. through exploitation of intellectual property.” To give you an idea of the magnitude of this economy, consider We see intellectual property being sold across countless culture- that in 2013, $1.2 billion was spent on film and television produc- based industries like advertising; architecture; design; fashion; tions in Toronto, including $948 million on major productions and media; software; publishing and the performing and visual arts. $131 million on commercials. Television series production also The supplementary economic impact on those whose liveli- grew by 17 per cent on average from 2008-2013. hoods depend on the creativity of others can also be considered. “We have known for a long time that Toronto is one of the Countless service-related professions in hospitality, printing, IT four centres for design and creativity in , along and tourism rely on television and film productions, art galleries, with New York, San Francisco and Chicago. We are way up there,” theatres and concerts to stay afloat. says Michael. “We have a huge creative economy. It’s only going A 2012 report from the ’s Martin Pros- to get bigger.” perity Institute makes the point that the creative economy goes Seneca grads are certainly doing their part to contribute. beyond culture-based products and should include contributions of all creative workers in sectors like finance, health or mining, The rush of the daily creative hustle in the 6ix who are “paid to think” and find innovative solutions to daily Depending on the day, you might find Fashion grad Doreen To business challenges. dressing actors on a movie set, designing a wedding dress for a While the economic contributions of these creative profession- client, advising students on sewing techniques or promoting her als are harder to pinpoint, the skills they possess are in growing fashion line via social media. demand as any recent grad can tell you. She might be in sweats, or a one-of-a-kind creation of her own Bottom line is that creativity sells. And Canada’s future eco- design. Wherever she is, in one way or another, she’s doing some- nomic prosperity is dependent on it. thing creative that is helping to pay the bills and further her career. Her day job is as a wardrobe assistant for film and television An academic ecosystem for creativity productions, ranging from the Canadian Film Centre documenta- At Seneca, creativity underscores the academic approach college- ries to episodes of Canada. wide, but is certainly the foundational element of programs within During a crisis situation, on set one day, when an actor’s cos- the Faculty of Communication, Art and Design (FCAD). Housed tume ripped, panic set in until Doreen mentioned that she knew

18 RED 2016 “The faculty and students in our communication, art and design programs value the currency of ideas, and nurture them to spark progress. Our collaborative setting encourages individual and collective expression. Out of this comes expertise that is vital to a meaningful and successful career within the creative economy.” –Mission statement, Faculty of Communication, Art and Design

how to sew (a skill developed during long hours in the Seneca 100,000 people. Employment and entrepreneurial opportunities sewing lab). As she saved the day with needle and thread, a co- for FCAD graduates have never been greater. worker quipped, “Wow. You’re like gold around here.” A poster boy for Seneca’s international place in the creative For a designer used to having fabrics in her hands and designs economy is visual effects designer Guillermo Ramos, even if he in her head, working on set has been a welcome departure for doesn’t know it. Doreen, allowing her to tap into a new strain of her imagination. “I never really thought about it,” says Guillermo, when asked “It’s been very exciting. I’m not just sitting down and sewing about the impact of his work on international films like the Oscar- things,” says Doreen. “I’m really using storytelling to pull pieces winning The Revenant. “But yes, it surprises me how much money together, stylistically. I’m working with producers and directors is dedicated to the different stages of production, from shooting to who already have this image and feeding them ideas of what this post production. It’s a big chunk of the budget.” character is going to look like in future episodes.” Guillermo, a Mexican national, completed a degree in computer Doreen’s foray into film production came from a curiosity she studies at the University of Texas (commuting across the border had about acting and the ambition to capitalize on the opportu- each day to get to school), before a school trip brought him to nities available in “Hollywood North.” A cold call to a costume Toronto. He fell in love with the city, and when Guillermo found designer she found on Facebook led to a weekend job that led to Seneca’s Visual Effects graduate certificate program, it gave him another and another. Doreen’s work spoke for itself, and the de- the perfect excuse to come back . . . and stay. signer became a key reference. He graduated six years ago and is now a designer for Soho VFX, “Through her, I was able to get other gigs,” says Doreen. “There a feature film visual effects company in Liberty Village. Along with are long hours but there are definitely a lot of perks. It’s exciting.” The Revenant, you will see Guillermo’s handiwork in films like The Her day job hasn’t taken Doreen away from her design work. She Conjuring 2, and The Hallows. has her own women’s wear line, which has been exhibited in Beijing “When I finished school, I got a job right away,” says Guillermo. and Toronto, and she also does custom work for individual clients. “My first movie was Jack the Giant Slayer. They were giving me “Recently I’ve made a prom gown for a friend’s little sister, who difficult stuff, so I had to go back and look at my notes from class. couldn’t find the dress that she wanted,” says Doreen. “I’ve done What we learned at Seneca is pretty much the real thing. It was a few wedding dresses as well, and I’ll soon be taking on my first easy to jump from school to work.” Indian wedding reception gown.” Over the past five years, Guillermo has seen more studios like She imagines the future as a hybrid of day jobs and side projects Soho opening in Toronto, as well as those from cities like Montreal that allow her to create, while also expanding her skill sets and and Vancouver scouring for talented new graduates—all good signs networks. Like the sewing example illustrates, the more she can that the creative boom is continuing. do, the more valuable she will be in the creative economy. Personal While he calls this his dream job, Guillermo is looking to the branding plays a big role in communicating value too. And social future, thinking about preparing himself to take on more supervi- media is king. sory roles and doing his own movies. It’s also a priority for him to “If I don’t put myself out there, nobody will know I can design continue honing both his technical skills and creativity. these beautiful garments,” she says. “I’m always on my Instagram, “It always helps to do something arts related,” he says. “I liked Facebook and LinkedIn profiles, and any work I have I throw it up drawing and painting as a kid. The boom happened with comput- there. It helps being a millennial; this is kind of in my blood. But ers. Instead of drawing Spider-Man, you could make him on the you have to hustle, have to have thick skin, and also not be afraid computer. This is when my mind went to a different area.” of rejection.” And even though Guillermo and his team at Soho didn’t get invited to The Revenant Oscar party, the satisfaction for him Big business on the big screen comes when all the elements come together and he sees that final Toronto’s multiculturalism also makes the city an ideal incuba- shot on the big screen. Plus, his dad is a teacher, so we may see tor and test market for the global demand of products. By some Guillermo at the head of a Seneca classroom sooner than later. estimates, the creative economy workforce consists of more than Indeed, this would be welcome news to his former dean.

RED 2016 19 “We need to be bringing back more alumni to share what they contributing to industries that, according to the Ontario govern- are doing in the industry,” says Michael Maynard. “What I’d like ment, are growing at double the rate of those in other sectors. to do is to start a lecture series so our students can see first-hand More than one million Canadians owe their jobs (directly or indi- the success of our alumni.” rectly) to creative industries, which represents roughly seven per Having veteran industry professors doesn’t hurt either. cent of Canada’s total workforce. Yet success takes more than technical proficiency. According Producing creative professionals to Michael Maynard, these grads are making a difference because “You can’t throw a stick down the hall of without hit- they are creative thinkers, who are willing to diversify their talents, ting a Seneca grad,” says Michael Nunan, Bell’s Senior Manager, market themselves and embrace new challenges. Broadcast Audio and Post Productions. “In order to create something, you have to have a pretty good Michael has been hiring Bell Media employees for 20 years and sense of yourself and of what you can bring to the table in any dis- has taught audio production part-time at Seneca for 13. He custom- cipline,” says Michael. “It’s part of the creative process to be built the sound-editing suite at Seneca@York to mirror those a problem-solver and, hopefully, a creative one.” found in the workplace. This Canadian Screen Award winner (for his work on the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympic Games) lives in Guelph and commutes more than 1,000 kilometres a week, but he Ontario creative economy stats isn’t complaining. Michael wants to prepare Seneca graduates to be successful in the creative economy—not just as proficient engi- neers and editors, but as creators of content, with a professional Entertainment and creative mindset that distinguishes them. industries support more than Michael understands that everyone has access to the tools and 300,000 jobs. technology and can take the time to master them. Professionals 70% possess something else. The province is home “It’s not about the toys or tools,” says Michael. “It’s about be- to approximately 1,000 Creative industry GDP is interactive digital media now larger than Ontario's coming a professional with a philosophical approach to the work, companies, employing energy industry, is discipline and mindset that says, ‘failure is not an option.’” 16,000 people and approaching 70 per cent generating almost of the auto manufacturing Michael’s domain is live television, where there isn’t the $1.2 billion in revenue. sector and surpasses those luxury to fix mistakes after the fact and failure comes in real time of agriculture, forestry and mining sectors combined. before thousands of viewers. He tries to instill in his students the Film and television importance of having a backup plan for every moment and the production accounted for awareness to self-correct on the fly. This approach is resonating close to 30,000 direct and indirect jobs and contribute with employers, like Bell, and has been part of Michael’s plan from billions to Ontario’s economy. the beginning. Through his work in the classroom he can “influence the Many television series workforce before it becomes the workforce,” producing grads who are sold in more than 100 o rk ari o ari o can play various roles in the creation of meaningful content for all international markets rnia fo Cali Y Ne w On t kinds of media. On t of “I keep track of the employees from different schools,” says The creative industries Ontario is among North America's top Michael. “Schools with similar programs should have equal generate $12.2 billion in GDP for Ontario's economy entertainment and media impact, but they don’t. There is a disproportionately high number annually and are number one economies, ranking third v e rn me n t in employment (behind

in Canada by GDP. G o : of Seneca grads.” California and New York). Thanks to the professional guidance of professors like Michael, ce o ur alumni like Doreen and Guillermo, and countless others, Seneca is S

20 RED 2016 T:9” Celebrating 50 years of student success.

In 2017, Seneca is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Our growth and accomplishments are direct results of the outstanding work of alumni like you. Thank you for representing Seneca so well

throughout the years. T:12”

To share your Seneca memories, learn more about our 50th anniversary activities or donate historic Seneca artifacts and memorabilia to Seneca’s archives, visit senecacollege.ca/50

RED 2016 21

SEN_16058_50th_Anniversary_RED_Mag_FP_Sept2016_FNL.indd 1 2016-09-19 2:46 PM

Job # SEN_16058 Filename SEN_16058_50th_Anniversary_RED_Mag_FP_Sept2016_FNL.indd Modified 9-19-2016 2:45 PM Created 9-19-2016 2:45 PM Station SOS - Judy

Client Contact Maria Wallin Publication(s) Seneca RED mag Magenta Minion Pro Gotham Art Director JL Ad Number None Yellow

Production None PUBLICATION Insertion Date due Sept 16, 16

Copy Writer None Bleed 9.25” x 12.25” INKS Black INKS PERSONNEL Production Artist js Trim 9” x 12” SETUP Comments Full page, 4 c Ad Safety 8.25” x 11.25” Innovative. Trailblazing . Generous.

Alumni.22 RED 2016 It takes self-awareness and courage to turn what you care about into a career. Those lucky enough to know what they want to do with their lives often weave their professions Innovative. with their passions. When you do that, work doesn’t feel like work. And the results are always positive. Many of our alumni are bringing their expertise and positivity to their workplaces and communities, which makes Trailblazing . us #SenecaProud. Generous.

The extraordinary breadth of Seneca’s programs is illus- trated clearly through the varied career destinations of our alumni. Seneca is producing grads who embark on deep water dives at high altitudes (no, that’s not an oxymoron), lead communications during crises like the Fort McMurray fires, counsel Indigenous children, brew craft beers and perform 3D scans using the lat- est technologies. Did we mention the first woman to host a national daily sports radio program? Or a coding superstar who’s localizing the Internet for the world’s remotest communities? All Seneca grads, all celebrated in these pages. Their inspirations may come from different places— everything from Felix Baumgartner’s “space bomb” to an immigrant grandfather’s dedication to the Maple Leafs—yet their devotion is commonly shared. The results are incredible, and we’re delighted to share them with you.

RED 2016 23 Community builders (l to r) Monica Rutledge, Roxanne Seneca Alumni at 50 Kropf-Salami and Peggy Pitawanakwat.

How amazing are our alumni? We tell you every year in the pages of RED and this year is no different. As Seneca prepares to celebrate our 50th anniversary, here is a sample of numbers about our alumni, thanks to LinkedIn and Seneca’s records. They’re impressive. 190,000+ graduates on record 11,338 Business owners, founders and co-founders

2,445 CEOs 11,037 presidents and vice presidents

9,460 professional artists and designers Supporting your One senator (), five Olympians (including two-time medalist Brian Price) and community and finding the first black Canadian to hold a cabinet position in Ontario (Alvin Curling) your place in it

Roxanne Kropf-Salami Child/Youth Mental Health Addictions Worker, Enaahtig Healing Lodge and Learning Centre

Monica Rutledge Graduates from 140 Largest current Constable, Aboriginal Peackeeping Unit, countries employer: TD Bank Toronto Police Serivce

Roxanne Kropf-Salami was two months old when she met her new mother. It was 1985 on the Tsay Keh I got the teaching. Dene First Nation in the Northern Interior of British Nine winners of the Two of the first three women It took away my Columbia. The “Sixties Scoop” that removed Indige- Premier’s Award for inducted into the Hockey nous children from their families into the child welfare College Graduates Hall of Fame ( anger. I started system was still in practice in Canada. In fear of losing za k (since 1992) and ) to learn about myself and my her newborn, Roxanne’s teenage mother asked Norma, belonging. a German-Mennonite teacher on the reserve, to Do you have an impressive Seneca stat to share? adopt Roxanne. Let us know [email protected] A graduate of Seneca’s Social Service Worker –

Immigrants and Refugees program, Roxanne says that c r ataj joanne p hoto:

24 RED 2016 challenging situations on the job. But with the skills I learned at Seneca I’m able to work through them in a culturally safe and professional way. I’ve come home Better to my community, and I’ve reclaimed my identity.” self-identity Roxanne’s story isn’t unique among the more than leads to 700 Indigenous students who come to Seneca from confidence, across Canada and the U.S. For many, First Peoples@ which leads Seneca is a home away from home—a goal Mark to success. Solomon, Director, Student Life, had when establishing it for Indigenous students with transitional issues. “We’ve had students from remote territories who get overwhelmed by the number of people in the gro- cery store,” says Mark. “Most students who come to First Peoples are looking for empathy and shared expe- riences. What I see in that office is resilience. There’s laughter, eating and tears. The staff are like aunties. They help and guide, and they’re not afraid to scold.” First Peoples@Seneca Coordinator Peggy Pitawa- nakwat and her colleagues often work with faculty to help Indigenous students, like Roxanne, reconnect with their roots. “They come to get an understanding of their background,” she explains. “They’re able to embrace who they are. Better self-identity leads to confidence, which leads to success.” Seneca is located on the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation traditional territory and has a deep connection to Canada’s Indigenous people. Last fall, President David Agnew signed the National Indigenous Education Protocol during a traditional ceremony to raise a tipi at Newnham Campus. The ceremony saw many members of the Indigenous community in atten- dance, including alumna Const. Monica Rutledge, who studied Law Enforcement (now Police Foundations) before First Peoples@Seneca was established. After 15 years in uniform, Monica now works with ’s Aboriginal Peacekeeping Unit to help Indigenous people deal with issues in a large while Norma kept her close to her Indigenous culture, urban setting. An Ojibway from Red Lake, Ontario, “I went off my path for a while.” After both her birth her father died before she was born. No one knew what mother and Norma died, she ran away on a school trip happened to her mother. Monica lived in two foster in the United States. Making her way to Toronto, homes before the age of four—also during the Sixties Roxanne stayed in shelters until she got a factory job Scoop—when she and her brothers were adopted and making baked goods. moved to Toronto. “I was angry and depressed. I noticed I was differ- Monica remembers being a “typical high school ent than other people,” she says. “I loved my adoptive kid who was into the latest fashion, music and house mother, but I was missing something. I didn’t have my parties” when her adoptive father, a now-retired own identity, and I felt alone.” Toronto police officer, took her to her first powwow Coming to Seneca as a mature student, Roxanne at the then SkyDome (now ). was introduced to First Peoples@Seneca, which pro- “My father never denied us our culture,” she says. vides academic services, such as tutoring and career “That’s when I started reading more about my counselling, as well as cultural and social activities like culture and volunteering with the Aboriginal Peace- smudging, water blessings, drum circles and powwows. keeping Unit.” Roxanne connected with the campus Elder and partici- Recently, through Facebook, Monica and her broth- pated in workshops where she made medicine bags, ers reunited with their birth father’s family in Winni- moccasins quill earrings and birch bark canoes. peg. They learned their mother had died from breast “I got so many of my teachings back,” she says. cancer years ago. They were shown a photo of her for “I started to learn about myself, where I came from, the first time. and I started to feel a sense of belonging.” “I can now look in the mirror and say, ‘I do look like Today, as a Child/Youth Mental Health Addictions my mom,’” says Monica. “What I’ve learned is that Worker with the Enaahtig Healing Lodge and Learning we’re all related and intertwined. It’s like a spider web Centre, Roxanne has come full circle to provide holistic of a dreamcatcher. At some point, it’ll all connect.” healing and learning, based on the principles of Indige- nous culture and traditions. Learn more about First Peoples@Seneca at “I’ve had a long journey,” she says. “I’ve been in www.senecacollege.ca/student/first-peoples

RED 2016 25 Leafs Lunch host Andi Petrillo can be heard weekdays at noon on TSN 1050 AM.

the Leafs, the first woman to serve full time with CBC’s studio team and the A pioneer first woman to win a Canadian Screen Award for best sports host. in sports “The fact that people are talking about me means broadcasting there aren’t enough women doing this,” says Andi. “Of course women can talk sports. The question is whether or not people are ready for it.” Andi Petrillo An only child, Andi says her Italian-immigrant Host, Leafs Lunch parents raised her to be well-rounded—to do laundry, TSN 1050 cook, cut the grass, and change the oil and tires. The family watched hockey religiously; her grandfather was a Leafs loyalist. He died in 2011, a few months after Men used to dominate “hockey talk” on TSN 1050’s Leafs Andi got her Hockey Night in Canada gig. Lunch—now there is a woman. “He was proud of me,” she recalls. “Hockey made Earlier this year, Journalism grad Andi Petrillo took him feel Canadian, and there was his granddaughter over hosting duties for the radio show made popular by embracing it.” Bryan Hayes, Jeff O’Neill and Jamie McLennan. While Andi’s love for sports flourished at Seneca, where radio was relatively new for the veteran television broad- her instructor noticed her voice would change to sound caster, hockey was not. After covering the Toronto Maple “happy and energetic” during sportscasts. Her first Leafs for a decade, Andi has stickhandled on-air insights sports host and producer job was with and analysis alongside rotating co-hosts with ease. York Region, where she volunteered at age 19. “I’ll be honest, it took me a month and a half to Andi has since worked for Leafs TV, ESPN and the Of course be comfortable,” says Andi. “This is hardcore sports NHL Network, covering international events, such as women can talk talk. You have to have an opinion. I feared expressing the Rio and Sochi Olympics, the Pan American Games sports. The it at first.” and the FIFA World Cup for CBC. question is Andi isn’t the first female radio sports personality “I love storytelling and the adrenaline rush in the whether or not za k to have emerged from Seneca—alumna Barb DiGiulio field,” she says. “As a woman working in a male-­ people are ready was once the sole female sportscaster at The FAN 590— dominated industry, I don’t listen to the word ‘no’ often. for it. but she is the first woman in Canada to host a daily You become thick-skinned. You become a target some- radio sports talk show. Andi’s other career firsts have times. But I’ve learned not to let it bother me. I think

included being the first female reporter to travel with I’ve proven I can talk hockey.” c r ataj joanne p hoto:

26 RED 2016 International admission trends reflect this. Brazil As an international student, Paulo Leone found a home was among the countries with the fastest-growing at Seneca. Today, more Building number of international students in Canada between than 5,500 international students are welcomed on 2013-2014, after Nigeria and . campus annually. global brands and Paulo enrolled in Seneca’s Marketing Management experiences graduate certificate program, which offers specialized training that was not available in Brazil at the time. However, making the choice to study abroad comes Paulo Leone with sacrifice; it means leaving the familiarity of home, Vice President of Strategy, dealing with extra stress and adapting to a new culture, Community Agency and, often, a new language. “Language was the hardest barrier to overcome,” says Paulo. “If I did not focus my attention on following Each academic year, Seneca welcomes the world the lips of my professors as they spoke, I was not able to through its doors. With more than 5,500 international absorb what they were saying. My classmates thought students from 140 countries, it is one of the most I was the most un-social person in the program.” diverse postsecondary institutions in Canada. Seventeen years later, it is clear Paulo made the Ambitious, skilled, and often multilingual, interna- right decision. He loved Canada, and decided to stay. tional students represent a robust talent pool ready to Now a Canadian citizen, he serves as Vice President invigorate the Canadian economy by bringing global of Strategy at Community Agency in Toronto, with perspectives and helping to open new markets. clients like Perrier Global and Bacardi North America. One such student, Paulo Leone, chose to come to Throughout his career, Paulo has worked with some of Canada from his native Brazil after completing a mar- the world’s most recognized brands, including McDon- keting degree at the Universidade Catolica de Salvador. ald’s, Rogers, Chrysler, Labatt, Unilever and Unicef. Paulo’s drive to continue his studies was inspired by Along with Paulo’s career success, his experience as Having worked the sacrifices made by his parents, who, despite modest an international student set off an enduring thirst for for years on za k means, made sure he had access to the best schools exploration. In 2014, he embarked on a year-long sabbati- others’ brands, it possible. And he knew that to distinguish himself in the cal through Southeast Asia to reflect and chart his future. was time to work highly competitive job market in Brazil, he would need “They say, ‘the longest journey is the journey on my own. to further his education and expand his horizons. inwards,’” says Paulo. “Having worked for years on “In Brazil, employers really value experience from others’ brands, it was time to take a long break and

c r ataj joanne p hoto: abroad,” says Paulo. work on my own.”

RED 2016 27 ture, PinnacleDDMLtd. (also aJane Campusgrad), dothrough theirnewven - of work heandhisbusiness partner, Stephen Lam Engineering Technologist/Industrial Designprogram. led himtoSeneca’s Jane CampusandtheMechanical learning aboutrepairs andfabrication. and Fedon would pushabroom around hisshop, while tric. Thislove camehonestly. Hisdadisamechanic, them andowns many, includingonethat’s carbonelec 28 FEdon Orfanidis

Not surprisingly, Fedon usescarstoexplain thekind His fascinationwithmachinesandindustrial design RED dedication and a Seneca dedication andaSeneca education to build small education tobuildsmall 2016 L A 3Droad mapfor thefuture everaging skills, F edon OrfanidisandStephenLam

loves motorbikes. He races them,fixes businesses of industrialdesign Pinnacle DDMLtd. Co-founders,

- show you how itcanhelpyour company.” didn’t know existed. We have totellyou whatitisand bread is. We are sellingyou onatechnologythatyou selling aloafofbread. Everybody knows whataloafof service anditsbenefits. their finding thatalotoftheirtimeisspent“selling” robotics scanningandchemicalengineering—are fits. Fedon andStephen—whose background isin3D curve, andcustomers needtobeeducatedonitsbene screaming withoutavoice.” can’t accurately say whatitis, you won’t getit.It’s like that part,” says Fedon. “If you needsomething andyou finger printstochairsa1938Duesenberg race car. The scanningpossibilitiesare from endless—everything tation ofthedesired itemformanufacturingpurposes. gives theircustomers anextremely accurate represen- 3D modelsandengineeringdrawings. sands ofpointsonanobjectandmapthemintosolid of portable3Dscannerstoidentifyhundreds ofthou- make abrand newone.” of that,digitallystitch ittogether, andhave somebody “Even ifit’s inseveral pieces, we cancreate a3Dscan pump thattheydon’t make anymore,” says Fedon. “We aren’t like abaker,” says Stephen. “We aren’t Like withany newtechnology, there isalearning “It alldependsonhow accurately you canmake Mounted onaflexible, extendable arm,thisscanner Fedon andStephen usewhattheycall“theCadillac” “Let’s say you have anoldcarwithabroken water - product designs. drawings for countless models andengineering provide clientswith3D Pinnacle DDMLtd. to and Stephen Lam founded Fedon Orfanidis (right) what itis,it’s like without avoice. something and something and you can’t say If you need screaming

photo: joanne ratajczak Eric Dornan, co-founder of All or Nothing Brew- house, has maintained a strong connection with Seneca. He recently addressed more than 100 HELIX students at a forum on entrepreneurship.

kind of honey wine that in medieval times was a luxury An “all or nothing” approach for royalty because honey was really hard to source. to craft brewing We feel it is an enormous opportunity for us and look forward to introducing more varieties to the public.” Eric has brought an “all or nothing” mentality to Eric Dornan this venture, as he has done to past projects, including Co-founder, a sales and marketing agency called 3D Business Solu- All or Nothing Brewhouse tions. Beer production appealed to him because, unlike most sales, the product is produced locally and regulat- ed so that every business is on a level playing field. Eric Dornan’s nickname should be “24-7.” That’s how While sales came naturally through Eric’s dad’s work dedicated he is to his latest venture, All or Nothing as an entrepreneur, Eric had to learn the beer business Brewhouse. This graduate of Seneca’s Entrepreneur- from scratch. He obtained certification as a master ship and Small Business Management program beer sommelier, travelled to Germany and Belgium to has venture capitalism in his blood and a relentless observe the world’s best breweries and joined the drive to succeed. Ontario Brewers Association to have a voice within In two short years, Eric, along with his brother, Jeff, the industry. have established the All or Nothing brand as a unique, The next steps for All or Nothing include consoli- locally brewed Hopfenweisse wheat beer, which is now dating all of its properties under one roof ( distributed across Ontario at 550 locations. and Oakville aren’t exactly within shouting distance), The two recently expanded All or Nothing with the installing a canning line and getting inventory into purchase of Oakville-based Trafalgar Ales & Meads, Ontario grocery stores. The coming months will be We are one of the Black Creek Historic Brewery and Trafalgar Artisanal critical, and Eric is up to the challenge. few who Distillery. These acquisitions have grown the brew- “I don’t have time for anything else, not even a currently make za k house’s offerings to include ciders, meads and even social life,” says Eric. “We don’t know what the future commerically- craft distilled spirits. These unique products—especially will hold. We do know the next few years will be quite available meads the meads—help to differentiate All or Nothing in a very an adventure.” in Canada. competitive craft beer market.

“We are one of the few who currently make com- Learn more about these homegrown Seneca businesses at

c r ataj joanne p hoto: mercially available meads in Canada,” says Eric. “It’s a pinnacleddm.ca and allornothing.beer

RED 2016 29 30 14,000 employees. million stakeholders and for informing two nearly munication, isresponsible Director, Corporate Com- Brad Ross, TT This wasn’t acrisis reputation. Itwas

a crisisoflife. RED of image or of imageor 2016 C’s Executive reputation whenproblems arise. it isvitaltomaintainingan organization’s brand and tance ofcrisiscommunications andtheywilltellyou Ask any communica share theirexperiences conveying news communications from communications from F ive communicationsprofessionals Executive Director, Corporate Communications Senior Strategic CommunicationsAdvisor grads inthefield when thestakes are highest N Leader Opposition oftheOfficial Robin Smith,Jordan Redshaw Municipality ofWood Buffalo otes oncrisis otes Toronto Transit Commission Press secretaries, Regional tionS Pr and Russell Baker H arrison Ruessarrison Brad Ross ofessional

about theimpor

- It was acrisis of life.” Robin. “Thiswasn’t acrisisofimageorreputation. 88,000 people? Yet how doyou trulyprepare for theevacuation of prepared astheycouldbetofulfilltheir obligations. drill amonthbefore thefires started andwere aswell was siegedwithwildfire. Municipality ofWood Buffalo, whenFort McMurray Baker. Allthree were Press secretaries attheRegional graduates, Robin Smith,Jordan Redshaw andRussell everyday prioritiesare supersededwhencrisesarise. ing relationships withastrategic mindset.But these associated withorganizational reputation andmanag self facingacrisis. characters video, orafive-second you couldfindyour ing field.Someoneisalways listening, andwithin140 phones andasocialmediachannelnow share theplay exclusive domainofjournalists. Citizenswithcell- cator. Providing newsworthy contentisnolongerthe points out,inthisdigitalage, everyone isacommuni- tions Advisor fortheLeaderofOfficialOpposition sectors. communications withorganizations across different grad have foundthemselves responsible forcrisis tion program andaBroadcasting-Radio &Television “It’s theschoolofhard knocksatthispoint,” says Fortunately, theyhadexperienced amockcrisis This was thereality facedby three Seneca Public relations andcommunicationsare often As Harrison Ruess, SeniorStrategic Communica- Four graduates ofSeneca’s Corporate Communica-

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photo: joanne ratajczak What could I do in underwater Innovative alumni diving that would with big ideas acting be uncharted? on a global stage

Many Seneca alumni are finding that their technological skills are taking them to unexpected places to do extraordinary things

Zac Bowland Founder, Vanguard Within a few hours, traditional communication ave- nues were lost. The Twitter handle @RMWoodBuffalo Bradly Hoover Professor, quickly became the most reliable, centralized informa- Seneca tion source. Members of the communications team were forced Ali Al Dalla to adapt on the fly as they, too, were being evacuated. Developer, There was no time to panic or to perfect a course Mozilla Foundation of action. Their duty was ensuring the safety of others. Trust, and the ability to feed off each other’s positive energy, enabled them to manage the stress of a natural “I’ve been all over the world trying to chase this profes- disaster. sion,” says Zac Bowland. He isn’t kidding. “It was a fight-versus-flight mentality,” says Russell. A commercial diver, and graduate of Seneca’s “We had to put our heads down and get the job done.” Underwater Skills program, Zac goes where the work Brad Ross, Executive Director, Corporate Commu- is. Recently, that meant Long Beach California. In the nications at the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) past, it’s meant Alaska, Taiwan and Japan, doing can empathize with plowing through to get a job done. underwater repairs on damaged ships. Every day, he is responsible for communicating infor- Originally from Montana, Zac joined the U.S. Navy mation (good and bad) to a workforce of 14,000 and out of high school, obtained a degree in geophysics, 1.8 million stakeholders. Brad counts on his experience then fell in love with a Canadian woman (also a diver). in communications and journalism when crises occur. That brought him to Seneca and a life-changing “A day that can be seemingly routine can be punctu- moment of inspiration. ated with delays to the system and service interrup- “I was working as an instructor at a skydiving tions,” says Brad. “Crashes, collisions, personal injury school,” says Zac. “I saw Felix Baumgartner do the or theft are just some of the issues that could present ‘space bomb,’ where he dove from space. They built themselves at any given time. We have to be prepared.” Brad notes that a crisis doesn’t always have to be an emergency. “The TTC is a public entity,” he says. “There is a responsibility and accountability to make sure public funds are managed effectively. Failure to do so can lead to a crisis of confidence in the organization and its leadership.” In April 2008, three weeks into his role at the TTC, Brad was faced with a labour strike that resulted in 36 hours without public transportation. In the midst of this crisis, Brad’s principles remained the same: Be open, honest and transparent. The messaging was simple: “There is no service.” People want information. That’s why Brad has 22,000 followers on Twitter, not to mention more than 250,000 followers on the TTC’s customer service and notices handles. It’s his responsibility to provide Zac Bowland’s company Vanguard is conducting answers. A simple, “We’re working on it,” followed by dives in the Himalayas regular updates go a long way. to help local communities detect and prepare As Brad points out, the right attitude, coupled with for floods caused by empathy and integrity, can mitigate almost any crisis. melting glaciers.

RED 2016 31 Left: their own space program for his idea. I thought, ‘What Bradly Hoover’s could I do in underwater diving that would be unchart- groundbreaking work at CERN began with a ed?’ I started looking at high-altitude diving.” professor’s connection. By high-altitude diving, Zac means deep water dives Right: into bodies at high altitudes, like in the Himalayas. Ali Al Dalla came to Seneca A passionate environmentalist, he had been learning via Iraq and and began his career at Mozilla about the effects of global warming on glaciers—melt- with a co-op placement. ing them into deep, unstable water bodies that can wash away communities below them. Conducting dives in these waters, Zac, and col- leagues at his company, Vanguard, can gain a better understanding of the dangers of melting glaciers and share the information locally to help detect and pre- vent disasters. “I understand the magnitude of what we are facing as a species,” say Zac. “If a commercial diver can figure out how to do something about climate change on top of the world, I would hope that might serve as inspiration for others to see what they can do in their backyards.” Bradly Hoover, a Computer Programming and Analysis graduate, now Software Development degree student, is also having a global impact, thanks to his “If a student comes to me and says, ‘I’m really inter- interest in video gaming processors. ested in this,’ then I am going to find all the information His work with a program called Travel, has helped I possibly can, and guide them to where they want to to up calculations being done at CERN, the Euro- go,” says Bradly. pean Organization for Nuclear Research, in Switzer- Another Seneca grad interested in using computers land. These calculations are used in CERN’s linear for good was inspired by his fascination with Apple accelerators to smash atoms into elementary particles. products, much to the chagrin of Silicon Valley. “The accelerators take beams of particles of lead Ali Al Dalla, who was born in Iraq, grew up in Thai- or gold and spins them around at 99.99 per cent the land and found his way to Seneca’s Computer Sciences speed of light,” explains Bradly. “It then smashes them program, because he was, a self-proclaimed “Apple together, and, from the results, scientists can simulate fan-boy.” He was always developing new software to conditions around the time of the Big Bang.” hack his phone, and he’d blog about Apple’s new initia- This project developed when Bradly expressed a tives in Thai. Apple wasn’t impressed. desire to try writing programming for high perfor- “I had 30,000 followers on Facebook at the time,” mance graphics processing units. Professor Chris Szal- says Ali. “People followed me because they didn’t winski reached out to a contact at CERN, and Bradly understand English, and they loved Apple stuff. But was in. The result was performance that was 72 times Apple shut me down. They thought that I was stealing faster in certain instances; what used to take months their business.” could now be accomplished in days. Ali has since turned his attention to bringing the During his studies, Bradly has been teaching as well. Internet to people in remote regions, through his work He wants to provide his students the kinds of opportu- with the Mozilla Foundation. His experience with nities Chris made possible for him. Mozilla started with a Seneca co-op placement. Now Ali works on developing infrastructure for people around the world to access the Internet in their own languages, and within appropriate cultural context— a process known as “localization.” It’s not just Ali’s computer skills that make him a perfect fit for this kind of work. “My multicultural background allows me to under- stand how things work within different communities,” says Ali. “Localization isn’t just translating words. You still have to understand the culture.” So whether it’s a commercial diver tackling climate change in the Himalayas, a computer programmer who applies gaming theory to improve understanding about My multicultural the universe, or a hacker working to localize the background Internet, Seneca graduates are lending their talents and allows me to passions—and technology—to evoke positive change. understand how things work within different communities.

32 RED 2016 2016PREMIER’S AWARD NOMINEES

Seneca has a wealth of experienced and accomplished alumni. Six have been nominated this year for the Premier’s Award for College Graduates.

Joelene Huber Mia Spiegelman Kevin Junor Vivienne Poy Andrew Bowins Chris Tyler (Recent Graduate) (Health Sciences) (Community Services) (Creative Arts & Design) (Business) (Technology)

Mia Spiegelman is the The Hon. Dr. Vivienne Poy Andrew Bowins is Vice Chris Tyler is a founder of Dr. Joelene Huber is one Kevin Junor is the Deputy National Director, Regula- is a designer, scholar and President, Corporate Rela- the Centre for Development of Canada’s leading media Superintendent, Compli- tory Affairs and Quality former Chancellor of the tions at Samsung, where he of Open Technology at Sen- health experts, providing ance, Ministry of Commu- Assurance for Cardinal University of Toronto. A Sen- is building the company’s eca and was named one knowledge translation of nity Safety and Correc- Health Canada. Her respon- eca Fashion Arts graduate, first corporate reputation of the first Natural Science health information to the tional Services. As an army sibilities include a 17-person she founded Vivienne Poy group that integrates digital, and Engineering Research public through television, reservist, Kevin has reached department and oversee- Mode, designing unique corporate communications, Council Industrial Research web, and print media. the rank of Chief Warrant ing due diligence, quality knitwear for clients in North employee engagement and Chairs for Colleges. An A graduate of Seneca’s Officer, and Regimental Ser- assurance and licensing of America and Asia. Vivienne corporate social responsi- established leader in open Broadcast Journalism geant Major (RSM) with the 100,000 medical devices, was the first Canadian of bility. Working with leading source technology, Chris Summer Institute, Dr. Huber Toronto Scottish Regiment drugs and natural health Asian descent appointed companies like Amazon, leads applied research into has made more than 50 (the first black Canadian to products from 700 suppli- to the Senate of Canada, Dell, Nokia, Samsung, Sony software for low-energy, television appearances achieve this distinction). He ers. A graduate of Seneca’s where she put forth the Mo- and MasterCard, this gradu- high-performance comput- on CBC, CTV and Global, has 30 years’ experience in Pharmaceutical Regulatory tion to have May recognized ate of Seneca’s Corporate ers. His collaboration with while providing columns the Ontario Public Service Affairs and Quality Opera- as Asian Heritage Month. Communications program Red Hat on the Fedora for , and has chaired boards for tions program, Mia is also A prolific author, her books has built world-class com- Project contributed to the CBC.ca, Today’s Parent Police Advisory Council a faculty member with the include Heroes & Gamblers: munications teams for ground-breaking success magazine and Inside Soccer of Caledon and Rapport Academy of Applied Phar- Tales of Survival and Good companies in periods of of Raspberry Pi. The $35 magazine. She also founded Credit Union. A graduate of maceutical Sciences, where Fortune of the Poy Family, transition, rapid growth or in credit card-sized computer uberhealthykids.com, to Seneca’s Civil Engineering she teaches Medical Device and Passage to Promise times of crisis. Andrew is a encourages experimenta- promote healthy living for Technician program, Kevin Regulatory Affairs and Land, which chronicles sought after industry expert tion and education and children, and is part of the was awarded the Order Medical Device Quality and experiences of Chinese im- on modern communica- makes programming St. Michael’s Hospital Inner of Military Merit and was Regulatory Requirements migrant women in Canada. tions and content pollution. accessible to all. Chris also City Health Program and the deployed to war-torn Sierra for Importer/Distributor and In 2013, he was inducted to helped launch the Free Pediatric Outreach Team. Leone in 2007 as a senior Manufacturers. the PR News Hall of Fame. Software and Open Source military adviser. Symposium at Seneca.

RED 2016 33 PERSONNEL Job # Comments Production Artist Copy Writer Production Art Director Client Contact SEN_16057 communities matters. Because caring for our You canhelp. Learn more at senecacollege.ca/king and othercriticallyimportantcontributors to oursociety. graduate more nurses,police ocers, earlychildcare educators, socialworkers, eldercare providers That’s why we’re launchingacampaignto expand thisuniquelearningenvironment, sothat we can King Campus. communities safer andhealthier. The needfor Kinggraduates continues to grow andsotoo must the For more than40years, Seneca’s KingCampushasbeenhometo academicprograms that make our full pagead MC None None HM Lindsay Collins Filename SEN_16057_King_Campus_RED Mag_9x12_R2.indd

SETUP PUBLICATION Safety Trim Bleed Insertion Date Ad Number Publication(s) 8.25” x11.25” 9” x12” 9.25” x12.25” Due Sept.5 None RED Magazine T:9” Modified 8-30-2016 10:33AM

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Micheline Carone T:12” Daymond Ling Roger Conzelmann Offering students expertise A familiy tradition and a helping hand. of supporting the p. 39 skilled trades. p. 41 Giving Back Kelly Mathews Blazing a new trail with a record-setting hike

Seven marathons. Seven straight days. Alone. Three hundred kilometres of uneven forest terrain. An exercise in torture? It’s just a walk in the park for Kelly Mathews. Kelly, Seneca’s Manager, Community Recreation, Camps & Director of the Outdoor Education Centre, has the out- doors in her blood. Farley Mowat is her great uncle after all. Growing up in Kelly Mathews’ hike and Ontario, family trips weren’t took her across the Oak Ridges Moraine. to Disneyland, but to camp sites. Over seven straight days this summer, Kelly hiked the en- tire 300 kilometres of the Oak in pledges from friends and col- and Twitter strategy were chronicled her journey each Ridges Moraine (the equivalence leagues—some of whom jokingly mapped. She trained for almost night and sent photos and video of walking a marathon a day). said they paid to see her suffer a year, and the trip was recorded from the trail. While document- Her odyssey began in Caledon through this grueling task. For with a GoPro camera. A donor ing and donating to great causes Ontario and concluded in Trent Kelly, the idea came naturally. provided a satellite phone for were big parts of this experience, Hills, just east of Peterborough. “I’ve always wanted to do emergencies, and many oth- there was much more to it for Her 42 kilometre-per-day pace, an end-to-end hike of the Oak ers offered their backyards and Kelly. The preparation, and the made Kelly’s trek the fast- Ridges Moraine Trail,” she says. their couches for Kelly to crash walk itself, have been monumen- est crossing of the Oak Ridges “I have been blessed to have this on mid-route. But for her, it had tal tests of her resolve, which Moraine Trail ever. trail run through my work and to be an organic experience. No she welcomed. In the process she raised my home. And it gave me the op- music even. “This was the hardest thing money for the Oak Ridges portunity to generate awareness “Everyone was so nice,” says I’ve ever done,” she says. “I’ve Moraine Trail Association and for King Campus and the trail, Kelly. “But I wanted to do this on learned I am mentally tougher the campaign for Seneca’s King both of which I love.” my own, and I am glad I was able than I give myself credit.” Campus expansion. Even before Such an undertaking required to see it through.” taking her first step, Kelly blew intricate planning, and no detail An author (she penned a past her $5,000 goal and ended was overlooked. Kelly’s route, comprehensive retrospective on Follow Kelly and see the results of her hike up receiving more than $9,000 menu, sleeping accommodations the building of ), Kelly @allthingsregal #ORMT300

RED 2016 35 GIVING BACK 1.4 Times the salary earned by those with a postsecondary credential than those with a high school diploma.

Youth to Postsecondary “Legal” aid for those who need it most

Hammed Babatunde arrived in Y2P now consists of a Canada last September as a 30-week academic and life skills refugee from Nigeria. With no program for youth, aged 18 to family or connections, his first 25. Supports also include a meal stop was a mosque, followed program, transportation subsi- by a shelter. At the shelter, dies, child care and counselling. he learned about a new aca- Since May 2015, 35 young demic upgrading program being people have completed the Y2P offered for free by Seneca and program. Now there is a waiting the Toronto District School list, and the first group of Board, called Youth to Postsec- Y2P alumni started a college ondary, or “Y2P.” program this fall. Hammed finished high Graduates possess the skill- school back home, but needed sets to enter a college bridging more math and English training program, become apprentices or to enter college and pursue a seek meaningful employment. career in health care. He is one While many students like of many young people, new to Hammed need Y2P to succeed, Canada, or coming from disad- funding for the program is vantaged situations, without a limited. Seneca has approached high school diploma, who need donors to help expand its an affordable way to upgrade impact, and partners like their skills and attend college. TELUS and the Catherine and Y2P provides this opportunity. Maxwell Meighen Foundation “Y2P really strengthened my have been generous with foundation in math and Eng- their support. lish,” says Hammed. “It’s the The most recent contribu- beginning if you want to go to tors to Y2P are a brother and college or university.” sister who have experienced Today, Daniel, a criminal law- practice is just down the This program was a passion adversity first-hand and under- yer, works with marginalized street from Yorkgate. “It’s project for the retired Chair of stand the importance of helping youth who find themselves important that we offer them Seneca’s Faculty of Workforce young people overcome obsta- in bad situations that could a helping hand.” Skills Development, Leolyn cles to education. be prevented with the kind of Emma—whose practice Hendricks. Her tireless work Daniel and Emma Michael— support Y2P offers. includes corporate law, real providing academic upgrading both lawyers—grew up in a sin- “Once kids reach 17 and estate, wills and estates—was services at Yorkgate Campus led gle-parent household and saw don’t have the credits they need, inspired by the dedication of her to develop this unique ini- people around them make bad it’s very difficult to take that her older brother to turn the tiative for those without the choices, abandon their studies leap to get a general education adversity he faced as a young basic skills to consider college. and sacrifice their futures. diploma,” says Daniel, whose man into a successful academic

36 RED 2016 GIVING BACK 51.9% Of those aged 26 to 65 living in Toronto’s Black Creek neighbourhood don’t have a postsecondary credential.

Y2P students and supporters (l to r) Kazima Raza, Emma Michael, Yoisan Cala, Daniel Michael and Hammed Babatunde.

“Y2P is the beginning if you want to go to college or university.”

the costs of dropping out

1. 40,000 students in Canada become high school dropouts each year. 2. High school dropouts make up 80 per cent of Canada’s prison and professional career. She has do not have the same support.” “It’s inspiring to see people population. 3. Nearly 83,000 youth in the done the same and now wants Thanks to the ongoing con- who have the courage to get Greater Toronto and Hamilton to help others. tributions of donors like Daniel up every day and aspire to be Area are not in education, “To help people from all and Emma, Y2P will continue better,” says Emma. “It also employment or training. This accounts for about 10 per cent walks of life achieve a postsec- to grow and serve more at-risk helps the community as a of the young people in these ondary education is valuable to youth looking to build brighter whole. For me, that’s the ulti- regions. Canadian society,” says Emma. futures for themselves and their mate motivation.” 4. The collective lifetime revenue loss for each person without a “I got support from my family families. They will also receive postsecondary education over and teachers. I feel it’s my obli- the support needed to cover liv- To support the students taking part in the a 35-year period is $307 billion. Youth To Postsecondary program, contact gation to help people in the ing costs and develop a game Senior Development Officer Joy Gooding: same circumstances as me but plan for the future. [email protected]

RED 2016 37 During the Second World War, GIVING Lady Eaton provided Eaton Hall BACK to the Royal Canadian Navy as a Convalescent Hospital to treat wounded veterans.

Paying It Forward giving initiative make ends meet as a student and by how much receiving a Inspiring alumni scholarship helped her. “I was in their shoes not too to help students long ago,” Hong remembers. in need “[My scholarship] offered such relief. There is no greater inhib- itor than financial stress. It gives me great pleasure knowing that I can do the same for others.” “Pay it forward” is an expression The Pay it Forward concept used to describe the beneficiary is well-timed in the current of a good deed repaying it to postsecondary landscape. others. An altruistic concept, Students today face more chal- it helped to inspire the Seneca lenges than any generation Alumni Pay-It-Forward Chal- before them. For many, eco- lenge. In April, Seneca set out nomic hardship poses a barrier with the goal of challenging 250 to persistence and graduation. alumni to make a gift to benefit The connection between finan- Financial aid for nursing students the next generation of graduates. cial aid and student retention By the end of June, the Pay- is undeniable. A fitting tribute to It-Forward Challenge closed “Each year, we lose too many with 285 donors, surpassing the students,” says Tan-Ling Yeung, Lady Flora Eaton original goal by 35, and raising Director, Advancement and more than $10,000. Better still, Alumni. “Not because they are a gift of $25,000 from an anony- ill-suited to their chosen field of mous donor was unlocked, study, but because they simply Seneca’s School of Nursing is housed at King helping the Challenge reach cannot afford to pay for school. Campus—on the grounds of the former $35,000. As a result, 70 new These are the students our Eaton Estate that Lady Flora Eaton gener- $500 bursaries will be distribut- alumni can help the most.” ously provided as a military hospital during ed in the current academic year. the Second World War. Lady Eaton was a One of these donors was nurse by training. She served at Rotherham Hong Chen, who graduated from House, where she met a patient named the Human Resources Strategy John Craig Eaton, who would become If you did not have a chance to participate & Technology Degree program. in the Pay-It-Forward Challenge, there are her husband. She was motivated to give still plenty of opportunities to give back To honour Lady Eaton (pictured above), to Seneca throughout the year. Visit because of her own struggles to senecacollege.ca/donate to learn how. three Eaton family foundations have estab- lished the Lady Eaton Endowed Scholarship for Nurses. This scholarship will be awarded to Seneca’s top nursing students, who are ex- celling in their studies and making a positive difference in the community. “The Eaton foundations’ support of Seneca’s nursing students is greatly appre- ciated and comes at a critical time for the profession,” says Maria May, Dean, Faculty of Applied Arts and Health Sciences. “There is a shortage of nurses in Ontario and nationally, and we need to do all we can to support those devoted to pursing careers in patient care.”

The Lady Eaton Endowed Scholarship Right: for Nurses will offset tuition costs for those Founding President Dr. William T. Newnham with exceptional grades and who contribute (right) with stylish Seneca through volunteerism and as mentors. students, circa 1970.

38 RED 2016 GIVING BACK 1.7 Megabytes of new information will be created every second for every human on Earth by 2020.

Daymond Ling A big help with big data and student assistance

Daymond Ling analyzes data very, now known as SAS. He started very well. using SAS in 1980, and sees it as While working with Ameri- the most dominant player in the can Express’s fraud investiga- analytics software solution tion team, his work to identify space and the product of choice patterns of credit card theft led for leaders in insurance, tele- to a $50-million reduction in communications, banking and loss for Amex in just six months. government. While students When he got tired of chasing must be familiar with as much criminals, Daymond joined analytics software as possible, CIBC, helping its customer a working knowledge of SAS is relationship management team critical to their success. target communications to key “When I came to Seneca, clientele, bringing in an addi- we didn’t have SAS running in tional $10 billion in deposit the classroom,” says Daymond. business—a 33 per cent increase. “So I reached out to SAS and After nearly 40 years in the they were more than happy to field, Daymond is sharing his give us the entire suite of SAS exceptional skills and experi- software, as part of their aca- ence with Seneca. demics program. Our students As a professor in the new will leave Seneca having SAS Strategic Marketing Analytics skills that can land them a job graduate certificate programs, and allow them to be productive in his program. In one short he helps students navigate the very fast.” year, he has found a home at world of big data, with a focus The first cohort of Strategic Seneca and wants to give back. Getting to know my on solving real-world problems. Marketing Analytics students “I started thinking about students got me thinking “Our program is very differ- graduated in August, and, making a significant contribu- about making a ent from universities, where according to Daymond, they tion when I got to know my significant contribution. they teach statistical methodol- will be in hot demand. For that, students,” he says. “I really ogies,” says Daymond. “Every they can thank Daymond for admire their ambition and their topic we teach is wrapped in the expertise he offers and for desire to better themselves. If a business story.” providing them with access I can put them in a slightly bet- Throughout Daymond’s to the global standard in data ter position so they can focus career, he has seen the rapid analytics software. more on studying, rather than evolution of data analytics soft- If that weren’t enough, putting food on the table, then Professor Daymond Ling brings ware provided by companies Daymond also decided to estab- that’s something I want to do.” 40 years of data analytics like Statistics Analysis Systems, lish an award to help students experience to Seneca classrooms.

RED 2016 39 GIVING BACK 98 Number of hours of work that a $1,000 bursary could save a Seneca student earning minimum wage.

Advice on insurance-based giving How to give on a grand scale… while living on a pension

There is no greater feeling than supporting the causes we hold dearest (especially when that cause is educating the next generation of Seneca students). But most of us don’t have the means to make five- or six figure-gifts to our favourite col- lege. Yet there is another way to make a big philanthropic splash, even if you’re living on a fixed income and have family members you’d like to support during your lifetime, and through your will. By purchasing a life insur- ance policy, and naming Seneca as the owner and beneficiary, healthy, female donor living in you can make a larger gift. All of Ontario purchases a new life doing the math on your premiums are tax deduct- insurance policy with the inten- insurance-based giving ible, and you can turn those rea- tion of gifting it to Seneca. She sonable monthly payments into a names Seneca as the owner and major contribution for a fraction beneficiary of this “Term 100” of what you’ve paid. life insurance policy, which has This is the approach retired a fixed monthly premium of just Annual cost of $769.08 Seneca Dean of Business Maureen $64 and provides a guaranteed insurance premiums ($64.09/month) Dey has taken to support future death benefit of $25,000. (Refer students. Her donation of life to the chart on the right for Tax credit received insurance occurs separately from more details.) annually against $268.64 her estate. This means Maureen’s Please note: The premiums the cost of the premium gift will not be impacted by a donor pays are based on age, estate taxes or professional fees, health and type of insurance Actual annual cost of the $500.44 and it will go directly to Seneca policy. Always talk with a profes- premium after tax credit after she passes. sional insurance advisor to deter-

“Seneca has given me a great mine the best options for you to Total cost of the policy life, and I want to give back,” meet your charitable goals. after tax credit (assuming death at age $8,007.04 says Maureen. “This gift will 81—the current Canadian not affect the inheritances of my average life expectancy) loved ones. And I can use the tax To learn more about establishing a gift credit during my lifetime.” to Seneca through a life insurance policy, Your donation to Seneca Donation to Seneca when contact Seneca Senior Development can be designated to $25,000 How does a gift like Maureen’s Officer Debbie Kesheshian: financial aid, programs or policy is claimed work? Imagine a 65-year-old, [email protected] capital campaigns.

40 RED 2016 GIVING BACK 1/10 Of the thickness of a piece of paper can be mea- sured by the Coordinate Measuring Machine at Jane Campus.

How old were you when you first started Bruno Conzelmann working with your dad? I was nine when immigrated to Canada in the shop started in our garage. My brother, Bruce, was 12. We would come home after 1957 and found work in a school and see what he was doing and, at machine shop. In 1971, first, just sweep the shop on the weekends and in the summer. Then I started working he turned down an on a saw, cutting material and so on. Both ownership offer, opting to Bruce and I were mechanically inclined. start his own company, We just kind of grew into the industry. B.C. Instruments, with just You have clients in aerospace, plastic injection molding, medicine, and nuclear one milling machine in his power. How do you become knowledge- garage. It was the right able about all those sectors? That comes from the development of long-term rela- decision. Today, B.C. tionships. You also have to know what is Instruments supplies unique about each product and elevate your understanding of the industry. When we precision machined call on new customers to get to know them, components to clients we typically talk to multiple areas of their organizations—design, engineering, quality globally and has opened a control. Once you start to work with the sister plant in India. engineers and the designers, then the real relationships happen. For us, some have Bruno’s son Roger has lasted for 40+ years. We can then say, “This is what you have done in the past. Are you Program advisory committee volunteer recently lent the company’s expertise to the program sure this is what you want?” Roger Conzelmann advisory committee for You are Seneca’s neighbour in King President, B.C. Instruments Township. How did your dad get involved Jane Campus. with the Jane Campus? In the late 70s, He talks about his dad’s he was part of the Canadian Innovations & Technology Corporation, which worked to connection to Seneca, train young people in high tech-trades at preparing students for the specialized facilities like the Jane Campus. He was always interested in looking at how workforce and taking on we would find and develop skilled people. the family business. You recently visited Jane Campus yourself and B.C. Instruments will be advising curriculum there. What are you looking for in potential employees? I think it’s the same things that make us successful: commitment. If you are going after a type of career, stick with it and do what it takes to develop your ability. Take responsibility for your thoughts, decisions, actions and results. Commitment, plus the technical skills students are getting at Seneca, will allow them to be success- ful—100 per cent.

RED 2016 41 DONORS $20.7M Current value of Seneca’s endowment fund.

Donor List 2015/2016 Thank you to the generous donors and sponsors who support Seneca students. This list recognizes contributions of $100 and above made from April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016.

$100,000+ HATCH Ltd. TeraMach DIALOG Newad Media Inc. William Westfall Hal Jackman Foundation The Heavy Construction Technologies Inc. Renata Dinnocenzo†* NLI Solutions Ana White† Rita & Rudy Koehler Association of Toronto Triumph Express Service Donna Duncan North America Worldwide Aircraft PowerStream John Honderich Canada Inc. Edgeworx Solutions lnc. Taiwanese Women’s Ferrying Ltd. RBC Foundation Marianne Marando† Walker Wood Foundation Elsie MacGill Northern Association Toronto Tan-Ling Yeung† Karen & Ross Mason†* Xerox Canada Ltd. Lights Award Chapter Daniel Zaiontz† Seneca College Suzanne Price†* Anonymous (1) Fasken Martineau North American Zaiontz Family Alumni Association R. A. Properties Inc. Federation of Mutual Telecommunications Yu-Lei Henry Zhang* Seneca Student Scherman-Priest Arts $1,000 – $4,999 Fund Dealers Damage Prevention Anonymous (1) Federation Nancy Shanoff-Weis A & L Computer Forest City Fire Council TD Bank Financial Group Society of Cosmetic Software Ltd. Protection & Security OBN Security & $500 – $ 999 The W. Garfield Chemists, Ontario ACL & Associates Ltd. FORREC LTD. Investigative 104.5 CHUM-FM Weston Foundation Chapter Adobe Systems Inc. George & Lynda Fry†* Consultants Ali Abedini† Anonymous (1) TD Insurance Meloche AECOM Gardiner Roberts LLP Ontario Municipal Appraisal Institute Monnex Alliance Creative Great-West Life Taxation and Revenue of Canada $25,000 – $99,999 Anonymous (1) Marketing Greater Toronto Hotel Association Association of Ontario The Catherine and Altus Group Limited Association OPSEU Local 561 Land Economists Fredrik Eaton $5,000 – $9,999 Fariba Anderson Cindy Hazell† OTA Education AVO Advanced Charitable Foundation The Advertising Club Association of Canadian Hicks Morley Hamilton Foundation Inc. Solutions Inc. Chartered Professional of Toronto Compliance Stewart Storie LLP Parsons Inc. Sonja Bata Accountants of David Agnew† Professionals Bill Hogarth† Carolyn Pascoe Borell Limited Ontario BMK Benchmark Inc. Janet Beed IBI Group PCL Constructors Partnership Deloitte Canadian Society Christine Blake-Durie† Institute of Municipal Canada Inc. Henry & Global Aerospace of Association Brookfield Office Assessors POI Business Interiors Elizabeth Brendel Underwriting Managers Executives, Properties The Insurance and PPI Partners Canterbury Place (Canada) Ltd. Trillium Chapter Brown Daniels Investment Journal Axel Rasmussen Retirement Residence The John C. and Cogeco Data Associates Inc. Investors Group Sabel Ventures Inc. Captus Press Inc. Sally Horsfall Eaton Services Inc. Canadian Federation Financial Services Inc. Softchoice Thomas Carrique Foundation EllisDon Corporation of University Women IRIS The Visual Group, Mark Solomon† C. D. Sonter Ltd. Knowledge First Follett Higher (Aurora-Newmarket) Ontario Michael Sparling† Ying Chang* Foundation Education Group Cartel Inc., Jazz Aviation LP John Struthers Jean Choi† The Thor E. and Gene Haas Foundation “Legal Staffing” Warren Jestin Stanley Talesnick & James Cleary† Nicole Eaton Family Hemwattie George† Castello Landscape Jordan and Lynne Brenda Wilson† Criminal Lawyers’ Charitable Foundation Hewlett-Packard Construction Ltd. Elliott Family Elizabeth Tan† Association Tony Scherman (Canada) Co. Coca-Cola Bottling Foundation Telio Foundation Ronald & Shirley Currie† Wawanesa Mutual Honeywell Limited Company Anna Kalika†* Toronto and Area Road Maureen Dey† Insurance Le Chateau The Co-operators Brian Labatte Builders Association DuCharme, McMillen & Anonymous (1) Mike Leon* CoreNet Global Henry Labatte (TARBA) Associates NCO Grenville Canadian Chapter LASIK MD Toronto Inc. Tremco Canada Canada, Ltd. $10,000 – $24,999 Management & Andrew Cripps Deirdre Macdonald Roofing Division Cynthia Duncan† Aramark Canada Ltd. Printing Henry & Olga Decock† MBNA Canada Marcus Udokang* E. Dyck Opticians Terry Costantino Precise ParkLink Inc. Desjardins Financial Modern Niagara University Women’s Ken & Maureen Ellis† Victoria Costantino Realtax Recovery Security Independent Group Inc. Club of Elaine Fenner† Economical Insurance Specialists Network-Don Valley Naaz Mohamed† Usability Matters Inc. Tanis Fink† Estate of James Streeter Michael Shaver LFS Financial Municipal Finance Viking Fire Protection Linda Florio† Fairfax Financial Stantec Consulting Ltd. Centre Inc. Officers’ Association Inc./Protection Wanda Forsythe† Holdings Limited Winston Stewart* Tina Di Simone† Karen Murkar† incendie Viking Inc. Gary Friedlander

42 RED 2016 New tribute awards established DONORS in 2015-16 to recognize: Daniel Atlin; Marc Caira; Alice Costantino; Olga Decock; Larry DeFlorio; Toolia George; Leolyn Hendricks; the Laboni family; Laurie Landy; Sid Leon; Jim Streeter and Lucy Zaiontz.

The accuracy of this list is important to us. If you notice any omissions or errors, please contact Katie Colvin, Annual Fund and Stewardship Officer: 416.491.5050 ext. 77285 or [email protected].

Marc Gordon* $100 – $499 Joan & George Jamieson† Angelo Miranda† Shiloh House of Derek Gruchy† Sandra Aldcorn† Roger Cunnington† Jessica Johnson† Claire Moane†* Prayer Inc. Claire Haddad Nancy Alexander Frances Davidson-Arnott† Marie Kalman Keri Monaghan & Sienna Senior Living Inc. Birgitte Hansen† Glenn Archer Catherine Dawson†* Gwendolyne Kane Christopher Durocher* Serge Silvestri Leolyn Hendricks† Sarah Arliss† Lydia Dedil-Andal Lorraine Kelly John Morelli†* Valarie Simmons†* George Hrischenko† Kara Arviko† Mary Del Bianco† Amy Kendall Ted Moriarty† Fatema Somji†* † Azan’s Hair Salon Mario DiCarlo†* Jason Kerswill† Rachel Morris-Ohm† Camille Soucie† Kelly Jackson† Isabelle Babici† Andrea Diplock† Deborah Kesheshian† Margaret Murphy Karen Spiers† Gary Johnson† Margaret Bader† Diane Duerden† Naomi Kestenbaum† Peter Myers† Linda Stapleton† Anthony Kalamut†* Deepak Bajaj† Angela Dunn†* Sharon Kinasz† Barry Naymark† Gail Strachan† Faizal Kayum Margaret Baker Lucie & William Dutfield† Marcie-Ann King†* Maia Nenkova† Helen Szumigaj* Alice Keung Lucille Ballentyne Derek Elliott* Edward Koen† Cynthia Nighswander† Nasrin Talebi†* Radha Krishnan† Hazel Barton Linda Facchini† Zhaosheng Kong† Mona Nouroozifar† Edwin Terry Julie Levin† Paola Battiston† Derrick Fairman† Carolyn Lam† Cindy O’Brien† Glenna Thomas†* Dulcie Linton† Bernard Beaulieu† Corinne Falconer† Danielle Latanskiy†* Mary Louise O’Hara† Susan Thomas†* Corey Long† Kimberlie Beno† Laura-Ann Farid† Noreen Patricia Lawrence Denise Olah†* Thompson Municipal Mina Mawani Jesse Black-Allen† Bess Farquharson† Araceli Layo†* Valerie Oldfield Tax Consultants Karen McGill† Blackboard Inc. Katharine Ferguson† Kelly Lee† Case Ootes Bernice Thompson* Graeme McIntosh†* Claudia Blumberger† Mary Fisher† Brian Lejnieks† Margaret Osborne†* Ian Tipson†* Joy McKinnon Kiley Bolton† Chandler Fitzpatrick†* Robert Lerit†* Daniel & Victor Trotman* Lynne McMullen† Sue Bond† Evelyn Follett† Dana Liang Eva O’Sullivan†* David Turnbull† Milburn Universal Maxine Britto† Cindy Fong† Daymond Ling† Huiqing Ou* Underline Studio Inc. Designs Joseph Brookman† Don Forster† Steven Linthwaite* John Owen† Zatoon Vania Adriana Neil† Diana Brostow Rick Fortier† Donald Lowe Dale Peers†* Elisha Vooys Carla Nell† Maxine Brown†* Lynn Fournier-Ruggles† Philip Lui† Chris Posthumus†* Clare Vozza†* Northbridge Insurance Russell Brubacher† Kristina Galetin† John MacBride†* Penelope Potter Samantha Wan† Naki Osutei Linda Bull†* Pauline George Earling Marcell Jocelyn Purchase† Paget Warner Papaya Market Angela Burnie† Alison Gibson†* Markham High Tech Linda Quinn† Carolyn & Research Inc. Helena Bzonkova† Marian Gibson† Architects William Riddell† David Webster† Soheila Pashang† Paul Cadoo†* Joy Gooding†* Robert Martin Clare Ross† Betty Lou Welsby Matthew Pierson* Judith Cameron†* Diane Gore† Kelly Mathews† Derek Ryner† Carl Whiteside Jenni Prodanovic†* Douglas Campbell† Bernadette Gosbee Maria May† Olga Sadowy Denise Williams† Chris Ratnasingham†* Canadian Cosmetics Jane Haddad† Catherine Mayers†* Brenda Terry Sarjeant Sam Wong† Laura Rutledge† Careers Association Ebhana Hardy-Henry† Jeff McCarthy† Elizabeth Saul Sharon Wong†* Susan Savoie†* Paul & Floyd Hardy-Henry† Elizabeth McCartney† William Sault†* Phillip Woolf† Seneca Retirees Christina Cannis* Roy Hart† Andrew & George Scott† Barbara Zelinski Association Carol Carruthers† Glenn Heshka† Rose McConnell† Richard Scott Jamie Zeppa† Shapiro Family Debra Chai† Alan Hills† Eileen McEwen† Majid Shahravan†* Angela Zigras†* Paul & Patricia Sloggett†* Elizabeth Charters† Yu Ho* Susan McGlynn† Barbara Shannon† Anonymous (6) Snap Studios Inc. Mindy Chase† David Hoffman† Cynthia McKeich† Elise Sheridan† The State Group Inc. Kian Chua† Dennis Roy Hopps† Timothy McKenna† Maureen Szeto* Judy Chung†* Susan Horne† Peter & Laura Meehan Thru Cash ATM Inc. Denise Cole Dean Hughes Danielle Mercier† Dominic Totino† Katie Colvin† Michelle Hutt†* Valerie Miceli† LEGEND David Tsubouchi† Gregory Corbold† Rebecca Isowa Anna Mielnik* † = Seneca employee or member, Karen & John Webb Mike Costantino Andre James Iole & Seneca Retirees Association Anonymous (3) Sharon Cozens† Jean James Michel Millescamps† * = Seneca alumni

RED 2016 43 Back in the Day Honoring Seneca’s volleyball ace

“Crazy.” That was the word on Avery Brevett’s mind when her alongside Frank and Rose Sulatycki, who coached her at Seneca. number was retired by the Seneca Scouts (now the Sting), after a In 2003, Avery was inducted into the OCAA Hall of Fame, and she career that saw her win four provincial gold and two national bronze was named to the OCAA Women’s Volleyball All-Millennium Team medals in women’s volleyball. in 2000. “I was shocked,” the accounting grad says. “I was honoured, but “The coaches at Seneca were bar none the best in the country,” I didn’t think I’d done anything to deserve it.” she says. “They developed players and taught us to understand the That couldn’t be further from the truth. From 1991 to 1995, game, to succeed both on and off the court with conditioning, men- Avery led Seneca to four Ontario Colleges Athletic Association tal preparation and breathing techniques.” (OCAA) titles, along with four bronze-medal games at the Canadian Avery recalls the great perseverance her team showed when they Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) National Championship. lost a marathon game to Sherbrooke in the 1995 CCAA semifinal. Avery was named a CCAA All-Canadian, and, in her final two sea- “We battled and played the best we could,” she remembers. “That sons, earned CCAA All-Star nods. She was twice Seneca’s Female game took three hours and five minutes. It was hard to regroup after Athlete of the Year. Not bad for a player who walked into that, but we came back to win bronze.” a volleyball tryout in high school and made the regional team. Avery returned to Seneca as an assistant coach from 1995 to 2004, “The running joke is that I was a walk-in,” Avery says. “By the and she was head coach of the from 2004 to 2005. time I came to Seneca, volleyball was my passion. I was ridiculously While not as heavily involved in the game now, her time on the court focused on going to the nationals.” may not be over just yet. Earlier this year, Avery was inducted into the CCAA Hall of Fame “I love developing players,” she says. “I still have an itch to coach.”

44 RED 2016 Build dreams

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