WHERE ARE THEY NOW

2017

Derek Hallgrimson

Ecosystem Management

Derek was hired earlier this year as a Conservation Programs Specialist with Ducks Unlimited Canada in Strathmore, Alta. He was featured in a Ducks Unlimited Canada article about the new tools of the conservation trade and giving back.

 

Arjan Gill

Digital Communications and Media

Arjan has built a successful video production company called Gill Productions and is blazing a path with craft and passion. He has developed many independent projects and has countless others in the works. Earlier this year, Arjan was awarded a $40,000 Telus STORYHIVE grant to produce an artistic and innovative film using virtual reality/ immersive 360-degree video. The filmmaker says the key to his success is focusing on the love of the business, rather than building revenue. “Don’t focus on making a living now,” Arjan tells Wider Horizons. “Follow your dreams and try to turn them into your living right now, because you’ll be worrying about money when you’re old anyway.”

 

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Kierra Slater

Digital Communications and Media

Kierra headed to Toronto after graduation and sent the Alumni office this update: “After exploring and adjusting to life in a new city I had never been to before, I was ready to start a job in my field. I landed a Digital Marketing position (my first industry interview after graduation) at a local company that supplies wholesale products to the esthetics, spa and beauty industry worldwide. During my first eight months with the company, alongside the marketing manager and graphic designer, I helped to re-brand the company almost entirely and grow the company’s social media following by 1,000 per cent.”

 

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2016

Faza Ariaee

Early Childhood Education

Faza began his journey with Lethbridge College in early 2014. His family had been involved with childcare for nearly two decades, but the business-minded young person never anticipated joining the family business. Following a short stint at the University of Alberta, studying business, he realized that not only was pursuing childcare a profitable venture but something that he had been containing a passion for, for years. He knew his busy life was not conducive to pursuing traditional in-class studies, so he sought alternate methods. As an online learner, he maintained a full-time job in Edmonton while completing his education through Lethbridge College’s distance learning program.

Despite having never stepped foot on Lethbridge College’s campus in his two years of study, he credits much of his success to his college education. “The things I learned at Lethbridge College helped me to not only grow my business and industry knowledge but also grow as a person,” he says. Since completing his program at the college, Faza has dedicated his time to building a dynamic child-care centre that supports children in a safe and supportive setting. Early in 2018 the doors opened and the first children were welcomed at his Kids at Play Daycare Centre in Spruce Grove. He knows that he has a challenging path ahead of him, but is excited about his new adventure. “Being a male in the child-care industry has some sort of a stigma attached to it,” he says. “My hope is that this centre can provide a place for children to grow and for barriers to be broken.”             

 

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2015

David Opinko

Communication Arts

David and his colleague Bradley Jones (Communication Arts 2014) at Summit 107 (CFSM-FM) in Cranbrook were recognized with an award of excellence in news reporting for radio from the British Columbia Association of Broadcasters. Their award recognized their coverage of the East Kootenay wildfires in 2017.

 

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Connor Irvine

Business Administration – Marketing

As the owner of AscensionFit.com, Connor is putting both his mind and body to work on a daily basis. He recently took a breather and sent the Alumni office this update: “I started my own online personal training/nutrition coaching business after receiving my Fitness Trainer and Bodybuilding certificates. This was after I received my marketing diploma from Lethbridge College, which has led me to build my company from the ground up. The tools I learned in the classes taught me how to manage, market and ultimately earn me money.”

 

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Noelle Hughes-Meier

Massage Therapy

Upon graduation, Noelle positioned herself as a local business owner. She is the proud owner of Massage by Noelle, where she is a therapist and successful entrepreneur.

 

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2013

Lainey Blood

Business Administration – Management

Lainey sent the Alumni office this update: “After completing my diploma, I transferred to the University of Lethbridge to complete my Bachelor of Management, majoring in General Management. After graduation, I traveled through Europe before returning to Canada and starting a position at Career Transitions as a career exploration specialist. I facilitated career-related programs and events for youth all over south-western Alberta. I was then chosen as a career candidate to attend a life-changing Indigenous conference held in Banff, which is where I got recruited by BMO. I am now working for the bank, on the commercial loan side.”

 

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2012

Charles Lefebvre

Communication Arts

Charles sent the Alumni office this update: “Two months after graduating, I landed a job as a reporter and photographer with the Medicine Hat News, which I held from June 2012 to December 2016. I have since made the switch to CHAT Television in Medicine Hat, where I work as a digital reporter for CHAT News Today, an online news portal and community hub. In Medicine Hat, I met Kristen, and we married in 2017, and had our first child in May 2018.”

2009

Christine Gursky

Fish and Wildlife Technology

“I’ve worked in consulting for the last nine years and had some great experiences,” Christine tells the Alumni office. “I’ve done a lot of work in the boreal forest of Alberta, and also had a chance to explore and work in the mountains around Terrace and Kitimat, B.C., which was amazing! My work has taken me to N.W.T. and central remote areas of Manitoba, as well as most areas in Alberta, my home province. I’ve done all sorts of wildlife surveys from nocturnal and visual amphibian surveys and various call playbacks for birds to winter tracking, and point count surveys, as well as bat mist-netting and acoustic surveys. My specialty and favourite are songbird surveys; birding by ear relaxes me, and trying to seek out and spot the ones I’ve never seen before is a challenge.”

 

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2008

Dean Fischer

Geomatics Engineering Technology

Dean sent this update: “After graduating I worked with FOCUS Surveys for two years before returning to school. I attended the British Columbia Institute of Technology from 2010 to 2012 and then returned to FOCUS after graduating. I began the process towards becoming an Alberta Land Surveyor (A.L.S.). Upon receiving my commission as an A.L.S., I moved back home to Medicine Hat as a Professional Land Surveyor and partner in a smaller firm called Benchmark Geomatics Inc. as of Jan. 1, 2018.”

 

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2006

Megan Catalano

Communication Arts

Megan is currently the communications manager for the District of Saanich, B.C. Before that, she worked in the communications departments at Royal Roads University in Victoria, B.C. and at Lethbridge College.

 

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2005

Sidney Gaudette

Criminal Justice – Policing

According to a June article in the Lethbridge Herald, Const. Sidney Gaudette was honoured at a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa in June, when Governor General Julie Payette presented him with a Medal for Bravery for his quick response to a 2012 incident near Sedgewick, west of Wainwright. Along with two other police officers, Gaudette came under fire while executing a search warrant at a farmhouse near Sedgewick. After he was shot, another officer provided cover for Gaudette while the gunfire continued. Later, despite his injuries, Gaudette was able to provide cover for a third officer before the situation was resolved, and the wounded officers were taken to safety – and then to hospital. Gaudette is now stationed with the RCMP in Lethbridge.

1996

J.P. Gentile

Community Services and Therapeutic Recreation

J.P. has felt at home since the moment he stepped on the Lethbridge College campus more than 20 years ago. Studying Community Services and Therapeutic Recreation was a natural fit for J.P., who knew his passion lied within athletics and community engagement. He was involved with various departments after completing his studies and has found a way to stick around ever since. J.P. now heads the Campus Recreation department of the Lethbridge College Students’ Association, where he has been dedicated to bettering the lives of students for 20 years. “The reason I have been doing this for 20 years is that every year there is a new batch of people walking oncampus and a new group of people you can build a relationship with,” he says. “The college has a unique sense of community that I don’t think you could get anywhere else.

J.P. is often seen walking the halls in an outlandish outfit perfectly tailored for any given season or activity – from St. Patrick’s Day to Christmas. The mere sight of a head-to-toe moustache suit would be enough to prompt a smile from all those who cross his path, but add in the jovial grin plastered on his face and people aren’t likely to forget J.P. He says he can’t wait to continue to build on his legacy of serving as coach, mentor, friend and support system for many more years to come. “I’ve seen many faces come and go since I got here,” he says. “I don’t remember every face and I can’t remember every name, but I do know that every person who has walked these halls has had a huge impact on how amazing my time here has been.”

 

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1995

Jeremy Langemann

Culinary Careers

Jeremy was named executive chef of the St. Charles Country Club in Winnipeg in April. Before that, he had spent four years working as a culinary instructor at Paterson GlobalFoods Institute and more than two years as the executive chef at Fairmont Hotels and Resorts in Winnipeg.

 

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1992

Mark Jacober

Communication Arts

Since leaving Lethbridge College, Mark has worn many hats. Most recently he shared that he was working as a research analyst at MacEwan University.

 

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1991

Kristi Bennett

Office/Computer Skills Development

Kristi sent the Alumni office this update: “After 18 years and six children, I was interested in entering the workforce again and was directed to attend a semester of secretarial courses to upgrade my skills. My first job after completing that semester was with a law office. I was not a legal secretary, but I assisted with accounting and real estate. After 1½ years, my husband, Richard Morris Bennett, was transferred to Red Deer where I began taking classes at Red Deer College and enrolled in their collaborative program with the University of Alberta Education. Beginning that program in 1998, I finished my last two years in Red Deer graduating with my Bachelor of Education in 2000. I credit Lethbridge College for helping me to feel the confidence to go back to school and to get the education that I had desired so long ago. Thank you for that opportunity to become a life-long learner and an example to my children. I now have been in Canada for 50 years; have become a Canadian citizen; celebrated my 50th anniversary in September, and am a grandmother to 31 (soon to be 32) grandchildren.”

 

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1991

Jennifer Cook

Criminal Justice – Policing

Jennifer sent the Alumni office this update: “I moved to The Pas immediately after graduation. I worked odd jobs and then began at the local newspaper in the newsroom in 1993. I left the newsroom and pursued a career in marketing and then returned to the paper in 2002 in advertising sales and eventually general manager. I also run a fitness training centre that includes karate, boxing, boot camp and personal training. I continue to speak highly of the Criminal Justice program I completed, and while I didn’t ultimately pursue a career in policing, the course material and college class experiences have served me well in other aspects of my life.”

1988

Randy Ward

Criminal Justice

After spending 27 years on the force, Randy retired from the Lethbridge Police Service in 2013. Since hanging up his uniform Randy has authored a book titled, You Can’t Make this Sh#t Up: Policing through Stories. The book chronicles some of his most unbelievable stories from his time serving and protecting. In an interview, the local author told Lethbridge News Now, “my motivation for the book is to show you that there is tragedy in policing, there is unpredictability, there is humour – lots of humour at times, and you have to have that in order to survive.” Randy’s book is available on Amazon.ca and locally at Lethbridge Tactical Supply and Chapters.

 

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Rhonda Doram

Communication Arts

“After various media-related jobs in Alberta, and an 18-year career in printing and manufacturing in the Vancouver area, my heart led me to my true calling,” Rhonda told the Alumni office. “In seeing the effects of aging and lack of suitable supports available for my own grandmother to remain independent in her own home in Coaldale, I became involved and it changed my entire life. I began assisting in coordinating her care and very soon had more than a dozen ‘clients!’ Recognizing the vast and unfulfilled need, I launched my own in-home senior support company in 2008 named HoneyDo Lifestyle Assistant to assist elders to live safely and successfully in their own home, wherever that may be. Running a quickly growing business has been a steep learning curve and required quick-thinking, adaptability, and tenacity.” HoneyDo has grown from a solo venture to an incorporated entity with over 25 employees, roughly doubling year over year. HoneyDo Lifestyle Assistant received the 2017 Air Miles Small Business Achievement Award for “Social Venture of the Year” and appeared in Maclean’s magazine, was voted 2017 and 2018 Readers’ Choice winner for “Best Seniors Services,” and received the 2016 Rotary Clubs of Delta Business Ethics Award.

 

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1982

Vernon Oickle

Communications Arts – Print Journalism

Vernon was featured in an article in the Chronicle Herald of Halifax in April. The story showcased the Nova Scotian focus of much of the works Vernon has written over nearly four decades. “People ask me to pigeonhole where I fit, what I like to write about and research, and certainly it’s Maritime, in particular Nova Scotia, folklore, traditions and legends. History in the larger sense and the people that make up the fabric of those stories,” Oickle says in the article. He received Lethbridge College’s Community Leader Award in 2015.

 

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1981

Gerry Rosset

Environmental Science

Darwin Drader

Criminal Justice 1981

Gerry and Darwin were two faces in a sea of students when they attended Lethbridge College more than 35 years ago. Different programs and a friendly intramural sports rivalry left them destined for a clear-cut good-bye post-graduation. Little did they know that, despite thousands of miles and decades of different experiences, the two Lethbridge College alumni would cross paths in their professional lives more than three decades later.

Following graduation, Gerry traveled east and began his career as a conservation officer in small-town Manitoba in 1982. He worked in various communities over the years before landing at his current posting in Carberry, Man. Darwin ventured west and found himself employed with the Delta police force in British Columbia for more than 18 years before waving goodbye to the wild-west and accepting a position with the Cornwallis Police Department in this prairie province.

Despite the different specialties and department logistics, the two have found themselves working side-by-side on a variety of meaningful community projects. Most recently they have collaborated in an effort to squash illegal night-hunting activities in the area. After collecting a life-time of experiences, two Lethbridge College alumni have replaced teachers, books and late night cram sessions, with stake-outs, night patrols and a friendly collaborative working relationship.

1978

Larry Orr

Law Enforcement

Larry told the Alumni office: “I will always be extremely grateful to the college administration and to the Law Enforcement instructors of the day. As a result of the program and the hard work of my instructors, I did enjoy a very satisfying and a very successful career as a member of the Lethbridge Police Service. I now enjoy a quiet and peaceful retirement here in Penticton, B.C.”

 

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1972

John Koenen

Agriculture Equipment Technician

For some, coming back to school isn’t about finding a career, but enhancing the one they’ve already established. John was happy getting his hands dirty on the farm but knew there was more he could do to support his future. He returned to the college for two terms to complete the Agriculture Equipment Technician program in the early ‘70s and loved every minute of it. “The college will always hold a special spot in my heart. I loved being there and had so much fun.”