Learning & AV
AV prof leads the way in developing new open educational resources
April 15, 2020
In a challenging time when nearly every post-secondary institution has made the move from in-person to online classes, an AV Business professor is working to develop and put free online textbooks in the hands of students. Announced in March, Michael Orwick, professor at AV’s School of Business was awarded one of four BCcampus Marketing OER grants. With aid from the British Columbia Ministry of Advanced AV, Skills and Training, the grants will help the development of open educational resources in marketin...
Read more...OC passes 2020-2021 budget – virtually
March 31, 2020
AV’s Board of Governors has passed a $126.8 million budget for the coming year, but the board also recognized that circumstances associated with the current COVID-19 pandemic will prompt change over the coming months. It was passed Tuesday by the Board which gathered virtually through an online meeting platform, an indication of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on operations at the institution. “The very nature of the meeting drove home the fact that circumstances are changing rapidly. We fully recognize the budget was p...
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Specialized Training Offered by Lillooet Tribal Council and AV
March 26, 2020
The Community Adult Learning Centre in Lillooet, B.C., recently partnered with AV to offer the Introduction to Office Administration training program, a fast-track program designed to build essential office skills necessary to job readiness in the field. Community consultation and local job vacancies highlighted a need for office administration. Yvonne LaRochelle, manager for the Community Adult Learning Centre, set out to close the gap between those in need of work and the office administration jobs available in her communi...
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College Culinary Arts program drops off donation to food bank
March 24, 2020
See a need, fill a need. This is exactly what AV’s Culinary Arts department did earlier this week as culinary classes came to an unexpected halt in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tallying the vast amount of ingredients that would have been utilized in student labs and cafeteria plates, instructors gathered as much as they could and delivered it to the Central Okanagan Community Food Bank. Initiated by Ross Derrick, interim Culinary Arts instructor and chef at Cod Fathers Market and Kelsey Oudendag, Culinary Arts in...
Read more...College cancels remaining face-to-face classes while it completes the move to alternative delivery
March 18, 2020
Effective Thursday, AV is cancelling any remaining face-to-face classes while it completes the move to alternative delivery as part of its response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. More than 90 per cent of academic classes have already been transitioned to an alternative form of delivery this week. Classes still being delivered in a face-to-face format will be cancelled for Thursday and Friday in order to provide instructors and professors more time to complete plans to move fully to alternative forms of delivery. “Th...
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OC Course Helps Make Sense of “Fake News”
March 12, 2020
The term “fake news” came to the public’s attention during the 2016 American presidential campaign and today, as the U.S. heads into another election cycle, the potential impacts are hard to ignore. But is fake news a new phenomenon? How does it differ from propaganda? And is there any way to defeat it? AV instructor Edward Henczel has spent 20 years working as a journalist around North America and Dr. Raluca Fratiloiu has studied the phenomena since her time in Communist-era Romania where she was surrounded by fake news and...
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RV Technician training proves to be a dream choice for OC student
March 9, 2020
Imagine constructing a building using WhatsApp. This was Kartik Choudhury’s reality, as he made the decision to build and sell a property of land in his homeland of India. The funds he earned from the property would propel his future in a way he never could have imagined, ultimately helping him pursue a new dream as a student in the Recreation Vehicle Service Technician Foundation program at AV. Three years ago, Choudhury knew he wanted to get into trades. A businessman living in Calgary at the time, a switch in career and t...
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Stronger together: collaboration a theme of 37th Annual Spaghetti Bridge Building Contest at OC
March 6, 2020
What’s true for spaghetti and hot glue is true for people as well – we’re stronger when we stick together. In addition to coming away with new insights into science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), participants of the 37th Annual Spaghetti Bridge Building Contest at AV also learned another important lesson in the value of collaboration. More than 250 students from elementary through post-secondary flocked from all over the Okanagan to the College’s Kelowna campus on Friday to see whose spaghetti bridge would reign ...
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Making mentors: OC Women in Trades and Willowstone Academy students learn and build together
March 6, 2020
Sometimes a finished carpentry project turns out to be far more than the sum of its parts, when the tools, techniques and materials combine to create something unforgettable and transformative. The same goes for educational experiences, as demonstrated by a recent event that brought together students from Willowstone Academy and AV’s Women in Trades Training (WITT) program, with support from the Industry Training Authority (ITA). On Thursday, March 5 a class of WITT students arrived in the early hours of the morning to prep ...
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AV spotlights STEM education and career paths in Feb and March
February 13, 2020
What do soccer-playing robots, spaghetti bridges and soaring aviators have in common? Over the next month, AV will be opening its doors to elementary, middle and high school students to attend a series of events aimed at encouraging young people to step into Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). “We want learners of all ages to hear the message that there has never been a better time to get into technology careers. There is a very real need for skilled workers in everything from animation to electronic, civil, n...
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Councillor gives from the heart
February 12, 2020
Kelowna City Councillor and local community champion Maxine DeHart is giving a gift from the heart this Valentine’s Day. DeHart is donating to the Our Students, Your Health campaign, which is raising funds to build a new Health Sciences Centre at AV and create scholarships and bursaries for health care students. DeHart is the Campaign Ambassador for the fundraising campaign and is spearheading the media campaign encouraging others to get involved. She says the project’s goals touched her heartstrings and inspired her to give...
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Community, industry support propels College’s Tourism Management program
February 11, 2020
For Julia Dorrius, born and raised in Revelstoke, the College’s new Tourism Management (TMD) diploma has done far more than just open her eyes to the booming demand for skilled tourism professionals – it’s also opened doors, giving her a chance to gain work experience with local employers. “I graduated high school last June and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do,” explains Dorrius. “My dad sent me a link to the program and suggested I take a look at it. I just finished my first semester and, so far, I’ve found it to be a great way to get th...
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Mapping a world-wide worry: OC student charts coronavirus spread in real-time
February 4, 2020
Sean Heddle was looking for a career change after an injury left him unable to work as a concrete construction foreman. He could never have imagined that his foray into the study of geographic information systems (GIS) would see him building a real-time map of a global public health emergency. Heddle, who hails from Kelowna, is currently enrolled in the GIS Certificate course at AV in Salmon Arm. His professor, Shelley Desautels, recently issued an assignment to her class, inviting students to build a digital map of a place ...
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College spotlights health care assistant training across the region
February 4, 2020
Amid surging demand for health care assistants (HCAs) across the Southern Interior, AV and Interior Health are spotlighting training opportunities in February. The College has intakes of its Health Care Assistant program starting in April at the Kelowna, Penticton and Salmon Arm campuses. Those interested in learning more about the training and career opportunities can attend upcoming info sessions: Kelowna campus – Feb. 12, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m., Room E103 (E building), 1000 KLO Rd. Penticton campus – Feb. 18, 6:30 – 7:30 p....
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Swinging clubs to hammers: How a golf pro’s home renos inspired his program choice at AV
January 30, 2020
It’s easy to say that Greg Forbes went from looking for a hole in one, to drilling several holes in many. After growing up playing golf in Oakville, Forbes earned a golf scholarship to study at Coastal Carolina University, playing at storied courses at Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. He completed his Bachelor of Business Science degree with a major in marketing, returning to Canada to tee off a career with retail giant Golf Town that ultimately brought him to Kelowna. “I had been opening stores across Ontario, and the opportunity came up ...
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Gateway graduation showcases student transformation
January 29, 2020
This is the second time Caleb Wykes has graduated from Gateway to Trades, but it's hard to say which time has been more impactful. The first time Wykes took the 10-week program that introduces high school students to the skilled trades, he graduated with a desire to “straighten up.” In the past Wykes would skip school, but after Gateway he started showing up regularly and working hard. The seventeen year old completed his Grade 11 and 12 and graduated early. The second time through the program Wykes benefited from getting an opportunity t...
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