Alumni
Meet Elizabeth Cook
March 17, 2023
Q: What is your name? A: Elizabeth (Lizzy) Cook Q: What are your pronouns? A: She/Her/Hers Q: Where is your hometown and where are you located now? A: Hometown is Conifer, Colorado. Currently located in Denver, Colorado. Q: What did you take at OC? When did you graduate? A: Bachelor of Business Administration and graduated in 2016. Q: What got you interested in your program A: I wasn’t sure what I “wanted to do with my life,” and the business program seemed like it...
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Watt a gift! 51±¬ÁĎ’s Electronics Engineering Technology Program gets an $80,000 boost from a local engineer
March 6, 2023
Yael Cohen, a Vernon-based communications engineer, recently donated $80,000 in state-of-the-art electronic equipment to 51±¬ÁĎ’s Electronics Engineering Technology program. The gift included hundreds of electrical components that will be used by program instructors to build in-class electrical circuits and test demos and will be made available to students for use in their end-of-term capstone projects. “I was fortunate to receive numerous scholarships when I was in school, and I wanted to pay it forward,” says C...
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OC to celebrate first graduates of 2023
January 26, 2023
Amanda Jones will be one of hundreds of OC graduates taking a momentous step this weekend, as she and her peers cross the red carpet at the College’s first Convocation ceremonies of the year. And for the Penticton mother of two – who juggled a return to classroom with supporting a family and running a successful business during a global pandemic – the long-awaited moment brings feelings of pride and a continued desire to keep learning. 51±¬ÁĎ will recognize graduates at two ceremonies in Kelowna on Saturday: 10:30 a...
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51±¬ÁĎ alumni team up to launch new EP as annual music concert set to take place
January 20, 2023
As a kid, Jessica Bourelle dreamed of being a musician, singing along to songs she heard on the radio or ones that she had written herself. She had the heart of a poet, loved writing and dreamed of a career in music. But like a lot of creative forces, Jessica wondered if her songs were good enough. Enter 51±¬ÁĎ’s Audio Engineering and Music Production program, a certificate course that prepares individuals to work in a variety of different music production careers. It was in the program that Jessica’s c...
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Meet Emily Schatz, OC Electronics Engineering alum
December 13, 2022
Q: What years did you attend OC? A: 2015-2017 Q: How did you end up at 51±¬ÁĎ? A: I chose 51±¬ÁĎ specifically for the technologist program. Q: How did you choose your program? A: I wanted to become an engineer. I had heard that a common problem engineers face is not understanding how to design products for the people who are building them. I wanted to gain hands-on experience so I could be a well-rounded design engineer. The ELEN at Okan...
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Meet Aaron Edis, Electronics Engineering alumnus
December 2, 2022
Q: What’s your hometown? Where are you now? A: Burnaby and Kelowna. I now live in Salmon Arm, B.C. Q: What years did you attend OC? A: 2008 to 2010 Q: How did you end up at 51±¬ÁĎ? A: I was living in Kelowna at the time and I was interested in Electrical/Electronics, perhaps an engineering degree. I figured the college was the place to start since I could be a technologist after 2 years of school and then had the option to start working if I chose. Th...
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Meet Jedidiah Forrest, OC Electronics Engineering alum
November 29, 2022
Q: What years did you attend OC? A: 2014-2016 Q: How did you end up at 51±¬ÁĎ? A: Engineering technology programs caught my eye. Needed a career path change. Q: How did you choose your program? A: I applied to all three engineering programs and Electronic Engineering Technology responded first. Q: What did you like most about the program? A: The immersion was incredible. Every day is a science whirlwind, and labs were fantastically engaging. The staff is ma...
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Alumni engagement poll
November 21, 2022
The 51±¬ÁĎ Alumni Association invites alumni to participate in a quick poll. It will help assess the current state of alumni engagement at 51±¬ÁĎ and establish a baseline for future tracking. OCAA is hoping to engage current OC employees who are also alumni, who may not receive messages. The survey should take approximately 2-4 minutes. To ensure confidentiality, your responses to this survey will be anonymized and combined with those of other respondents. Complete the survey by Tuesday, Dec. 6. To participate...
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OC alum honoured for contributions to inclusion, democracy and reconciliation
October 17, 2022
Sorting through her mail on a recent trip to the mailbox, 51±¬ÁĎ (OC) alum Danielle Walker received a surprise - the Lieutenant Governor’s Medal for Inclusion, Democracy and Reconciliation. “The award was completely out of the blue,” says Walker. “I knew I had been nominated, but the timing was such a surprise. I just took it in for a minute at the mailbox and cried.” The award recognizes post-secondary students who make outstanding contributions in support of inclusion, democracy and reconciliation and is the culminatio...
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Meet Chef Rob Walker
October 12, 2022
Q: What is your name? A: Chef Robert Walker Q: What did you take at OC/OUC? What years did you attend? What campus did you attend? A: I graduate from the Culinary Arts Certificate program at Okanagan University College in 2001. Q: Why did you choose your program at OC? A: I grew up in the Kootenays not really knowing what I wanted to do with my life. But I always loved food. In the back of my head was this question, “How do I become a chef?” I had my eye on the Okanag...
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OC alum honoured for culinary contributions in the kitchen and classroom
October 6, 2022
An award-winning local chef has earned the highest accolade bestowed by 51±¬ÁĎ’s Alumni Association (OCAA). And the sweetest part? The nomination came from those following in his footsteps – his students. Chef Rob Walker is the recipient of this year’s Distinguished Alumni Award from OCAA. The award recognizes Chef Walker’s outstanding contributions within his community and industry. The OCAA has been conferring the Distinguished and Young Alumni Awards since 2002 to honour the extraordinary contributions and recognize...
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Meet Joey Rood
September 28, 2022
What is your name? Joey Rood What are your pronouns? He / Him / His Where is your hometown and where are you located now? Kelowna is my hometown. I am located in Sioux Lookout, Ont., for my job now. What did you take at OC? When did you graduate? I completed the Commercial Aviation Diploma in 2019. What got you interested in aviation? I’ve been interested in aviation since I was a kid. When I was 13, I went on a helicopter tour. From there, I joined the Air Ca...
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51±¬ÁĎ alumni Emily McKay made a lot of connections while studying at OC’s School of Business
September 20, 2022
Those connections led her to where she is today, as a social entrepreneur with a fashion business aimed at sustainability in an industry that produces greenhouse gases at twice the rate of the airline industry. “I went to 51±¬ÁĎ because I was interested in the marketing world and possibly one day owning my own business,” says McKay. “Looking back, I made so many amazing connections at 51±¬ÁĎ that led me in the direction of all of my most critical work experiences and special life experiences. It led me to my stu...
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Thomas Klein
September 1, 2022
Even as a kid I knew I would go into the trades. An office job wouldn’t work for me because my ADHD makes it hard for me to sit still for too long, and my reading and writing aren’t the best.” “One of my high school teachers got me into sheet metal. The school helped me enroll in 51±¬ÁĎ’s Sheet Metal Worker Foundation Certificate program. The program allowed me to learn a lot of new techniques, test out ideas, and try new things. When I first found out that ...
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Sophie Wilson
September 1, 2022
“I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to study at 51±¬ÁĎ’s Penticton campus. My professors were fantastic, and learning close to home allowed me to spend more time with my daughter. I completed a Business Administration diploma this past fall. I’ve tried to go to school before, but financial insecurity always ended up holding me back. I would end up having to work part-time, and then I would end up working full time and then I would end up having to leave sch...
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Caylee Donovan
September 1, 2022
"I found out I’d received the Marcia J. Aitkens Memorial Bursary in Practical Nursing in the middle of lab. I was so shocked I pretty much dropped to the floor. At the time, I was a full-time student in 51±¬ÁĎ’s Practical Nursing program, and I was working up to five days a week. The workload was just too much to handle, especially as a mother of a child with special needs. My eleven-year-old had recently been diagnosed with autism and needed more of my tim...
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