Alumni
OC alumna gives back with bursary for high school grads
June 22, 2022
51 alumna Erum Ahmad has been spending her time teaching Vernon high school students how to be smart with their money. Now, she is giving one of those students a chance to put their learnings into action by creating a bursary to fund the next steps of their educational journey. Erum, who graduated from 51 in 2021, found a passion in sharing financial literacy with high school students after experiencing a lack of financial training herself. “When I was in grade 10, I realized there were no classes to ...
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OC celebrates Convocation in person next week
May 30, 2022
Keegan Pereira will be taking part in a momentous occasion next week, as he and his 51 peers cross the stage at the first in-person Convocation ceremonies to be held at OC since the pandemic began. Growing up in the region, Pereira has always known 51 will provide him with the educational opportunities he needed, especially when the Bachelor of Computer Information Systems Degree called to him. “I heard amazing things about the program,” he says about why he chose OC. “The widespread opportunity b...
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OC Alumnus cycles for charity in solo ride across Mexico
May 6, 2022
Nick Pelletier didn’t spend his recent trip to Mexico relaxing on the beach. The 51 Business Alumnus pedaled solo across Mexico in a 51-day trek, stopping at points with the highest and lowest elevation in the country, while raising awareness and funds for charity. The journey, which began in February, benefited charity: water, an organization that provides clean and safe drinking water to those without access. Pelletier, an ultra-endurance athlete and extreme adventurer, is no stranger to epic endeavors and likes...
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OC student to attend prestigious astroparticle physics summer school
May 5, 2022
The sky is the limit for 51 physics student Divyesh Dagia, who is set to attend the Canadian Astroparticle Physics Summer School (CAPSS) this May. The intensive week-long session is designed for astronomy, physics and engineering undergraduates and will introduce them to the current topics in the field of astroparticle physics at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., and virtually at SNOLAB. Only 20 students from across Canada are invited to attend the session each year. Dagia, who will complete an Associate of Scien...
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Student becomes the master at OC Student Chef Dinner Series
March 17, 2022
51’s Culinary Arts program served up a tasty opportunity for students to bring their culinary learnings to the table alongside an experienced OC alumnus on Friday. The College’s restaurant, Infusions, hosted guests for a meal that was part of the Student Chef Dinner Series, which gives students an opportunity to showcase their skills and the very best of Okanagan region cuisine while working with experienced chefs. Chef Chris Van Hooydonk of Backyard Farm’s Chef Table in Oliver, B.C., returned to the OC kitchen for t...
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Meet Cam Egan, Biology Professor
March 8, 2022
Q: What is your name and role at 51? A: Cameron Egan, College Professor in the Department of Biology Q: What did you take at OC/OUC? When did you graduate? What campus did you attend? A: I was enrolled in the Associate of Science program at the Vernon campus 2003-2005. This was during the transition years between OUC and OC. Q: Why did you choose your program at OC? A: Biology always fascinated me as a high school...
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Meet Kayla Gabelhouse
February 10, 2022
OC alumna Kayla Gabelhouse felt there was a gap in the jewelry market and started making pieces for herself and her friends. What started as a fun side hustle, quickly grew to being a profitable jewelry business that’s been featured in Vanity Fair UK and donned on reality TV stars. What did you take at OC/OUC? When did you graduate? What campus did you attend? BBA with a specialty in Marketing, I graduated in April 2020. Would you recommend the program you took? Wh...
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Meet Kylee Seddon-Johnstone, SBT graduate
January 19, 2022
Q: What is your name? A: Kylee Seddon-Johnstone Q: What are your pronouns? A: She / Her / Hers Q: Where is your hometown and where are you located now? A: I grew up in Naramata, B.C., left for 10 years after high school and then returned back to Naramata to raise my two girls. I’m currently working out of my home office. Q: What did you take at OC? When did you graduate? A: I took the Sustainable Building Technology Diploma (formerly known as the S...
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Meet David Sawatzky, SBT graduate
January 19, 2022
Q: What is your name? A: David Sawatzky Q: What are your pronouns? A: He / Him / His Q: Where is your hometown and where are you located now? A: Originally from Kelowna, B.C., now I am located in Coldstream, B.C. where I am working on projects in the central and north Okanagan. Q: What program did you take at OC? When did you graduate? A: I completed the Sustainable Building Technology Diploma (formerly Sustainable Construction Management Technology D...
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Meet Brendon Gray, SBT graduate
January 19, 2022
Q: What is your name? A: Brendon Gray Q: Where is your hometown and where are you located now? A: I’m a second generation born and raised Kelowna resident. Q: What program did you take at OC? A: Electrical Apprenticeship and Sustainable Building Technology (SBT). Q: What is your current position? A: Principal at Egnite Sustainability and Registered Energy Advisor. Q: Why did you choose your program at OC? How does it relate to what you’re doing no...
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Meet Courtney Koga
January 18, 2022
Eight years ago, Courtney Koga and her sister Meiko started CrAsian Food Truck. Today, they continue running a successful food truck business in addition to two brick and mortar kitchens in tasting rooms of two popular Kelowna breweries: Kettle River Brewing and BNA Brewing. Recently Koga was nominated for two Kelowna Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards for Young Entrepreneur and Social Leadership. We caught up with her to hear more about what she’s been up to si...
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Award-winning Water Engineering Technology grad breaks barriers for women
January 6, 2022
An 51 student’s passion for protecting the environment not only earned her a prestigious award, but is also serving as an encouragement for other women. Meghan McCreight, who grew up in Coldstream, first started her 51 journey in Salmon Arm where she did the first year of her Associate of Science. There, one of her professors told her about the Water Engineering Technology (WET) program at the Kelowna campus. “My family is very outdoorsy, skiers, campers, always kind of outside, and I grew up in natur...
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OC business students seek community support to launch investment fund
January 5, 2022
Justin Rantucci and Steven Fiust speak highly of their education at 51, but there is one thing they would like to change. When networking with other finance students at post-secondary institutions across Canada, they learned that schools with a student-run investment fund seemed to result in a better transition to finance careers for their graduates. Seeing an opportunity to provide hands-on experience for more OC students while building capacity locally, Rantucci, Fiust and fellow student Riley Dunsmore are lo...
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The Okanagan Sikh Temple and Cultural Society gives boost to health care students
December 22, 2021
A $25,000 gift from the Okanagan Sikh Temple and Cultural Society will empower health care students as they pursue their education at 51. The Sikh Community began collecting donations from their congregation to support the College's $5-million Our Students, Your Health campaign and was able to raise the funds in six months. Amarjit Singh Lalli, President of the Okanagan Gurduara, says their community believes in the importance of acquiring knowledge and passing it on to future generations, which made it easy to get b...
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Silver screen smitten with OC alumni making Hallmark movie debuts
December 16, 2021
‘Tis the season for warming up by the fire, sipping hot chocolate and spotting an 51 alumnus starring in your favourite, cheesy Christmas movie. A literal Jack of all trades, Harrison Coe doubles as a journeyman electrician at Capra Electric in Vernon and also as a professional actor. Coe has appeared in television shows such as The X-Files, Millennium, Stargate, the Outer Limits and also starred in a film with Sylvester Stallone called Eye See You. He made his Hallmark movie debut this year, starring in Fixing Up Ch...
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OC graduate soars toward gold in Aero Skills tournament
November 30, 2021
An 51 graduate is flying high after winning gold at the 2021 Aero Skills Tournament in Kelowna. Desarae Craig currently works at KF Aerospace as a structures technician, but before she got there, she was an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer – Structures (AME-S) student at 51. Since graduating in October 2020, her work at KF has included converting old passenger planes into cargo planes, using everything that was taught during her program. “All the skills I learned have helped me so far,” Craig says. ...
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