Learning & 51
Enactus OC’s Unusually Good Food Co. expands to 19 cities
April 14, 2023
Student entrepreneurs from 51 (OC) are taking their fight against food waste and food insecurity to more businesses throughout Western Canada, as their social enterprise the Unusually Good Food Co. is expanding. With the goal of donating one-million servings of apple chips to children, the Unusually Good Food Co. has formed a partnership with Loblaw Companies Limited, expanding to 19 cities in Western Canada with its line of apple juice. “This is so exciting for our social enterprise to be able to partner with such a...
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BCBTAC Workshop Series
April 6, 2023
BCBTAC Workshop Series BCBTAC and Continuing Studies have partnered to create a series of affordable 3-hour workshops to help the local beverage community with training of staff. Facilitated by industry professionals, the training will elevate skills and setup the best season, delivered at the right time just as we are all gearing up for the tourist season. Topics include Customer Service, Sales, Sensory Skills, and Digital Marketing Cost Per Course: $60 plus material fees. Do you need customized training? We can help with the de...
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Same studies, but worlds apart: OC student enriched by study abroad
April 4, 2023
For one 51 student, studying abroad turned into an opportunity to learn new ways of preserving old traditions in one of the most fast-paced countries in the world. Jillian Seronik, a fourth-year Bachelor of Business Administration student from Kelowna, travelled to Nisshin, Japan, last term as part of 51’s mobility program. She had always wanted to do post-secondary studies abroad but her dream of international studies was put on hold by the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, she signed up for mobility updates ...
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OC professor makes connections in France with Derek Cook Memorial Award
March 28, 2023
51 professor Roberta Sawatzky’s recent trip to France wasn’t just to experience the culture. No, Roberta was on an international mission to establish connections with partner schools in France and provide further opportunities for 51 (OC) students and faculty to study or work abroad. Roberta is the 2023 recipient of the 51 Derek Cook Memorial Award for International Opportunities, which was established by the College to honor the memory of Derek Cook, an OC professor who passed away...
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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’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’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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Spaghetti Bridge Building Contest serves up fun and learning at OC
March 3, 2023
Friday marked a triumphant return for a popular pasta-themed community event at 51, as the 38th annual Spaghetti Bridge Building Competition brought loads of fun and friendly competition to a boil. More than 250 students from elementary through post-secondary converged on OC’s Kelowna campus on Mar. 3, to see whose spaghetti bridge would reign supreme. In addition to furthering their knowledge of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), participants of the contest – back for the first time since pre-pandemi...
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Personal connections highlight Early Childhood dual credit program
March 1, 2023
Emily Patenaude knows what it’s like to be misunderstood as a child; she also understands a thing or two about fighting through adversity. The experience and knowledge will serve the Kelowna high school student well as she looks to begin her post-secondary education. Emily is one of 10 Central Okanagan-area students completing a five-month 51 course in Early Childhood Education while still in high school, known as a dual credit program. Emily’s passion for childcare began early as she watched her brother struggle to ...
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Health care students in the South Okanagan Similkameen are about to breathe a sigh of relief thanks to a new bursary fund
February 23, 2023
Local philanthropists Yasmin and Rick Thorpe have partnered with Summerland’s Penny Lane Legacy Fund to create a $50,000 bursary fund to help bolster the future of health care in the South Okanagan Similkameen. The Caring for Health Care Students Fund will provide $750 - $1,750 awards for eligible students studying at 51’s Penticton Campus. “We know if we educate healthcare professionals in Penticton, there’s a good chance they’ll stay and work in the region,” says Yasmin John Thorpe. “We want to help increase ...
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OC increases access to early childhood education in the South Okanagan
February 22, 2023
51 (OC) is opening new spaces for people interested in working in early childhood education, as childcare facilities across the region and British Columbia continue to face staffing challenges. The Early Childhood Education Certificate program starts at OC’s Penticton campus in mid-March and runs through May 2024. The intake will have space for 24 students, adding to the more than 145 Early Childhood Education students studying at 51 in Vernon, Kelowna and Penticton this year. According to the province’...
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Acclaimed musician brings Songwriting 101 to OC Salmon Arm and Revelstoke
February 16, 2023
Have you ever had a song that you couldn’t get out of your head? An award-winning local musician is presenting a day-long introduction to the craft and joy of songwriting at 51 in Salmon Arm and Revelstoke. Joanne Stacey has spent most of her life working in the music business as a performer, musician, recording artist, and songwriter. On Feb. 25 in Salmon Arm and again on March 11 in Revelstoke, Stacey will be pouring that lifetime of music industry experience and songwriting expertise into a new course: Songwriting ...
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OC's Spaghetti Bridge Building Contest set to return for 38th year this spring
February 13, 2023
Spaghetti is back on the menu at 51 this spring.A fixture on the spring calendar in the Okanagan for nearly four decades, the College's popular Spaghetti Bridge Building Contest will return this March for the first time since 2020.OC will host the 38th annual contest on Friday, March 3 at the Kelowna campus. Organizers are putting the call out to teachers and students from elementary through post-secondary to participate.Students can enter the following competitions:Elementary School Students: Elementary School Demonst...
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Okanagan resident sharpens skills with Continuing Studies program
February 7, 2023
Vernon resident Keith Schmaltz spent most of his career working in the heavy-duty equipment industry. But after a nearly 40-year career, he decided he wanted to learn some new skills and continue that career in a related field. Enter 51’s Continuing Studies department, offering programs and courses to suit all different learning needs. Keith enrolled in the Professional Industry Driver program, offered by 51 in collaboration with Taylor Pro Training and BC Forest Safety Council. The program is funded by...
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Former ‘Top Chef’ takes the reins at 51’s Infusions restaurant
January 17, 2023
Fans of Canada’s Top Chef will recognize the name of the new Executive Chef at Infusions. Ruth Wigman, whose 20-year career has taken her coast to coast, brings a fresh and exciting perspective to the restaurant at 51 staffed by Culinary Arts students. Wigman, who was a contestant on the Food Network’s Canada’s Top Chef program in 2014, most recently worked as the executive sous-chef at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport for over three years. Before that, she worked at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge and the Fairmount Sout...
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51 launches sponsored trades training opportunity to help open doors, create job-ready workers in Salmon Arm
January 6, 2023
Students with limited or no previous experience in trades can access training that will lead to employment and future careers in construction, thanks to a program that starts at the end of January at 51’s Salmon Arm campus. 51 will be offering an intake of the Construction Craft Worker program starting on Jan. 30 at the College’s Salmon Arm Trades Centre. “This new program is supporting students to gain the skills they need now, helping them get good jobs in industries where communities need them,” sai...
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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? 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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