Each year Olds College attends Calgary Stampede as an exhibitor in the “Ag-tivity in the City” tent. As a recruiter for the college, I was fortunate enough to attend this year and man the booth for a day. The Stampede always gives us a chance to make new friends and see old ones.

A staple of our booth is the Alumni corner. I always find it interesting to hear stories from those who attended our college in the fifties, right up to those who just left us this spring. We had many Alumni visit us and enter to win our Alumni draw.

We also see a lot of little visitors in this location.

Future Olds College student Sean Corcoran

Sean Corcoran thoroughly enjoyed his test drive in our tractor cab. As did Zane, Kaden and Mylan Schroh as they proved they could all drive the tractor at once. Zane added that his favourite part of the Stampede was the rides, while Kaden declared that he like the John Deere Green Tractors!

Zane, Kaden and Mylan Schroh

And admittedly, our staff likes to play in the tractor cab too!

Olds College staffer, Bobby-Joe

As we visited and shared our Olds College jelly beans, we also spoke to many future students. We had interest in many of our programs from those visiting stampede. Ashley Kotek, Vanessa Wooldridge and Stephanie Cook took time out of their Stampede fun to look into their future options as Olds College students.

Ashley Kotek, Vanessa Wooldridge and Stephanie Cook

Calgary Stampede always proves to be an exciting time for Olds College; we hope to see you by our booth next year!

Online AHT student Kathryn with rescued puppies Winston and Todd

I am Kathryn, a student in the online AHT program.

Being a mature student, the decision to return to post secondary studies was a difficult one. Was there a program that would allow me to continue working while pursuing a life long dream of becoming an Animal Health Technologist?

A co worker introduced me to the AHT online program at Olds College and my journey with this program began.  It was obvious to me that with my family commitments and financial obligations, I needed a program that would allow me to continue to be employed while completing the required courses. This program’s scheduling seemed to offer me that flexibility.

The course is structured so that the July intake of Online AHT students enters into the program on campus. For the first 6 weeks of the program, we meet fellow students and the instructional staff create the support network that is vital to the success of the students of the program.  Once we return to our home towns, we rely on our support network; corresponding through email, eCampus online,  and Facebook. We return to the college for ten weeks each spring of the following two years.

While most students think of college life as the massive population of students hustling to and from classes, we have the luxury of having the campus all to ourselves. Our days are full of hands-on practical training and putting into practice all of the theory that we have been studying through eCampus online for the past 8 months.

Self motivation is imperative in order to succeed in this program. For me, I enjoy the balance between my work, family life and on-line studies. The Olds College online AHT program has allowed my dream to become a reality.

Really, when you think about it, where else can you study in your pyjamas in the comfort of your own home.

By the way:  The pups in the picture were rescued from a trailer fire….I’ve had them since they were 3 weeks old and will be keeping them. Todd is a lab cross and Winston is a Shepherd cross – brothers and the only survivors of the fire. They are now 6 months old and do not fit on my lap together

Graduates of 2010 gowning before the ceremony

Approximately 670 graduates crossed the stage in The Community Learning Campus’ Ralph Klein Centre as part of Olds College’s 2010 Graduation ceremony on June 19.

In order to pull off an huge event like this it takes a lot of behind-the scenes coordination. That is the role that myself, and dozens of other Olds College employees, undertook. We were involved in ensuring all the grads and instructors got their gowns and were ready to proceed into the ceremony.

For the first time ever, we held graduation in the new gymnasium and it hosted a packed house of family, friends and well-wishers. Troy Loney, former NHL forward, addressed Olds College graduates after valedictorian, Hilary Omichinski challenged her classmates.

We are proud of our graduates and wish them every success in their careers.

Alyssa, Production Hort graduate and Summer Greenhouse worker

My name is Bobby-Joe Rovensky and I work in Student Recruitment at Olds College. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce to you Alyssa.

Alyssa is currently spending the summer working at Olds College in one of many student positions. Alyssa and I sat down together on July 7 to have a chat about what she does here in her current position and why she chose to attend Olds College. Here’s what she had to say:

Q: Where is your home town?
Alyssa: Olds, Alberta

Q: What is your current position?
Alyssa: Greenhouse Position – Summer Student

Q: Which program are you starting in the fall?
Alyssa: I have just graduated from the Production Horticulture diploma program and will be returning to start the Bachelor of Applied Science Production Horticulture degree.

Q: Why did you apply to work at Olds College for the summer?
Alyssa: I get to learn new stuff every day. Working in this position provides me with more experience and greater responsibilities. I do more than just water plants. Having worked a previous summer in the botanic gardens I knew what to expect and I knew that I would enjoy my time here. Also Olds College has an excellent reputation in the industry and this position will look attractive on my resume.

Q: What are some of your responsibilities?
Alyssa: Currently I work Tuesday to Saturday from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. My days consists of the following: opening duties, watering, visual inspection of crops (looking for infestations and/or diseases), completing sanitation processes, transplanting, seeding, mixing fertilizer, fungicide control, monitoring environmental controls (temperature, vents, etc.), regular greenhouse duties (tidying, garbage disposal, sweeping, etc.) and like every other job “other duties as required.”

Q: Why did you choose to attend Olds College?
Alyssa: To gain experience specifically in the area of growing cut flowers in a greenhouse. Olds College is close to home. There weren’t any overwhelming admission hurdles. The program is extremely hands on, and I learn better in this type of environment. Finally Olds College offered the program I was interested in. Production Horticulture education is difficult to find.

Q: What do you hope to do with your education in the future?
Alyssa: Ultimately my goal is to open my own business. I would like to purchase an acreage that will accommodate a number of greenhouses as well as outside plots where I will focus my efforts on producing floriculture crops. Ideally I would like to sell both retail and commercial product. It is important to me that my family be involved in this venture and like everyone else I endeavour to achieve financial stability with this enterprise.

Q: What are the best things about Olds College that you would like to share with others?
Alyssa: There is so much that we do every day that is hands on. As I mentioned earlier, I enjoy this method of learning. In addition to the hands on learning, you are also exposed to real life learning. Field trips and actual case studies make what we do in the classroom feel real. The instructors are amazing. They are always willing to help and the small class sizes ensure that bonds are established. You aren’t just a number here. Also I appreciate not only the amount of education I am receiving but also the scope of my education. I will be leaving Olds College with a very well rounded knowledge of not only Production Horticulture but also the horticultural industry as a whole. Finally my last piece of advice would be if you wish to be successful in any industry you need to passionate about what you are doing and remember no education is ever wasted.

Rayell and her foal Velvet

My passion for horses started at a very young age. When I was trying to decide what to study after high school my passion for horses took priority. Olds College offered the program of my dreams: a whole program dedicated to the animal I loved.

I started Equine Science: Equine Business Management in September of 2008 thinking that I knew a decent amount about horses through my years around them. I soon realized that the classes I would take would show how much more there was to learn in the equine industry.

Through the Equine Science program I have gained the knowledge to work successful in many aspects of the horse industry such as a rider, manager and many other careers.

I was also given the opportunity to work the breeding and foaling 2010 season alongside Dr. Marion Anderson, Equine Science Program Coordinator, and Lauren Basford, Equine Science IT. I have been able to learn alongside them as to how to run a successful breeding and foaling program, foaling, breeding and collections.

I thought I would include some picture from the foaling season for you to enjoy to see some of the foals of 2010.

Land Sciences Centre from the Botanic Garden

Now that students have left for the summer, things are a bit quieter around campus! However, there is still a lot of different activity at Olds College over the next few months.

So stay tuned because staff in the Office of Student Recruitment will be providing blog updates over the summer months. You can expect to read stories about equine students running our spring breeding and production program, what studies are like for our summer AHT students as well as getting updates about graduation and the Calgary Stampede.

Our Campus is Picture Perfect!

In the summertime, Olds College has many flowers, but very few regular students.  Therefore, this blog will be taking a break until September 2010.

I hope you have enjoyed learning about our school, from the point of view of some students. There are so many unique things that happen here, I encourage you to come back to this site in the fall and check it out.

If you are in the area of Olds, Alberta this summer, I challenge you to find the spot where this photo is taken.  Be prepared to be amazed!

Enjoy!

Brittany and Jennifer Give Fashion Advice to Tennera

Office Administration students received lots of advice during the past months.  We had three special presentations.

Body Image Consultation:

Lovely Image Consulting is a company run by two graduates of the Olds College Fashion Program, Brittany Brooke and Jennifer Keough.  They gave us lots of advice about how to dress with the body we have now.

Their presentation began with an overview for everyone, giving us advice about the proper clothing styles for in the workplace.  Then they provided individual consultations to everyone who wanted information about how to work with what we have.

We were lucky to have the expertise of Fashion graduates, plus it was lots of fun!

Jennifer Gives Jackie Suggestions

Office Administration Graduate Panel:

One afternoon we had a panel discussion, which included four graduates of our Office Administration program.  They talked about the jobs they have now and how the program prepared them for those jobs.

It was interesting to see how each person’s job was different than the other’s.  This made us realize why we need to take so many different subjects during our program.  Some jobs may have more emphasis on bookkeeping, for instance, while others may require more reception skills.

I wonder if some of us will one day be on the panel, telling future students about our wonderful jobs!

Feng Shui in Fashion:

Special guest Joanne Ward gave a presentation about using Fashion Feng Shui® techniques in choosing how we dress ourselves.  This method helps you determine your elemental hair, eye and skin colors.  The idea is that dressing with your organic colors in mind can help you gain personal energies.

The idea of Feng Shui for home decorating was not new to most of us, but using Feng Shui for personal ‘decorating’ was an interesting concept indeed!

Prionus Californicus

 Dr. Fry is a very interesting instructor who delights in challenging our minds, and at times our patience, as we students so often challenge his.  Jenni P. was a graduate in 2009 and this was her collection.  Her brother built her insect box which is very beautiful. 

Dr. Fry and Jenni With Her Insect Collection

This next collection is mine, and though my stomach turned many times while pinning them, I totally enjoyed it.

My Insect Collection