Alumni
Sophie Wilson
September 1, 2022
“I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to study at Okanagan College’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...
Read more...
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 Okanagan College’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...
Read more...
Â黨´«Ă˝alumna gives back with bursary for high school grads
June 22, 2022
Okanagan College 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 Okanagan College 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 ...
Read more...
Â黨´«Ă˝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 Okanagan College peers cross the stage at the first in-person Convocation ceremonies to be held at Â黨´«Ă˝since the pandemic began. Growing up in the region, Pereira has always known Okanagan College 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...
Read more...
Â黨´«Ă˝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 Okanagan College 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...
Read more...
Â黨´«Ă˝student to attend prestigious astroparticle physics summer school
May 5, 2022
The sky is the limit for Okanagan College 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...
Read more...
Student becomes the master at Â黨´«Ă˝Student Chef Dinner Series
March 17, 2022
Okanagan College’s Culinary Arts program served up a tasty opportunity for students to bring their culinary learnings to the table alongside an experienced Â黨´«Ă˝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 Â黨´«Ă˝kitchen for t...
Read more...
Meet Cam Egan, Biology Professor
March 8, 2022
Q: What is your name and role at Okanagan College? 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...
Read more...
Meet Kayla Gabelhouse
February 10, 2022
Â黨´«Ă˝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...
Read more...
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...
Read more...
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...
Read more...
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...
Read more...
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...
Read more...
Award-winning Water Engineering Technology grad breaks barriers for women
January 6, 2022
An Okanagan College 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 Okanagan College 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...
Read more...
Â黨´«Ă˝business students seek community support to launch investment fund
January 5, 2022
Justin Rantucci and Steven Fiust speak highly of their education at Okanagan College, 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 Â黨´«Ă˝students while building capacity locally, Rantucci, Fiust and fellow student Riley Dunsmore are lo...
Read more...
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 Â黨´«Ă˝ 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...
Read more...