On August 25, CHCH aired a segment with Wayne Toth about the new electric vehicle (EV) safety training pilot program, made possible by a $450,000 commitment from RBC Foundation. Toth, who recently retired as coordinator of the Motive Power program, walked reporter Tessa Bennett through the Green Automotive Technology lab at NC’s Welland Campus. Toth spoke to the specialized training first responders will receive this fall to meet a critical need for electric vehicle emergency preparedness.

Deputy Fire Chief at the City of Niagara Falls, Ken Henry, underscored the importance of the training for first responders.

Watch the coverage here.

He first came to Niagara College nearly 40 years ago to pursue his diploma in Electrical Engineering Technology and now, alumnus Glen Gahagan and his wife Heather Scott, are supporting the next generation of electricians through a legacy gift.

The couple is leaving a generous $25,000 bequest to the College through their will to create the Glen Gahagan Electrical Engineering Technology Bursary. The future endowed award will provide two annual bursaries in perpetuity for students – one $500 bursary for both a female and male student – in the Electrical Engineering Technology program within NC’s School of Technology.

Donors Heather Scott and Glen Gahagan

When Gahagan and Scott talked about the number of charities that have had an impact on their lives while estate planning, they felt strongly about the impact a gift to NC could have on future generations.

“Post-secondary education is expensive and will continue to increase in the years to come,” they said. “Having access to funds to help offset some costs will help students lessen the financial burden.”

Working in the electrical field has been a rewarding career for Gahagan, who found stability and the opportunity for growth in an industry that continues to evolve with the creation of new technology. He has worked in a variety of food manufacturing companies across Southwestern Ontario, both in management and non-management roles, and recently transitioned to Toyota Manufacturing Canada (TMMC).

Over more than 30 years, he has seen a shift in the traditionally male-dominated skilled trades industry and wants to ensure that young women and men all feel empowered equally to pursue a career in the in-demand field.

“It really feels good to know that after you’re gone, your legacy will live on in a small way by helping others,” the couple shared.

They want others to know that leaving an estate gift is an attainable way to make a difference.

“Everyone can leave a legacy gift regardless of the size of their estate. People want to leave everything to their family, but often you will leave more to your family by including charities in your estate plan,” said Scott, a lifelong Niagara native and fundraising professional who has worked for various charities over her career.

“We are so grateful to Heather and Glen for choosing to support Niagara College with this estate gift,” said Emily O’Connor, NC Development Officer. “Their legacy will have a lasting impact on their loved ones, as well as the Niagara community for generations to come.”

Glen shows off his alumni jacket

When Gahagan, a Hamilton native, thinks back on his time at NC in the 1980s, he remembers it fondly, sharing how his professors transferred their professional experience and expertise to their students with a commitment to ensuring that everyone succeeded. He also met one of his closest friends when they roomed together in off-campus housing – they were in different programs, but their friendship made it easier to be away from home.

The couple is excited to make a difference for students pursuing their dreams by giving back to the school that had such a positive impact on Gahagan’s life.

“We have three successful adult children all who have completed post-secondary education across Canada. We are aware of the importance of scholarships from them and the costs of education,” they shared.

Gahagan and Scott are proud of their children (stepchildren to Scott). Shelby is a Nurse Practitioner, Maddison a Clinical Pharmacist and Colby, who is an NC Electrical Engineering Technology alumnus (2023) like his father, works with an automation company.

“A good base of knowledge from a program like Niagara College sets someone up for success in their career. You never stop learning and are never too old to learn,” they said.

Leave a legacy

May is celebrated nationally as Leave a Legacy Month, a time when non-profit organizations encourage individuals to consider how they can leave a lasting impact through charitable gifts in their wills and estate plans.

If you’re interested in leaving a legacy gift at Niagara College, please contact Emily O’Connor to learn more.
For information on the important priorities of NC’s Together campaign, visit niagaracollege.ca/together.

Beer collectors and enthusiasts alike won’t want to miss the Niagara Brewery Collectibles Club’s upcoming local event in support of NC student scholarships.

The NBCC’s seventh annual Spring Niagara College Brewmaster Student Scholarship Fundraiser will be held on Saturday, April 26, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Armenian Community Centre in St. Catharines.

It offers the public a chance to drop in and explore beer memorabilia – with a opportunities to buy, sell and trade – connect with club members and the community. The event will feature grand prizes, a penny sale, 50-50 draw and neon sign raffle and more. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.

Net proceeds from the event will support scholarships for students in NC’s Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management program.

Funds raised by the club support the Niagara Brewery Collectibles Club Bursary. A $500 bursary is awarded to a student in the Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management program each semester who is in financial need and is a resident of the Niagara region or the Greater Toronto Area.

NBCC Club Founder Larry Lemelin noted that the show is a highly anticipated event for the club members to engage with the community and support NC students. Through the event, he also hopes to spread the word about the club, which is always seeking new members.

“Fellowship is the most important thing about the club,” said Lemelin. “It’s social. We enjoy connecting through our hobby, which is about preserving beer history and helping others by supporting beer students at the College.”

NC Development Officer Emily O’Connor noted that the Niagara Brewery Collectibles Club has donated close to $10,000 to NC for students awards since 2017.

“Larry often shares stories of the NC graduates he meets while travelling through Ontario or beyond and is an amazing ambassador for both the Brewmaster program and the College in general,” she said.

“The Niagara Brewery Collectibles Club has been an avid supporter of the College and a consummate donor – always putting students first. Whether it’s attending the College’s Project Brew events or hosting their own tradeshows, Larry and the NBCC keep students top of mind and help them succeed in their educational journeys with their bursary.”

NC Brewmaster Professor Jon Downing – who was the first brewmaster at Ontario’s first brew pub, the Atlas Hotel in Welland, and has opened more than 100 breweries around the world- is a member of the NBCC. Downing has led tours for the Club at the Teaching Brewery.

Established in 2015, the NBCC is the largest brewery collectibles club in Canada with more than 180 active members. The Club offers collectors from across the globe an opportunity to meet, buy, sell and trade. Breweries and beers are showcased through monthly meetings and shows.

Visit the NBCC’s spring fundraiser April 26

Drop into the NBCC’s Spring Niagara College Brewmaster Student Scholarship Fundraiser on Saturday, April 25, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will be held at the Armenian Community Centre (156 Martindale Rd., St. Catharines).

Walk-ins are free, table seating is $20 each.

For event information, call or text Larry Lemelin at [email protected] or call 905-328-6209.

NBCC memberships are also available for $10. www.bccniagara.com.

There won’t be any rules against playing with your food when Chef Professor Olaf Mertens takes over Benchmark restaurant for what promises to be an unforgettable one-evening experience on January 23 – in fact, it will be encouraged!

The talented, fun-loving German-born chef is stirring up a distinctive culinary experience rolled in with storytelling and a dash of whimsy as the next headliner for NC’s hot new dinner series, A Chef’s Journey.

Each event in the series will shine a spotlight on an academic chef – or two – who will curate a multi-course meal along with an evening experience that reflects their personal journeys. The events will also include featured alumni and a team of students. Stories will be conveyed through their menu of food and beverage selections, storytelling, visuals, and other surprises.

‘Yes, play with your food!” will be the theme for Mertens’ s one-night ‘restaurant takeover’ event, featuring interactive dishes and beverages throughout the evening.

“Personally, I want to show off hospitality, and a serious food and beverage menu, storytelling while ‘playing with your food’ and having whimsical fun tantalizing your senses,” he said. “My journey will add some story to the delicious dishes, being a Germanic influence with Canadian ingredients, with a few sprinkles of eating adventures from our travels intertwined into some bites.”

Through his menu, Mertens will offer guests a tour from his birthplace in Berlin, through Germany and into Bavaria and Salzburg, Austria – the latter destination was just minutes away from Steigenberger Hotelier School in Badreichall where he completed his Master Chef designation.

Early in his career, Mertens cooked in some of the finest restaurants in Berlin and Budapest. He earned the honour of Top Skilled Apprentice for the class of 1989 and was awarded Berlin’s Apprentice of the Year that same year.

In Canada, he worked at Rogues Hotel in Mississauga, which was awarded one of Canada’s Top 40 Restaurants, before becoming the executive chef and co-founder/owner of HIP Restaurants and its three Mississauga locations – On the Curve Hot Stone and Wine Bar, Ten Restaurant & Wine Bar and West 50 Pourhouse and Grill; as well as his own catering division Catering … From the HIP, which has served high profile guests from British royalty, the German embassy and large German companies.

Mertens has been bringing his expertise to the classrooms and labs of NC since 2010. He was a coach for Junior Culinary Team Canada between 2013-2016 – when a team of culinary students and recent graduates won the right to represent Canada at international competitions, including the IKA Culinary Olympics in Germany, and brought home multiple medals.

That team included Robbie Aggarwal (Culinary Management – Co-op, 2016) who will be returning to his alma mater as one of the featured alumni for the January 23 dinner event. Aggarwal, who owns Niagara Falls-based Norcini and Co. and Lela Park - and has employed several NC alumni since opening his business in 2021 – feels grateful and honoured to return to NC as an established alumni.

“This is a full-circle moment to be able to give back and contribute to where the foundational training of my career started,” he said. “Chef Olaf was not only my coach but a mentor. He pushed me to strive for greatness, nothing less was acceptable.

“My whole experience at NC and all the support from the facility, administration and support staff is what led to my success in the industry.”

The event will also include Wine Professor Gavin Robertson, who is a NC graduate (Winery and Viticulture Technician, 2011).

“Olaf and I are good pals and he’s an incredibly talented and creative guy, so we had a blast bouncing food and beverage pairing ideas off one another to see where we landed with the menu,” said Robertson. “In my day-to-day as an instructor, it’s easy to get hung up on the microscopic details of the wine sciences, and this is an opportunity to remember what it’s all really about: the pleasure of eating and drinking wonderful, craft-made things together in a properly-lit, super social warm room on a cold winter’s night.”

They will be joined by Chef Professor Erik Mauke, who has 25 years of culinary management experience and operated two artisanal food businesses before deciding to focus on teaching.

“I am an ‘Olaf alumni.’  I worked with him many years ago where he afforded me opportunities for which I will be forever grateful,” said Mauke.

Upcoming events

A Chef’s Journey with Olaf Mertens marks the second event in the College dinner series, which launched in late November with a sold-out inaugural dinner featuring Chef Craig Youdale (Dean, Culinary, Tourism and Beverage Studies).

“A Chef’s Journey is a celebration of culinary artistry, community and the journeys that have shaped our talented chefs and alumni,” said Youdale. “Each event promises to create meaningful connections between our College chefs, alumni, students and our community.”

The inaugural event also marked the launch of a new Student Experience Scholarship Fund. In lieu of leaving a gratuity for service at Benchmark restaurant or a special event hosted by the Culinary, Tourism and Beverage Studies division, guests are now encouraged to donate to the new fund which will create scholarships for students from NC’s schools of Culinary Arts, Hospitality and Tourism, and Wine, Beer and Spirits.

In addition to A Chef’s Journey with Olaf Mertens on January 23, the series will feature an exciting lineup of NC Chef Professors including:

• Michael Olson, along with his wife, celebrity chef Anna Olson, on February 13;

• Michelin Guide recognized chef Frank Dodd (also Executive Chef at Trius Winery Restaurant) on March 20;

• Erin Circelli and Isa Mottiar on April 3;

• Riley Bennett on April 24;

• Scott Baechler on May 8; and

• Oscar Turchi on May 22.

A Chef’s Journey events will be held at Benchmark restaurant, located at NC’s Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The events will be supported by students and staff from the College’s Benchmark team led by Victor Oliveira and Chef Justin Downes.

Tickets are available, while supplies last, via Eventbrite:eventbrite.ca/e/a-chefs-journey-celebrating-students-tickets-1092764741759?aff=oddtdtcreator. Mertens’ event on January 23 and Olson’s event on February 13 have sold out.

Related articles

A Chef’s Journey Featured Alumni: Gavin Robertson

A Chef’s Journey Featured Alumni: Robbie Aggarwal

New signature dinner series to celebrate NC’s academic chefs and alumni 

New scholarship fund is on the menu for NC Culinary, Tourism and Beverage students 

It’s only been five years since he graduated from Niagara College, but Andrés Coimbra Castedo is ahead of the game; his name has already graced the credits of an Oscar-winning film – and now he’s taking centre stage among the top college graduates in Ontario.

The 26-year-old NC Game Development graduate (2019), who is a Lighting Artist for Herne Hill Media and worked on the Oscar-winning film Pinocchio, is the winner of this year’s prestigious Premier’s Award in the Recent Graduate category. Winners were announced at Colleges Ontario’s Premier’s Awards Gala, held on the evening of November 25 in Toronto.

“I am completely honoured. This is a great opportunity that I’m very thankful for,” said Coimbra, who is a resident of St. Catharines. “I want to thank Niagara College for giving me my education, the foundation for my career. I want to thank my industry colleagues who gave me a chance to start in this industry and join in this project that was Pinocchio and, above all else, I want to thank my mother for believing in me and being there with me.”

“Our College community is tremendously proud of Andrés, whose remarkable journey illuminates what Ontario college graduates can achieve when they go the distance to pursue their dreams,” said NC President Sean Kennedy. “As a NC Alumni of Excellence, Andrés is a shining example of the significant impact our NC graduates have on their industries in Niagara, across Canada and around the world.”

The award was deeply meaningful for Coimbra, who has been going the distance to pursue his career dreams. Originally from Bolivia, Coimbra and his mother immigrated to Canada in 2011, first to New Brunswick, then to southern Ontario to follow his career aspirations. He enrolled at NC after high school, drawn to the College’s three-year Game Development program.

“It means a lot … I am an immigrant. I came here when I was 13 years old in search for accomplishing my career goals,” he said. “To be recognized in this way means the decision to come to Canada was definitely the right decision, and all the efforts that we made, they were worth it.”

While at NC, Coimbra and a team of classmates co-created a video game for their capstone project — The Fallen –that was published on Steam. He developed a love for lighting characters, VFX and set pieces in movies and games, and discovered his passion for lighting scenes in animated films.

Just a few years after graduating, a film he worked on as a lighting artist, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2023.

Castedo now works for a Toronto VFX studio producing films for high-profile Hollywood clients. Looking back on his journey, he is thankful for his experience at NC.

“The best thing the College gave me were the professors; they really guided me. They saw that I had potential and they took the time to mentor me, not only during the time that I was in College but also afterwards, and that guidance was invaluable to me,” he said. “I am forever grateful to the College for giving me all the opportunities, all the people that I’ve met there, my friends, all the people that became my coworkers later too.”

Coimbra was among seven NC Alumni of Excellence who were nominated for this year’s Premier’s Awards. The nominees are all 2024 NC Alumni of Excellence honourees – the highest recognition alumni can receive from the College for their notable achievements.

He is the ninth graduate of Niagara College to win a Premier’s Award since the awards were launched in 1992. Previous NC alumni winners include:

2022: Journalist Murray Brewster (Broadcasting – Radio, Television and Film grad, 1985), and Founder of Erica’s Embrace, Erica Williams (Social Service Worker grad, 2018);
2014: Royal Canadian Navy Capt. Rebecca Patterson (Nursing grad, 1987);
2012: David Pratt (Greenhouse Technician grad, 2007);
2011: Jerry Howell (Computer Engineering Technology grad, 1988);
2008: Jordan Harris (Winery and Viticulture Technician grad, 2004);
2003: Heather Kilty (Social Welfare Worker grad, 1969); and
1995: Carol Alaimo (Journalism-Print grad, 1984).

Hosted annually, the Premier’s Awards celebrate the important social and economic contributions that graduates make in Ontario and around the world. For more information about the Premier’s Awards, visit co-awards.org.

NC has an alumni community of more than 120,000 – and growing. Visit niagaracollege.ca/alumnirelations.