Highlights video supplied by NC’s BRTF program and edited by student Jacob Kelusky.

For third year Broadcasting – Radio, Television and Film (BRTF) program student James Maier, covering the Olympic Wrestling Trails in Niagara Falls in December wasn’t his first foray into event coverage, but it was the most dynamic to date.

“The project was different from others we’ve worked on. We were working with a new organization on a sport we were not used to. Not to mention we had two streams happening at the same time,” said Maier. “Everything I have been learning in Dutch’s class came back to help me. I am definitely going to look fondly on this experience for years to come.”

With the help of NC alumnus Brent Gust (BRTF, 2011), video operator with Dome Productions in Ottawa, who led on the technical side, twenty BRTF students applied their learning to covering Canada’s best wrestlers – live – as they took to the mat to compete for a spot on the national team at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Gust, who regularly works on NHL, CFL and other major events in Ottawa, will be covering the summer Olympics in Tokyo. “Coming back to Niagara to work on productions with the students and staff is an amazing experience,” said Gust, “The students can do amazing things and with the support of alumni there is no limit to what we can accomplish. I love coming back and working with students. Paying it forward makes it better for everyone, and having proud grads that give back is the real NC advantage.”

Each match was covered by up to five cameras at a time, and due to space restrictions, students worked out of two on-site control rooms that had to be setup and wired for this project. This became the hub where the group managed the productions for the live-streamed broadcasts, editing stations, audio mixing, instant replays and graphics. Maier was grateful to his fellow students for their support throughout the grueling three days of filming.

The coverage garnered the interest of CBC Sports, who aired footage of the trials on their national platforms. On the receiving end of the feeds at the CBC in Toronto was none other than NC alumnus Hayden Grierson (BRTF, 2017). Grierson works as a Media Presentation technician – Streaming at CBC.

Grierson saw Peter ‘Dutch’ VandenBerg, professor in NC’s School of Media’s name on an email chain for the coverage and realized it was an NC-produced event.

“It was a little bit surreal for me,” said Grierson, who reached out to VandenBerg to let him know that they would be working together. “I was excited to watch the BRTF student’s coverage. The production was good to start, but over the course of the three days I could see the students improving. Camera movement got smoother, graphics looked better and more professional, even the directors sequencing and storytelling improved.”

“The quality of the production definitely lived up to the quality expectations of CBC.ca,” said Grierson. “I love seeing students get opportunities like this to improve their abilities and show off their skills to a wider audience.”

“My colleagues at the CBC were making fun of me because I was acting like a proud mother any time there was a nice sequence or a well-placed shot,” said Grierson. “As Dutch always says, we bleed blue. I still take pride in everything that I see NC students do and always will.”

While in the BRTF program, Grierson had the opportunity to produce the high profile IIHF World Junior Women’s Hockey Championship, another project partnering with TSN.

Thinking back to his own experience as a student, Grierson recalls the nervous energy from the crew before the game. “Everybody got into the swing of it and we were able to create something that we could be proud of. I can only imagine that the crew on the wrestling trials felt similar. They can look back on it as a highlight of their college career.”

2021 Canada Summer Games 

The Olympic wrestling trials were hosted by Wrestling Canada Lutte, the 2021 Canada Summer Games Host Society, and the Brock Wrestling Club. BRTF students’ involvement was just the beginning, as they’re set to cover the 2021 Canada Summer Games, the country’s largest multi-sport.

“The wrestling trials were a great opportunity for our students to get their feet wet filming live sporting events outside of their coverage of the Knights, especially in preparation for the 2021 Canada Summer Games. NC broadcasting students will play a central role in live-streaming coverage for Canada’s largest multi-sport event,” said VandenBerg.

The Canadian Wrestling Trials are set to start tomorrow – they will be selecting Team Canada for the 2020 Olympics – I would invite you to come and watch except we are SOLD OUT – watch them streamed live on our 2021 webpage: t.co/d9YN22bWzE (Thanks to Niagara College) pic.twitter.com/pxMuAuv4I4

— Barry Wright (@BarryatBrock) December 4, 2019

 

 

 

Five decades.

That’s approximately how long it had been since George Bailey had stepped foot inside his alma mater.

But on November 1, the Class of 1970 alumnus returned for the first time to attend the College’s inaugural ReuKnighted celebration. Held at the Welland Campus, the event was a collaboration between the College’s Alumni Relations and Athletics departments, and included a reunion weekend of activities.

For Bailey, attending the pre-game tailgate party sparked a trip down memory lane, as he marvelled over how much the College has grown and changed since he attended during its early days.

“There were only two buildings when I was here and that’s where we had our programming,” said the former Radio and Television student who enjoyed a career in public relations and communications for 30 years and wrote a travel column for 20.  “I’m very impressed by the College’s programs and the facilities today. And the people here are still as enthusiastic and friendly as they have always been.”

Bailey was among an estimated 150 attendees who returned for a tailgate party on November 1. Hosted by NC’s Alumni Relations team, the event was held at the Core, and drew former athletes and alumni – mostly from Broadcasting – Radio, Television and Film, and Sport Management programs – as well as College staff and students.

For former Knights athlete John Mataya, who is VP and CFO of Bosch Rexroth in Welland, ReuKnighted was another reason to return to NC. Mataya has been a frequent visitor to the College since he graduated from Financial Management in 1984. In addition to cheering on the Knights basketball teams at home and on the road, he has been a supporter of the College and events such as the Seafood Gala and Golf Classic. He has also hired many college students and alumni over the years. His son also followed in his footsteps as a NC graduate.

“It’s always nice to come back to campus, connect with friends and watch the basketball team,” said Mataya.

The event also drew more recent alumni such as television host, reporter and basketball coach Amy Audibert, who graduated from the Broadcasting program in 2012 and has since worked for sports media networks including CBS Sports, NBATV, and NBATV Canada. The Niagara Falls native, who was a basketball player for the University of Miami prior to her days at NC, was an assistant coach for the Knights women’s basketball team (2011-2012) and men’s basketball team (2018-2019). She noted that she was happy to support ReuKnighted by working to broadcast the basketball games and attending the tailgate.

“There are a lot of people I work with in the industry that are here tonight,” she said. “A lot of NC grads work in the TV industry so it’s really fun when we get to chat.”

The alumni tailgate was followed by Knights home-opener basketball games in the Athletic Centre and an after-party. Festivities continued on November 2 with a National Scholar Brunch, a Hall of Fame induction and a volleyball double-header.

NC alumni engagement officer Jana Boniferro noted that following the success of the first alumni reunion of its kind, the College is considering future events to engage the wider alumni community, numbering more than 90,000 worldwide.

“Our first-ever ReuKnighted was a tremendous success,” said Boniferro. “It was amazing to witness the reactions of attendees after not seeing each other in years, and we love all the new memories that were created as we brought together members of our alumni community while cheering on our NC Knights.”

“It was great to see and meet so many Niagara College Knights alumni,” said Michele O’Keefe, associate director of Athletics and Recreation. “With basketball the focus on Friday, and Knights Hall of Fame induction of the 1999 and 2000 men’s volleyball teams on Saturday, the camaraderie ignited a flood of memories and storytelling. Our current student-athletes felt the pride in the gym for basketball and volleyball.”

Funds raised from ReuKnighted ticket sales support scholarships and bursaries NC.

Niagara College is gearing up to welcome the spirit and enthusiasm of former Knights at the Welland Campus for ReuKnighted, the first alumni reunion of its kind. The weekend will kick off with a tailgate on Friday afternoon followed by a Knights basketball game, with festivities continuing into Saturday.

Tickets are still available and alumni are welcome to register for the event this Friday.

Calling Knights Alumni! Have you registered for our ReuKnighted event yet?
t.co/GqhP0PI6c9 pic.twitter.com/Jp5Jdcl1l6

— Niagara Knights (@NC_Knights) September 25, 2019

Former Knights athletes and alumni from NC’s Broadcasting – Radio Television and Film, and Sport Management programs, will come together for an exclusive tailgate party with appetizers and refreshments beginning at 4:30 p.m. in The Core, hosted by the Alumni Relations team. The indoor tailgate will be followed by the men’s and women’s basketball home-opener games in NC’s Athletic Centre. An after-party featuring entertainment will follow.

“We’re excited to welcome alumni back to Niagara College,” said Michele O’Keefe, associate director, Athletics and Recreation. “Alumni are integral to NC Knights tradition and ReuKnighted is our way to celebrate and engage them.”

The reunion weekend will continue into Saturday with the National Scholar Brunch and Hall of Fame induction in the morning, followed by a volleyball double-header in the afternoon. Tickets include game admission for both the Friday basketball and Saturday volleyball games.

“ReuKnighted is a great opportunity for alumni to come back to campus and reconnect with former classmates, teammates, faculty, and friends of Niagara College,” said Jana Boniferro, NC alumni engagement officer. “We’re very excited to host members of our alumni community and look forward to getting ‘reuKnighted’ as we help cheer on our NC Knights.”

ReuKnighted is a family-friendly, ticketed event, and a chance to reconnect with former classmates and teammates. Registration is open at niagaracollege.ca/alumnirelations/reuknighted.

The first 100 alumni to register will receive a special gift – an NC-branded alumni scarf – courtesy of Alumni Relations. All event proceeds support scholarships and bursaries for student athletes.

Being the first alumni reunion of its kind, NC is considering future events to engage the wider alumni community, numbering over 90,000 worldwide.

 

A message from Wendy Dueck, director, Development and Alumni Relations:

I’m delighted to announce that Erica Walters joined our Development & Alumni Relations team on October 21 as our new development officer – Scholarships & Bursaries. In this role, Erica is responsible for cultivating and stewarding relationships with new and existing donors to support fundraising for scholarships and bursaries, helping to ensure ongoing financial support is available for our students. Erica is taking over this role from Helen Armstrong who retired in August.

Erica comes to us from the Brock University where she has been a Major Gifts Officer with the Advancement team. Erica was responsible for managing a major gift portfolio of almost 200 donors and prospective donors, building relationships and engaging donors in the life of the university to support priority fundraising needs, while helping donors fulfill their personal philanthropic goals.

Prior to that, Erica spent more than five years as the community engagement & development officer for McMaster University’s Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, Niagara Regional Campus, where she managed donor development, alumni relations, community engagement, marketing, communications, and events for the Niagara Regional Campus.

Erica also worked at Niagara College from 2010-12, supporting the dean of the Canadian Food & Wine Institute as a communications and business development officer, and has worked in marketing with Niagara Economic Development.

Erica is very community minded and dedicates significant personal service on the Board of Director’s of several local not-for-profit organizations, and has been recognized with a 40-under-40 award.

Please join me in welcoming Erica!

Alumnus from Niagara College’s Canadian Food and Wine Institute, Benjamin Lillico, has been named among Canada’s next top chefs.

Lillico, who is the now the executive chef at Holt Renfrew’s new flagship location in Toronto, was featured in a Globe and Mail article posted on October 11, ‘Canada’s Kitchen: 2019 edition, Meet the country’s next top chefs.’

A graduate of NC’s Culinary Management, and Bachelor of Applied Business and Hospitality programs (2014), Lillico was a member and former captain of Junior Culinary Team Canada, which was comprised of students and recent grads of NC’s CFWI from 2013 to 2016.

The team was among 20 junior national culinary teams from around the world to compete at the IKA / Culinary Olympics in Octobr 2016 where they won a gold and a silver medal . In November 2014, the team won a gold and silver medal and ranked fifth overall at the Expogast Villeroy and Boch Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg. In August 2015, the team captured a gold and silver medal and the overall championship title at the American Culinary Classic in Orlando, Florida.

Lillico was also named among the Ontario Hostelry Institute’s Top 30 Under 30 Rising Stars in 2015.

View the October 11  Globe and Mail article here.