Generosity is pouring in from the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), in the spirit of helping to advance equitable representation in the beverage alcohol industry.

The LCBO has donated more than $60,000 to Niagara College to establish a new LCBO Spirit of Inclusion Initiative Bursary. The bursary will provide financial support to students who self-identify as a woman from a diverse background currently under-represented in the beverage alcohol industry, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) who are enrolled in the College’s beverage programs.

The LCBO’s Spirit of Inclusion Initiative is working with partners to establish mentorship, bursaries and continued education for diverse women who are looking to begin or advance their training in the winery, brewery and distillery fields.

“It is our responsibility to use our influence and resources to increase diverse representation and foster inclusion within the beverage alcohol industry,” said George Soleas, President and CEO, LCBO. “The Spirit of Inclusion Initiative is a holistic, long-term commitment to support diverse women looking to begin or advance their careers in the winery, brewery, and distillery fields. Its success relies on the strength of our incredible community and trade partners, and I am excited for the impact we will achieve together.”

Representatives from Niagara College applauded the LCBO’s Spirit of Inclusion Initiative and welcomed the donation, which will provide much-needed financial support for students

“We thank the LCBO for their generous gift which will make it possible for many under-represented students in our beverage programs to achieve their dreams,” said Marc Nantel, Vice President of Research and External Relations. “The LCBO’s Spirit of Inclusion Initiative Bursary demonstrates their commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion, while supporting student success. Both are core values at the heart of Niagara College.”

Dean of NC’s Canadian Food and Wine Institute Craig Youdale noted the importance of striving for more equity, diversity and inclusion in the beverage industry, which has made progress in recent years but still has much more to achieve.

“The LCBO Spirit of Inclusion Initiative Bursary is helping to achieve a more equitable landscape in the beverage community,” said Youdale. “We look forward to seeing the results of our collective impact and more opportunities for more diverse women to enter our beverage alcohol program, thanks to the support from the LCBO.”

This fall, the first LCBO Spirit of Inclusion Initiative bursaries will be awarded to four NC students – one from each of the College’s beverage programs – to cover tuition and ancillary program costs, including:

• $9,773 for an Artisan Distilling student (one-year program);
• $9,653 for a Winery and Viticulture Technician student (to be dispersed over two years of the program);
• $8,448 for a Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management student (to be disbursed over two years of the program); and
• $5,261 for a Beverage Business Management student (a new one-year program launched in September 2021).

After the first LCBO Spirit of Inclusion Initiative bursaries are distributed at NC this fall, the balance of the funds will be available to award additional recipients during the 2022-2023 academic year.

To be eligible for the new bursary, students must demonstrate proof of financial need; be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or protected person; and self-identify as a woman from a diverse background including, but not limited to, Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour, women with disabilities, first generation Canadians, 2SLGBTQ+, and non-binary gender.

For more information about financial aid at Niagara College, visit niagaracollege.ca/fees-finances/financial-aid/.

The Canadian Food and Wine Institute, located at Niagara College’s Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake, is the College’s centre for food, wine, beer and distilling education. It is home to NC”s Teaching Winery, Teaching Brewery and Teaching Distillery – the first of their kind in Canada.

The following story was written by freelance writer Deborah Reid:

When Niagara College alumna Lora Tisi (Fashion Arts, 1979) created the atmosphere for Northern Reflections in 1985, her inspiration was from summers spent at her grandparent’s cottage. Remembering the reflection of pine trees on the surface of a glassy lake, hearing the low wail of loons at dusk, the smell of a wood fire in the air, and living mostly in her bathing suit. It’s where she felt a deep sense of belonging.

She is a natural-born storyteller – a woman with a vision and the talent to convey it. The magic, she knows, is in the details. One of the best expressions of her commitment is how the change room doors at Northern Reflections slammed shut on a tight spring hinge like the screen door at a cottage. “I tried to make the experience of my childhood as real as possible,” said Tisi.

In the brand-defining sweats, there are more details to get right. Sweatshirts have two problems -the way the ribbing around the sleeves and waist blows out and the silkscreen image flaking. She found a technical maker and had six-dozen sweatshirts printed with the Northern Reflection’s logo. Packing them into her Chevette, she drove them to a store in Guelph. A few days later, they were all gone.

For Canadians, the success of Northern Reflections is no secret – within four years, a hundred stores would dot the country, followed by success in America. In nine years, Tisi rose from Buyer to Executive Vice President, and three years later, in 1995, she made the company President.

After 17 years, she left to become President of American Eagle Outfitters in Canada to grow its global platform. She was behind a strategy to launch 46 stores nationally in 108 days – starting with smaller regional malls and finishing with big stores at Yorkdale in Toronto and the West Edmonton Mall.

Tisi needed a vibrant story to appeal to young people and began recruiting college and university athletes as brand ambassadors, sponsoring wardrobes on hit television shows, and hosting in-store live music events. “We wanted to be the voice of the cool kid, and I learned a lot about amplifying that message,” she said.

Following her role with American Eagle Outfitters, she spent five years as President of RW&CO. Reaching men was the big challenge, and she recruited Canadian hockey players like Montreal Canadiens, P. K. Subban to help tell those stories. It’s a formula that tripled sales. It’s also the first time she recruited an Indigenous ambassador – Canadian model and actress Ashley Callingbull from the Enoch Cree Nation.

“We’re lucky in life if we’re part of one great team,” she said, reflecting on her 37-year career. “For me to have found three is incredibly humbling.”

Looking to create a legacy, Tisi focuses on giving, applying her knowledge as an international retail strategist to mentorship in Indigenous communities and growing a market for Indigenous products.

Her beloved paternal grandmother was a Six Nations Iroquois Elder, and she identifies as mixed-race Indigenous.

She is a board member for the Indigenous Advanced Education Skills Council (IAESC), an organization addressing the low graduation rate among young people – 36 percent compared to 72 percent in the Canadian population. Their ambitions are to grow Indigenous post-secondary institutes in Ontario – teaching curriculum free of colonial structure and a minimum of 50 percent Indigenous content.

“My goal is to be two ears and one mouth and interact in that proportion,” she said. “I seek first to understand and then find ways to give back.”

Seven distinguished members of Niagara College’s alumni community have been nominated for Colleges Ontario’s prestigious 2021 Premier’s Awards. Each week leading up to the awards presentation on November 18, we are sharing stories about our nominees to celebrate their career achievements. All stories were submitted by NC Development and Alumni Relations and written by freelance writer Deborah Reid.

Related article: Meet this year’s NC nominees for Premier’s Awards

Niagara College graduates go on to have impactful and important careers. With their diplomas, degrees and certificates in hand, they shape industries and communities, affecting everything from what we eat or wear to our safety and security. 

Their efforts don’t go unnoticed. Niagara College has nominated seven members of its alumni community for the 2021 Ontario Premier’s Awards. Presented annually by Colleges Ontario, the Premier’s Awards celebrate the outstanding contributions of college alumni in Ontario and throughout the world. Awards are presented in seven categories: Apprenticeship, Business, Community Services, Creative Arts and Design, Health Sciences, Recent Graduate, and Technology.

Here are Niagara College’s 2021 Premier’s Awards nominees: 

Technology — Wanito Bernadin

Chief Information Officer, National Capital Commission of Canada, and graduate of NC’s Business Administration – Marketing (Co-op) program (2003)

Wanito Bernadin oversees heritage buildings, agriculture facilities, infrastructure, including bridges and parklands, and the six official residences in Canada’s capital, Ottawa. His mandate is to ensure the nation’s capital is a source of pride for all Canadians. His portfolio also includes cybersecurity.

Bernadin is known for his public speaking and people skills,. He also has a talent for bringing out the best in his staff. 

In his free time, he is heavily involved in his community, counselling members of his church and feeding and caring for people living in challenged communities within Ottawa.

Apprenticeship – Aaron Foster

Executive Chef, W Hotel, and graduate of NC’s Culinary Management (Co-op) program (2003)

Aaron Foster was recently appointed executive chef at the new W Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. In that role, he oversees two restaurants headed up by New York celebrity chef Andrew Carmellini and helps to generate revenue of more than $30 million. 

Foster has spent much of his work life in hotel kitchens around the world. Earlier in his career, he was named best new chef by an influential Thai magazine when he worked in the Red Sky Restaurant at the Centara Grand Hotel. Under his leadership, Red Sky was also named best new restaurant. 

He’s accomplished much, all with a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which he speaks about openly in an effort to support young cooks facing similar challenges. 

Business – Lora Tisi

International retail strategist, and graduate of NC’s Fashion Arts program (1979)

By being able to tap into the emotions and memories of the consumer, Lora Tisi has helped grow emerging fashion retailers into name brands all of us have likely had in our closets at one time or another. In the mid-1980s, she grew Northern Reflections into an iconic purveyor of high-quality sweatshirts, rising from buyer to company president in just 13 years. From there, she led American Eagle Outfitters in Canada, launching 46 stores in 108 days. The it was on to RW&CO where she grew the fashion chain’s market for men by recruiting Montreal Canadiens hockey player P.K. Subban as a model. She also established an Indigenous ambassador in model Ashley Callingbull for the brand.

More recently, Tisi became a board member for the Indigenous Advanced Education Skills Council (IAESC), which works to address the low graduation rate among Indigenous youth. 

Community Services – Monique Belair

Deputy Fire Chief, City of Oakville, and graduate of NC’s Law and Security Administration program (1985)

Monique Belair helps to oversee the City of Oakville’s fire department. But she’s also a seasoned pro at helping young women see their potential in non-traditional careers, just like she was able to do herself when she enlisted in the Canadian Forces Fire Academy at 19.

Throughout her career, Belair has worked diverse posts, including fire suppression, communications, training and education, investigation, and fire prevention. She also spent seven years working in the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office.

Since working in Oakville, she established Camp Molly where she gives teenage girls the chance to wear firefighter uniforms and have real-life and practical learning experiences.

She is in the process of moving to the City of Belleville as the director of emergency services and fire chief. 

Creative Arts and Design – Mark Suknanan/Priyanka

Entertainer, first winner of Canada’s Drag Race, and graduate of NC’s Broadcasting – Radio, Television and Film program (2012)

When Mark Suknanan walked into an audition for the first edition of Canada’s Drag Race dressed as Priyanka, he knew his life was going to change. It did. Weeks later, Priyanka walked off the reality television show set as its first winner. 

More than that, Priyanka was the first drag queen of Indo-Caribbean descent to win in the worldwide Drag Race franchise. Next came the cover of Elle Magazine. Priyanka was the first drag queen featured on the front of the iconic fashion glossy. All of it followed 10 years of hard work to become a hugely popular correspondent on the YTV kids’ show, The Zone.

Health Science – Kevin Smith

Chief of Niagara Emergency Medical Services, Director of Emergency Services Division, and graduate of NC’s Ambulance and Emergency Care program (1992)

The Mobile Integrative Health Program that Kevin Smith spent 10 years developing has become a provincial model for a new type of emergency care. 

The program came to be after calls to Niagara Emergency Medical Services started reaching unmanageable levels, taking a toll on paramedics and the health system. Many of those calls didn’t qualify as acute but they still needed help. 

To solve the problem, Smith partnered paramedics with a mental health practitioner or occupational therapist. Instead of waiting for a call, they would go into the community to assess needs of frequent callers and connect them with the right resources. Smith also started a pilot program that put a nurse in dispatch to triage calls that weren’t acute. 

Seeing the importance of the program, which is unique to Niagara, the province invested $8.2 million in it this year.

Recent Graduate – Ryan Thorpe

Investigative reporter at the Winnipeg Free Press, and graduate of NC’s Journalism program (2017)

Ryan Thorpe could have still been called a cub reporter when he went undercover and infiltrated a neo-Nazi group just two years after graduating from journalism school. Still, he succeeded, broke the story and then continued following it as the group’s leader was arrested in the U.S., where he awaits sentencing for planning a terror attack there. The dangerous work earned Thorpe prestigious professional awards and nominations, national and international media attention, and an upcoming podcast currently in development with the CBC. 

All of this followed winning a National Newspaper Award for his writing about drug use and gang violence in Winnipeg where he continues to chase important and challenging stories that tap into his interest in social justice issues.

Premier’s Awards nominees will be celebrated and winners will be announced at a gala event later this year. 

Over the years, several Niagara College alumni have been recognized with Premier’s Awards, including:

• 2014 winner Royal Canadian Navy Capt. Rebecca Patterson (Nursing grad, 1987);
• 2012 winner David Pratt (Greenhouse Technician grad, 2007);
• 2011 winner Jerry Howell (Computer Engineering Technology grad, 1988);
• 2008 winner Jordan Harris (Winery and Viticulture Technician grad, 2004);
• 2003 winner Heather Kilty (Social Welfare Worker grad, 1969); and
• 1995 winner Carol Alaimo (Journalism-Print grad, 1984).

For information about the Premier’s Awards and 2021 nominees, visit co-awards.org/

Niagara College Suwon (NC Suwon) will celebrate many milestones this year. While NC Canada gets ready to welcome its largest cohort for the Fall 2021 term, NC is proud to see our first graduate complete the full pathway program.

Originally from Korea, Jooyong Cha was the first NC Suwon student to transfer to NC Canada after completing level four of NC’s English for Academic Preparation (EAP) program. Cha went on to complete level five of the EAP program in Canada and enrolled in the Hairstyling program. This past June, Cha graduated, making him the first graduate to complete the pathway between NC Suwon and NC Canada.

“NC Suwon helped me adapt and transition smoothly to the Hairstyling program at NC,” said Cha. “The experience at NC Suwon helped me to better adapt to the unfamiliarity of Canadian life, and made it easier for me to make the transition even when I was studying at Niagara College.”

The very same month he graduated, Cha began apprenticing at a hair salon in St. Catharines.

“Niagara College life helped me adapt to the new environment I was faced with by getting a job at a hair salon, and the hairstyling skills I learned in college laid the foundation.”

Cha is applying the communication skills he learned at NC Suwon to interacting with his clients and colleagues.

This Fall term, Niagara College Canada expects to welcome more students through the NC Suwon pathway, furthering NC’s reputation as Canada’s global college.

NC Global Campus: NC Suwon

As Canada’s leading global college, Niagara College has partnered with academic institutions around the world to offer delivery of some of its programs in China, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, South Korea and most recently, Toronto, Canada.

NC Suwon is one of Niagara College’s global campuses that enhances student mobility and preparedness to life in Canada through English language skills acquisition and information about NC’s academic programs. Delivered at the University of Suwon’s state-of-the-art facilities in Suwon, South Korea, the program is developed, and administered by NC’s School of English Language Studies and delivered in partnership with NC’s Global Engagement department.

For more information on NC Suwon, please visit suwon.niagaracollege.ca/.

For more information on NC global campuses, please visit international.niagaracollege.ca/our-campuses/ or contact manager, Global Education & Training, Orel Ruiz, by emailing [email protected].

From June 14 to 19, students in Niagara College’s School of Business and Management, and the School of Hospitality, Tourism and Sport, competed virtually in the Interdisciplinary Case Challenge. The week-long competition was made possible through cross-departmental collaboration and the generosity of O’Malley, a long-time supporter of the college who donated the prize money.

The case competition has symbolic importance to faculty and students in the division of Business, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport, as it is the first time an NC case competition involved students from two schools.

“We’re especially proud of the Interdisciplinary Case Challenge as a shining example of cross-School collaboration in the division of Business, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport,” said Adam Weaver, associate dean, School of Business and Management. “The range of programs involved is fantastic.”

“The success of the Interdisciplinary Case Challenge speaks to the value of connecting dots across disciplines,” said Evan DiValentino, associate dean, School of Hospitality, Tourism and Sport. “We know interdisciplinary problem-solving happens routinely in industry, and the case challenge has given our students the opportunity to flex those problem-solving muscles. The School of Hospitality, Tourism and Sport looks forward to future collaborations that provide new and valuable learning experiences for our students.”

After a remarkable career in advertising spanning three decades, Terry O’Malley sees the value in giving back to aspiring business leaders. O’Malley, a St. Catharines native, is a Harvard University graduate and the former creative director and partner in Vickers and Benson Advertising (now Arnold Worldwide Canada) where he received many accolades for his work. Since 1997, O’Malley has supported several campaigns, scholarships, and bursaries for NC students.

“I’ve seen firsthand the importance of approaching problems like those in case competitions,” said O’Malley, who has been behind similar events at Brock University. “The real value is facing a defined task, backgrounding, researching, and solving the task in real time. It is so important for students to interact, brainstorm, critique, argue, and agree on an approach.”

“Support from eminent practitioners like Terry truly benefit our division – and Niagara College as a whole,” said Lisa Mendez, associate dean, School of Business and Management.

The ten students who participated came from four program areas: Honours Bachelor of Business Administration – International Commerce and Global Development (a four-year degree program); Hospitality – Hotel and Restaurant Operations (a two-year diploma program); International Business Management (a one-year graduate certificate program); and Business-Sales and Marketing (a two-year diploma program).

Each morning, students attended a virtual seminar guiding them on how to approach the case and develop a viable strategy before meeting with their group via Microsoft Teams. In the spirit of NC’s approach to applied learning, students were tasked with problem-solving the reopening of tourist attractions in Canada and developing sustainable solutions for a pandemic-proof Niagara Region.

Winning first place were Emily Massicotte from Hospitality – Hotel and Restaurant Operations, and Deontai Jennings from Business – Sales and Marketing. Massicotte and Jennings split the $1,000 grand prize. Second place received $700, and third place $300. The awards were applied to students’ tuition via financial aid.

“The feedback from students has been very positive,” said professor Stefan Johnson who coordinated the competition.

Johnson said that students were exposed to new themes and intense time constraints. “They had to think outside of the proverbial box and develop more unique solutions. Plus, the added challenge of conflict resolution – in the eleventh hour, under immense stress, students were forced to work together and find amicable solutions.”

The result? Johnson reports that many students are eager to coach future teams through case competitions.

Johnson has eyes on growing the competition. “We would like to expand into different departments where students from nursing, brewing, horticulture, hospitality, social work and more can take part in much more diverse teams. Those winning teams can go on to international challenges against other institutions. I am excited to continue to work with faculty leadership and the rest of the college to grow this experience.”

NC’s Adam Weaver, Lisa Mendez, April Tyrrell, and Patricia Beu – among others – provided support to students and judges throughout the competition. Judges included Melanie Sodka, professor, international business; Creator of Capacity Creator, April Tyrrell – Academic Business Manager, SoBM, and Kithio Mwanzia, Network Manager, SONAMI Ontario.

Participants included:

1^st place winner Emily Massicotte – Hospitality – Hotel and Restaurant Ops
1^st place winner Deontai Jennings – Sales and Marketing

2^nd place Isabella Wartabedian – International Business Management (P-G)
2^nd place Sohaib Faheem – HBBA – ICOM

3^rd place Rebeca Victoria – International Business Management (P-G)
3^rd place Dafu Zheng – HBBA – ICOM

Halyna Nizinkovska – International Business Management (P-G)
Alejandro Jaramillo – International Business Management (P-G)
Pamela Collado – Sales and Marketing
Jeunesse Manatad – Hospitality – Hotel and Restaurant Ops