LAKELAND COLLEGE Annual Repor t 2008 - 2009

ANNUAL REPORT 2008-2009
5
Year in Review
Lakeland’s interior design technology students once again
excelled in competitions. Pamela Berry of Saskatoon finished
first and Whitney Jamieson of Maidstone placed fourth in
an international charette design competition. Based at the
Vermilion campus, the interior design technology program
is one of Lakeland’s signature programs. The program also
received the Excellence in Education Award from the National
Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA). The award recognizes
excellence in design instruction at North American colleges,
universities and technical institutes and is based on an annual
review process that all schools with NKBA accreditation must
complete in order to maintain NKBA certification. Award
winners were required to earn a score of at least 93 out of a
possible 100 points. Lakeland earned 95.
Todd Field received Alberta’s top apprentice award for the
parts technician trade during the Alberta Apprenticeship and
Industry Training Board Awards in February 2009. Todd took
his training at the Vermilion campus. He works at Lakeland as
an inventory control technician.
It was golden glory for Lakeland’s curling teams as the mixed
and women’s curling teams won Alberta Colleges Athletic
Conference (ACAC) championships. Lindsay Makichuk was
named skip of the women’s all-star team and Neil Bratrud was
recognized as skip of the mixed all-star team and ACAC male
player of the year.
Basketball star Ossie Hinds, captain of Lakeland’s men’s team,
was an all-Canadian in addition to an ACAC north division
first team all-star. As for other accomplishments, women’s
volleyball coach Austin Dyer was coach of the year for the
north division and volleyball players Nathan Unruh and
Brianne Collette were named academic all-Canadians. Scott
Sigfusson received the all-around cowboy award at the
Canadian National College Finals.
Kirk Ferguson-Uhrich, program chair of Lakeland’s sign
language interpretation program, was in Newfoundland in
September 2008 to receive the Richard W. Letourneau Service
Award from the Association of Visual Language Interpreters of
Canada. The award recognizes his long-standing commitment
to promoting sign language interpreting and advocacy for the
deaf.
After years of planning and 22 months of construction, the
Bill Kondro Wing at the Lloydminster campus was officially
opened in September 2008. With 400 classroom seats and
numerous labs, the wing makes it possible for Lakeland to
serve hundreds of additional students each year. Features of
the wing include two 90-seat lecture theatres, three 60-seat
theatres, a 40-seat classroom, two 40-seat computer labs,
two five-bed nurses labs with mannequin simulation beds,
two 24-seat science labs and multimedia space for students
to do project work. There is almost $1 million worth of new
equipment and supplies in the science labs alone. The wing
was named in honour of Bill Kondro in recognition of his
contributions and commitment to Lakeland, including his time
spent as the chairman of the board of governors.
In March 2009, the University of Alberta and Lakeland finalized
an agreement to transfer paramedic, emergency medical
technician and emergency medical responder programs from
the university’s community education unit at the Augustana
campus to Lakeland. These programs are offered primarily
online with some days spent in class learning technical skills.
An energy cabin became part of the Vermilion campus
landscape in November 2008. The cabin is used for applied
research purposes and by environmental sciences students
studying renewable energy systems. The building’s electricity
comes from wind power and 1.7 kilowatts of solar photovoltaic
panels. Solar hot water flows through in-floor piping and
provides enough heat to keep the building warm from March
until November. Lakeland launched an online renewable energy
and conservation program in October 2008.
In March 2009, Lakeland, East Central Alberta Catholic
Schools and Credenda Virtual High School learned they would
receive a $700,000 grant from Alberta Advanced Education
and Technology’s Innovation Fund. The organizations are
working on a project aimed at expanding access to educational
and training opportunities for students in rural areas. As part
of the project, dual credit courses will be developed to allow
students in Grades 10 to 12 to take courses for credit outside
of the current curriculum and outside of career technology
studies. Once completed, the courses will give students
advanced credit in a Lakeland program.
In the summer of 2008, Lakeland was the filming site of
two episodes of YTV’s In Real Life, a reality television show
featuring youth. Broadcasting of Farm Frenzy and Firefighting
episodes began in April 2009.
Designed like mascot Rowdy Rustler, Lakeland’s first corn
maze was a popular attraction in the fall of 2008. More than
1,500 people toured the Vermilion campus maze which was a
joint project of the adventure tourism and outdoor recreation
program and agricultural sciences.