Marvel - Seneca College

From a Seneca degree
to a business MBA
“Start at Seneca and go
Anywhere” is a phrase you will
be seeing a lot around the
College, and with good reason.
Every year more of our graduates are continuing their
academic studies after earning a Seneca diploma,
graduate certificate or degree.
while the College has more than 650 pathways to
further education, Financial Services Management
graduate Abdul Ansari chose to chart his own course,
and this fall he will be pursing his MBA at McMaster
University’s Degroote School of Business.
The 24-year-old admits before applying he was a little
worried he wouldn’t be accepted having heard rumours
of how tough it is to get into graduate degree programs.
The minimum requirement is a bachelor’s degree and
at least two-to-three years of formal work experience.
Cindy Hazell, Seneca Senior Vice-President, says
Abdul’s acceptance into an MBA program shows how far
college degrees have come in a short time.
“It’s only been eight years since Seneca’s degree
programs started, so it is really gratifying to see how
their unique mix of hands-on technical training and
advanced theoretical studies is being recognized by
other institutions,” Cindy says. “with a Seneca degree,
our graduates are not only prepared for the workforce,
they can continue their post-secondary studies at the
graduate level. The choice is theirs.”
Abdul’s path to an MBA started at Seneca when he
www.SENECACOllEgE.CA
PlEASE SEE MBA on PAgE 2.
The historic decision to induct Angela, along with
American star Cammi Granato, smashes a gender
barrier that has existed since the Hall of Fame began
honouring male players in 1945.
“On behalf of everyone in women’s hockey, I am
truly honoured,” Angela says. “As a kid I went to the
Hall and was in awe of those who had been inducted.
I am delighted to be able to join them.”
Angela, who has worked at Seneca for more than 20
years, is considered to be the first superstar of
women’s hockey.
As both a player and passionate advocate, she led
the way for women’s hockey to be recognized locally,
nationally and internationally.
Her intensity made her an elite player and one of
Team Canada’s greatest clutch performers. In fact,
Angela was a member of the women’s gold medal
world championship teams in 1990, 1992, 1994 and
1997. Her domination of the women’s game has led to
Wondering Why your
friendly neighbourhood
Spider-man iS hanging
out in the Senecan?
turn to page 3.
Senecan headed to the Hockey Hall of Fame
NEwS AT SENECA COllEgE
SEPTEMBER 2010 VOlUME 12 NUMBER 2
PHOTO BY RICHARD DOUglAS
HoT new CAreer
Markham Fire and Emergency Services has added a new group of recruits to its roster and among them is Tenille
Biro, a graduate of Seneca’s Firefighter, Pre-Service Education and Training program. Her days are now spent
fighting fires, protecting the community and, yes, even removing the occasional cat out of a tree. Needless to say,
she’s a long way from the nine to five job she used to have. For her complete story, please see Trading the office for
the fire hall.
PHOTO COURTESY OF HOCKEY CANADA
Angela James, Seneca College’s Senior Sports Co-ordinator, will be
among the first females to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
numerous accolades in recent years, including her
induction into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame and
the International Ice Hockey Hall of Fame, where
she was among the first female players to ever be
inducted.
The neighbourhood arena in which she played
growing up was also renamed “the Angela James
Arena” by the City of Toronto.
“Angela has spent her career breaking down
barriers, setting records and inspiring the next
generation of female hockey players. She has
dedicated her life to sport, and we congratulate
her on this historic achievement and well-deserved
recognition,” says Seneca College President David
Agnew.
“We are so pleased to have such as high calibre
athlete involved in Seneca sports and we are proud
to call Angela a Senecan.”
PlEASE SEE AngElA on PAgE 2.
Dropping back
into school
It’s never too late to go back to
school. Just ask Alicia woods.
At 16, this Newmarket resident dropped out of high
school, and a few years later she became pregnant.
To pay the rent and support her son, the single mother
took a job at a coffee shop, where she worked long
hours and earned minimum wage.
Serving coffee made Alicia realize she wanted more
out of life.
So with her family’s encouragement, the 25-year-old
returned to school after almost a decade to earn a
college diploma and prepare for the future.
“If it wasn’t for my son I probably would have never
gone back to school,” Alicia says. “I wanted him to
know he can do anything he puts his mind to.”
Alicia’s decision to pursue post-secondary education
led her to Seneca’s Business office Skills program,
which provides students with the office skills and
knowledge to meet the demands of today’s workplace.
In fact, the program’s curriculum is directly related to
the skills needed in the current job market and includes
courses in accounting, Internet and e-mail, business
English, Microsoft Office, math and service excellence.
Alicia says she found the program difficult at first, but
thanks to the help of her professors not only did she
pass all of her courses, she earned an overall gPA of 3.9.
The Faculty at the Newmarket Campus where Alicia
was studying were so impressed with her work ethic
and academic achievements that they nominated her to
be College valedictorian this past June.
It’s an honour Alicia gladly accepted on behalf of the
Faculty of workforce Skills Development and today it
stands out as one of her prouder moments.
“Three years ago I never thought I’d come this far,”
she says.
“You can pretty much do anything you put your mind
to, and I learned that firsthand this past year. It wasn’t
easy, but I was determined.”
To learn more about the Business office Skills
program, visit http://www.senecac.on.ca/fulltime/BOS.
html
TheSenecan 1

New Seneca Board Chair
Seneca’s Board of governors has elected Bill
Hogarth as Chair for a two-year term effective
September 1.
Bill Hogarth takes over the position from Helen
Hayward, whose term as chair ended in August.
Recently retired, Mr. Hogarth was the Director of
Education for the York Region District School Board
since 1993. Previously, he served as a superintendent
of schools in the former North York Board of
Education for more than 10 years. Mr. Hogarth
has dedicated his working life to teaching and the
principle of lifelong learning. He joined the Board in
2007 and previously served as Vice-Chair.
Members elected as Vice Chairs are:
Bill Hogarth
Denise Cole - is an Assistant Deputy Minister with
the Ontario Ministry of Children & Youth Services,
where she is leading an independent commission to reform the province’s child
welfare system. Prior to that, she was a Partner with StrategyCorp Inc., a
government relations and public affairs firm. Ms. Cole joined the Board in 2005
and has served as Vice-Chair since 2009.
Richard Goyder - is Vice-President, Portfolio Management and Credit Strategy at
Royal Bank of Canada. Before joining Royal Bank, he worked as an executive and
consultant for a number of large financial institutions in the United Kingdom and
Canada. Mr. Goyder joined the Board in 2008.
Ashif Somani - is a Partner with BDO Dunwoody. Mr. Somani has more than 20
years of experience providing audit, management and business advisory services
to a wide variety of clients. As a member of BDO’s Quality Assurance team, he is
responsible for establishing and monitoring quality standards for the firm’s
accounting and auditing practices. Mr. Somani joined the Board in 2008.
New members
Oscar Bobadilla - is in his fifth semester of the Computer Engineering Technology
program. During his studies at Seneca, Mr. Bobadilla has been actively involved in
the College community. Prior to his election as the Student Representative on the
Board of Governors, Mr. Bobadilla served as the President of the Seneca Student
Federation. In this role, he led the student council, co-ordinated campus events
and helped voice student concerns.
Thomas Carrique - is a Superintendent with York Regional Police. Mr. Carrique
has been with York Regional Police since 1990 and currently serves as the officerin-charge
of staff services, which includes recruiting, training, professional
development and human resources. He has also been a Special Investigation Unit
Liaison officer and the officer-in-charge of the Oranized Crime Bureau.
Case Ootes - is the elected Councillor for Ward 29, Toronto-Danforth. Mr. Ootes
entered municipal politics as an East York councillor in 1988. He was elected to
Metro Council in 1994 and to the amalgamated City of Toronto in 1997. Mr. Ootes
was then appointed as the first deputy mayor of Toronto, a position he held for six
years.
Mike Shaver - is Vice-President of Engineering for Mozilla Corporation. Throughout
his career, Mr. Shaver has demonstrated a tremendous commitment to helping
people understand, build, and benefit from an open source community, where
software is shared among individuals and organizations. Beginning his career as a
developer, he quickly rose through the ranks and eventually gained Internet fame
as a founding member of the Mozilla Organization in 1998.
David Tsubouchi - is the Chairman and Founder of Deduce International Markets
Inc. He was previously an Associate Counsel with Miller Thomson LLP. Mr.
Tsubouchi brings a wealth of experience from the public sector as an elected
official municipally and provincially. He served as Ontario’s Solicitor General and
went on to hold a number of ministerial portfolios including Minister of Culture,
Consumer and Commercial Relations and Community and Social Services.
MBA FroM PAgE 1.
enrolled in the Financial Services Management
program — a four-year bachelor’s degree that prepares
students for careers in financial services fields.
Abdul was accepted to other university business and
financial degree programs, but decided on Seneca’s
Financial Services Management program because of its
hands-on focus and the potential to earn professional
designations. His decision proved to be the right one, and
even before he graduated Abdul was hired by CIBC.
He has worked as a personal banker for more than two
years and was responsible for providing financial advice
to customers. It’s a position he excelled at and one that
earned him the award of top personal banker for his
region.
“That’s been the career highlight for me so far,” he
Abdul Ansari
says. “It’s based on a number of different metrics and it is very hard to win because you
are competing against the best bankers in a given area.”
Abdul plans to carry his success from the office to the classroom when he starts his
MBA program.
“I am really glad I made the decision to come here. A lot of my friends who took
business programs at university are still looking for a job. I on the other hand have a
couple of years of work experience and am attending an MBA program in the fall. So I’m
very happy I went to Seneca.”
To learn more about Seneca’s Financial Services Management program, visit
http://www.senecac.on.ca/fulltime/FSM.html. To learn more about Seneca’s pathways to
further education, visit http://www.senecac.on.ca/degreetransfer/guide/
Trading the office
for the fire hall
Tenille Biro is working her way up a new ladder.
After more than 10 years earning a living
in the world of computer technology,
this 30-year-old traded in her office for
the fire hall as one of the newest
firefighters for Markham Fire and
Emergency Services.
“This is a dream come true,” Tenille
says. “It’s hard work, but I love what I’m
doing.”
During high school, Tenille thought
about pursuing a career as a firefighter
but put that idea on the back burner
after convincing herself it was an
occupation only fit for men.
Instead she went to work as an
administrative assistant for a computer
technology company, where she quickly
learned on the job and worked her way
up to the position of IT Forensic Analyst.
Although she enjoyed the challenge of
her job, Tenille desired more.
A conversation with her brother-inlaw,
who is a firefighter, convinced her
to make a career change and led her to
Seneca’s Firefighter, Pre-Service
Education and Training program.
Once in the program, Tenille knew she
had found her true calling.
“At first I had reservations, I admit.
Could I physically do it? Would I get
along with everyone? Could I run into a
burning building? These were the types
of questions that were going through
my head. I realized I could do all these
things and had such a passion for it.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF ADRIEN VECzAN
AngElA FroM PAgE 1.
The road to becoming a firefighter
wasn’t an easy one for Tenille.
In order to pay for her tuition, she
continued to work full-time while
taking all of the program’s courses in the
evening.
Her weekends were also spent at Seneca
for hands-on live fire training, and
any spare time she did have, Tenille used
it to study, train and volunteer in the
community. So when she was
offered a position with Markham Fire &
Emergency Services before graduation,
it came as no surprise to her professors
or classmates who witnessed her strong
work ethic.
To get the job, Tenille had to pass a
fitness test, two rounds of interviews and
15 weeks of intensive training.
She currently spends her days at
Station 91, located between Bayview
Avenue and John Street in Markham,
where she is always ready to be called
into action.
“Waiting for that call for help is
the hardest part of the job,” she says.
“As a firefighter you are serving the
people of your community and helping
them when they are in their most
dire straights. When they hear those
sirens and see that big red truck coming
around the corner it’s a relief to them
and it is a gratifying experience knowing
you have done your part to help. For me,
there’s no better job in the world.”
giving it
While she was making women’s hockey history,
Angela attended Seneca College’s Recreation
Facilities Management program in the early 1980s.
Currently, she is responsible for the
administration and co-ordination of sports and
recreation leagues at the College. During her studies
at Seneca, Angela established herself as one of the
top Ontario College Athletics Association (OCAA)
players.
She was a three-time OCAA scoring leader and
MVP and reached the 50 goal mark in the 1984-
85 season, while playing defence. For her athletic
accomplishments, Angela was twice named Seneca
Angela James
Female Athlete of the Year. Upon graduation, Seneca retired Angela’s sweater and
she was inducted into the Seneca Varsity Hall of Fame. In 2004, she was honoured
by the College and was presented with the Seneca College Distinguished Alumni
Award.
The official Hockey Hall of Fame inductions are scheduled to take place on
November 8 in Toronto.
2 TheSenecan www.SENECACOllEgE.CA

A career to Marvel at
The name Jorge Molina may not mean anything to you,
but chances are you’ve heard of the characters he
regularly brings to life. They include: Spider-Man, Iron Man,
wolverine, Captain America and The Incredible Hulk.
All IMAgES COURTESY OF MARVEl ENTERTAINMENT
This pencil drawing of Captain America and colour drawing of Iron Man,
above right, were created by Jorge Molina. The 26-year-old, who studied
Animation at Seneca, works as a freelance artist for Marvel Comics.
his best shot
He has photographed the Queen, experienced
the g20 riots and even dangled outside of a
plane — all for the sake of a good picture.
in the last year, there’s not much that has escaped Adrien Veczan’s lens.
This 2009 graduate of seneca’s Independent Digital Photography
program has become a rising star in the world of photojournalism and for
his efforts he received the inaugural Tom Hanson Photojournalism Award
from The Canadian Press and the Canadian Journalism Foundation for his
impressive work.
“Tom was one of the greatest photojournalists we’ve had,” Adrien says.
“To receive this award is indeed an honour.”
The award is intended to promote the work of aspiring photojournalists
who have been in the business for less than five years.
graeme roy, director of news photography at The Canadian Press, was
a member of the selection committee and said Adrien had “high-calibre
photographs” and his work showed he understands “light, composition
and making pictures.”
As part of the award, Adrien is now completing a paid internship with
the Canadian Press where he is covering everything from sports to
politics for the national news agency.
He was part of the Canadian Press photo team covering the g20
summit that took place in Toronto.
Prior to enrolling at seneca, photography had only been a hobby for
“Blood, sweat, tears
and a lot of fabric.”
That’s how 2010 Fashion Arts graduate, Dianne DeBarros, sums up a year that saw
her work in South America and travel to China, where she represented Canada in the
International Young Fashion Designers Contest — considered to be the most prestigious
competition for student designers.
“I was shocked and excited when I got picked,” Dianne says. “The difficult part came
when I had to actually produce the clothes.”
Dianne was the lone Canadian selected to showcase her collection during China’s
fashion week. It took her about two months to design and sew her collection, which
features recycled plastic and other reusable materials.
“It was amazing to see my work on the runway,” she says. “Every time a model
came out wearing my clothes I was like, ‘That’s my stuff.’”
Dealing with the pressure of putting a collection together in a short amount of time
wasn’t anything new to Dianne. Before traveling to China, Dianne spent four months in
South America working as a designer for a fashion company in Bolivia.
The 21-year-old applied and was given this opportunity through global Edge, a
government-funded program that allows students to complete internships in other coun-
www.SENECACOllEgE.CA
Since studying animation at Seneca five years ago, Jorge is lending his artistic talents to Marvel Comics
and is making a name for himself among fans and critics alike.
“I always had a passion for drawing comic book characters,” Jorge says. “But I never thought I could
make a living out of it.”
From the time he picked up a pencil at age four, Jorge spent his time drawing superheroes. His
entire childhood art book collection is filled with sketches of Spider-Man, Superman and Batman.
Growing up in Mexico, Jorge always dreamed of one day working for a major comic book
publisher, but never thought it would be possible given where he lived.
At the encouragement of his mother, he took some formal art classes and eventually enrolled in
Seneca’s Animation Arts program. One look at the program’s curriculum and Jorge was convinced it
would make him a better artist.
“The program wasn’t comics, but it was definitely the closest thing to it,” Jorge says. “In the end it
helped me out in so many ways, influencing my comic book style and work.”
Courses in Storytelling, Character Acting, Character Development and Storyboarding taught Jorge how
to make his characters come to life on the page.
Thanks to the program, Jorge’s drawing skills grew stronger. After Seneca he started working for DC
Comics, the publisher behind such popular titles as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.
Jorge was there only for a short time before the competition, Marvel, noticed his work and made him an
offer to join their company.
Jorge has been with Marvel for three years now and works as a freelance artist for the company from his
home studio in Mexico, where he spends his days working on comic book projects.
“Most comic books are 22 pages long and take a couple of months to finish,” he says. “I probably work
longer hours drawing than most office workers, but I’m not complaining.”
After every comic book he illustrates, Jorge takes a moment to reflect back to that little kid who used to sit
on the floor of his parent’s house and draw Spider-Man and Superman until it was time to go to bed.
It turns out, he’s still doing that today, but instead of the floor he’s working in his basement — and getting
paid for it.
“I’m living my dream and I couldn’t ask for more,” Jorge says. “It’s been great to get to draw all the
characters I grew up with as a kid. My mom actually cried when she saw my work published. She is so happy
that I’m doing what I love to do.”
Adrien. The 25-year-old started researching programs and discovered seneca’s
Independent Digital Photography program, which was launched in 2007. The
two-year diploma program positions students for success in the photography
industry by equipping them with the creative, technical, business and
entrepreneurial skills to work in a large company, open their own studio or
work as a freelance photographer.
Adrien, who was part of the program’s first class, thrived at seneca.
during his studies, he served as the College’s sports photographer, covering
all seneca sting varsity games. He eventually started taking photos for other
areas of the College and became the official photographer for seneca Alumni
events such as the Annual golf Tournament and distinguished Alumni Awards.
off campus, Adrien freelanced for a number of community newspapers in
Toronto, and under the mentoring and guidance of his professor, Fred
Thornhill, he started working as a photojournalist for the reuters global news
wire service.
By the time he graduated, Adrien already had countless photo credits to his
name.
“Fred helped open the door to the world of photojournalism for me,” Adrien
says. “There’s no substitute for the guidance and support you can get from
someone who has been in your exact position before.”
Adrien’s photos have made it into the pages of many prestigious daily
newspapers in north America, including the Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, New
York Times, USA Today and the Washington Post.
His silhouette image of a soldier taken during a repatriation ceremony was
awarded “Picture of the day” by reuters worldwide.
“That was a huge picture for me,” Adrien says. “it’s the one i’m most proud
of.”
And, despite his busy schedule, Adrien still takes photos for seneca — just
as he did when he was a student at the College. Keep an eye out for him at the
next major seneca function. He’ll be the one holding the camera.
tries. At first, Dianne was only to serve
as an assistant designer but was quickly
elevated to designer status when an
employee left the company.
Her task was to design a collection
of handbags before her internship was
completed. In the end, Dianne came up
with 20 designs and 13 were selected for
manufacturing.
“when they told me I was going to be a
designer I admit I was a little taken aback.
But I soon realized that I could do it and
applied everything I learned in class.”
Now that she has graduated from the
Fashion Arts program, Dianne won’t rule
out one day launching her own clothing
line. Until then, she plans to continue
improving as a designer by furthering her
education at the Ontario College of Arts
& Design this fall. To learn more about
Seneca’s Fashion Arts program, visit http://
www.senecac.on.ca/fulltime/FAA.html PHOTO BY MAURICIO AlVAREz
TheSenecan 3

news digesT
Newnham Campus expansion continues
Construction is
continuing this fall on our
new 160,000-square-foot
building at Newnham
Campus.
The new building will include
classrooms and faculty spaces as well
as a new auditorium, which will have a
flexible design that can serve as a single
classroom, be divided into multiple
teaching spaces or host Seneca
functions. As part of construction, the
Computer Commons is being expanded
and a collaborative student study space
is in the works.
Seneca received $20 million from the
provincial government and $3.7
million from the federal government to
create the new building. The funding is
in response to an expected surge in postsecondary
participation and is expected
to create space for an additional 1,000
students at the campus. The new
building is expected to open in
September 2011.
Seneca receives $2.3 million from federal
government to expand open source research
Seneca will receive $2.3 million in federal funding over five years for open source
technology research as part of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
of Canada’s College and Community Innovation Program.
The Honourable gary goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology) made the
announcement as part of $15 million in funding for 12 new projects where
colleges work with their communities and local businesses to get new innovations from
the campus into the marketplace. with this grant, Seneca intends to scale and grow
the research capacity of its Centre for Development of Open Technology to meet the
ever-increasing needs of current and prospective partners. Seneca has become a world
leader in academic involvement in the teaching and researching of open source
software development. working with such partners as Mozilla, IBM and Red Hat,
Seneca has pioneered a new method of student involvement in real world open source
software products.
Professor receives dissertation recognition award
Dr. Ping Deters has been honoured with the Dissertation Recognition of Excellence
Award for her dissertation “Identity, Agency, and the Acquisition of Professional
language and Culture: The Case of Internationally Educated Teachers and College
Professors in Ontario.”
Ping, a Professor in Seneca’s English language Institute for more than 10 years,
completed her research on the professional acculturation of internationally educated
K-12 teachers and college professors in Ontario as part of her doctoral studies at The
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. Each year, the Canadian
Association for Teacher Education presents Dissertation Recognition of Excellence
Awards to acknowledge excellence in teacher education research and scholarship in preservice
education, in-service education and teacher development. Dissertations focus on
a wide range of topics in the areas of teacher education.
Student video selected to promote luminato Festival
Romulo Cardier, Andrew Mamangun, Vidya Shanmugam and Namrata Chandel are the
winners of the 2010 luminato Festival viral video contest.
Earlier this year, five teams made up of students from Seneca’s Marketing
Management program developed a series of videos to promote the luminato Festival
— a multi-disciplinary arts festival. The videos were based on the concept of being a
“luminatic,” or passionate patron of the annual festival.
The winning video, as selected by fans on YouTube, is featured on luminato.com as
the official 2010 luminato Festival viral video.
TheSenecan 4
For questions about circulation of
The Senecan, call 416.491.5050 ext. 7010.
Submissions or questions about articles
in The Senecan should be sent to:
Tom Bartsiokas
Seneca College, Marketing and Communications
The Senecan is published by the Marketing and Communications department of Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology.
“This is an exciting project for all of us at
seneca. it will improve access, provide
state-of-the-art teaching and learning
areas and a new main entrance, a front
door if you will, to our newnham
Campus.” — david Agnew, President
PHOTO BY CAROl CROMBIE
Seneca Students create float for Caribana parade
Adrian Mejia puts the finishing touches on a float he and his fellow Seneca Visual
Merchandising Art students created for the Toronto Police Services. The float titled
“Diversity in Motion” appeared during the Scotiabank Caribana Parade held in July at
Exhibition Place and lakeshore Boulevard.
1750 Finch Ave East, Toronto, ON M2J 2X5
416.491.5050 ext. 7019
Tom.Bartsiokas@senecac.on.ca
www.SENECACOllEgE.CA