NORTH ISLAND COLLEGE | COLLEGE CONNECTION | SPECIAL ISSUE NOVEMBER 2013
SEEKING OUT SONORA
North Island College instructors Harley Elias and Murray Erickson travel with first-year tourism students to Sonora Resort for a behind the scenes tour of resort operations.
memorable for guests so they are forced to come back’,” said Hardev Ahluwalia, who wants to focus on human resources management. “I learned how to do that on this trip.” For general manager Sean Ross, working with NIC students is a great way to show the resort in full operation.
professional students with well-thought out questions often stand out when their name reappears on an application. North Island College business and tourism students complete co-op placements at Sonora, as well as resorts and businesses here and across Canada. The hands-on, paid work experience gives them industry connections, working knowledge, and job-ready skills they can include in their résumé.
“Most students haven’t had the opportunity to work in a hotel or resort,” said Ross. “When you operate a resort in a remote location Students can be a great asset to a luxury with five-star service you have to have resort operation like Sonora. everything in place when the guest wants it. “They understand the ins and outs of getting It makes operating a hotel in Vancouver look to places, that there is ferry traffic and water like a cakewalk.” taxis and float planes, and they can talk The trip was also an opportunity for Ross to about the area,” said Ross. meet future employees. Find out more: www.nic.bc.ca/tourism “We want to get them interested in coming to work for us,” said Ross, adding that
Industrial Automation ....2 Landscape Horticulture .. 2 Fine Arts Courses.............. 3 Professional Potter ........... 3 Adventure Guiding.......... 4 Hire an Intern.................... 4
GLOBAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
HIRE A BUSINESS INTERN Are you looking for educated employees to help with special business projects or busy periods this year? North Island College’s new internship program is looking for you.
Find out more: www.nic.bc.ca/business Or, call Avry at 250-334-5000 ext 4125
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KEY FEATURES
Find out more: www.nic.bc.ca/tourism
1-800-715-0914 | questions@nic.bc.ca
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Seeking out Sonora
Applications are now being accepted for September. Students graduate in May just in time for peak guiding season.
This year, 28 post-degree diploma students in Global Business Management are looking for four-month internships to help with your business’ marketing, finance, project management, human resources, or sales needs.
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TOURISM
QUOTE OF THE MONTH WWW.NIC.BC.CA
“My instructors were always telling me ‘You should make each and every moment
FINE ARTS & DESIGN
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For students, the trip brings their classroom learning to life.
Young, trades-focused and ready to learn 2
Coast to coast fine arts education
Getting a job offer six weeks into the program says a lot about the quality of NIC’s program. Sanjel hired a graduate from last year’s class and they’re confident I’ll have the skills they need.” Misko Valent, 2013 Industrial Automation student
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Learn what you can do at your community college
UNIVERSITY TRANSFER
TRADES
“You can watch phenomenal video of sea otters or whales but to be there, lying in your tent at night listening to whales or to float and pause with sea otters, that’s the wow factor,” said Pinel. “With students I share that, combine it with an appreciation for nature, and the skills to manage people in new situations.”
The opportunity was made possible by instructor Harley Elias who organizes three field trips for tourism and hospitality management students throughout their program.
“A resort like this is a real eye-opener for students,” said Elias. “Especially those with some experience who know what it takes to logistically truck, ferry, or helicopter in everything from food to guests.”
TOP STORIES
At NIC, Pinel is just as passionate about leading the Adventure Guiding certificate, an eight-month program that trains guides to work in amazing settings.
Located on Sonora Island at the mouth of Bute Inlet, the resort is a 75-minute scenic water taxi ride from Campbell River.
The resort’s wilderness experience and services have become a favourite vacation spot for some of the world’s top influencers.
COLLEGE CONNECTION
Instructor and West Coast Expeditions managing owner Dave Pinel has been actively involved in the industry since 1985, and has been featured in numerous newspapers, and magazines across Canada. This fall, his business earned a new accolade. His company was endorsed by the Canadian Tourism Commission as a once in a lifetime Canadian travel experience.
Students spent the day on a 35-foot boat exploring isolated ocean passages north of Campbell River and getting a behind the scenes tour of one of Canada’s top-rated luxury wilderness destinations.
Visit us online www.nic.bc.ca
SPECIAL ISSUE NOVEMBER 2013
NIC Adventure Guiding students are used to learning from the best.
NIC’s Tourism and Hospitality Management diploma students took their classroom to the ocean this month, as part of a class field trip to the remote Sonora Resort.
Only three other BC resorts have the Relais and Chateaux affiliation, including the Wickaninnish Inn, the Wedgewood Hotel & Spa, and the Hastings House Country House Hotel on Saltspring Island.
Email us questions@nic.bc.ca
LEARNING FROM INDUSTRY LEADERS
Tourism and Hospitality Management students tour Canada’s top luxury wilderness resort
“Sonora is a member of one of the most exclusive resorts and small boutique hotels affiliations around the world,” said Elias. “It’s at the top end of the top end. If there were a seven- or eight-star resort, this would be it.”
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ADVENTURE GUIDING
TOURISM & HOSPITALITY
ENGINEERED TO SUCCEED From Indonesia to Comox, first-year engineering students say college is their key to success Alexander Julianto travelled halfway around the world to take engineering at North Island College.
Instructor Dennis Lightfoot explains how to measure the speed of sound to engineering students Alexander Julianto and Queen Esther Nankabirwa.
The 19-year-old left his family behind in Bandung, the third largest city in Indonesia for the relatively tiny Comox Valley last summer, looking for a quiet place to start his degree.
As a result, more students are starting their engineering degrees at NIC with the support they need.
The move was part of a long-term plan to study engineering in Canada that started more than three years ago, when he applied for his permanent resident status while he was still in junior high. “I was looking online for a good college and found NIC,” Alexander said. “I think Comox is a good environment and NIC has a strong engineering program.” Next year, after his sister graduates from high school in Indonesia, his family will join him in Vancouver when he hopes to study engineering at UBC. North Island College has been working with BC’s top universities in recent years to help students move easily from college to university. This year, it improved course transferability to UBC and, in 2010, the college created the UVic Engineering Pathway.
“We’ve had a good batch of students over the last two years who are making better adjustments to university programs,” said Dennis Lightfoot, an instructor in the Math and Sciences department.
INSTITUTE OF WAR & PEACE Three North Island College instructors have joined together to offer the Institute of War and Peace this spring. This May, Anne Cumming, Dan Hinman-Smith, and Jeff Lawrence will offer three linked secondyear university transfer courses, including:
“When I got to UVic I felt more prepared and I was really ready to do well,” said Nolan Dewitt, who transferred to UVic this fall.
• War, Memory, Myth and History (HIS-220) • Selected Topics in Literature (ENG-230) • Contemporary Moral Issues (PHI-230)
“If I had gone to a university first, instead of starting at NIC, I probably wouldn’t have passed. I didn’t have to worry about living arrangements and commuting through traffic to school in my first year.”
Students can register for one, two, or three courses, which feature two independent classes per week and a joint plenary session. Every Wednesday, students get together for wide ranging discussions, guest speakers, and films. Extracurricular movies, art shows, and dance performances are also planned.
Now that he’s at university, he appreciates NIC’s focus on teaching and smaller class size even more. “It’s easier to learn at NIC,” said Dewitt. “The instructors focus on teaching and are all really good at it. Plus, it’s more personal. At NIC they know your name.”
Find out more: www.nic.bc.ca/artssciences
Find out more: www.nic.bc.ca/artssciences PAGE 1