UNews - Red Deer College

French language scholarship enables opportunity

trevor.kenney — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 21:02:21 +0000

Maggie Kogut, a third-year modern languages and English major, has received a highly competitive national scholarship to attend a French language university of her choice in Canada for a year of study.

Kogut, originally from Sylvan Lake, Alta., transferred to the U of L from Red Deer College. She will receive $7,000 and travel expenses as the recipient of a Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Endowment Fund for Study in a Second Official Language award, administered by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC).

"The competition for this award is fierce as there are only a maximum of three awarded every year," says Dr. Tabitha Spagnolo Sadr, an assistant professor of French and one of Kogut's nominators. "Each university in Canada can put forth only their best candidate.

"The idea is that anglophone undergraduate students either in their second or third year can apply for funding to study for a year at a francophone institution. In turn, francophone students compete for the same award to study at an anglophone institution. We are extremely proud of Maggie for this exceptional achievement."

Third-year student, Maggie Kogut, will study at the Université du Québec à Montréal for a year after winning a prestigious national scholarship

Kogut is taking majors in both English and French, and is already refining her bilingual writing skills as the Entertainment editor and as a French-language columnist for the Meliorist.

Though the year away adds to the time Kogut ultimately spends in school, she does not mind at all.

"I am interested in taking a program at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) which focuses on French writing for non-francophones," says Kogut. "I'm considering a career in journalism, and being able to write effectively in both languages would be a helpful skill."

Spagnolo Sadr says she and her colleagues in the Department of Modern Languages spend a great deal of time and effort creating a cultural environment and range of courses, particularly at the upper levels, that prepare students like Kogut to succeed in language and literature studies in the classroom and beyond.

"Department members are always pleased to engage with our students and support them in exploring a wide range of external opportunities including funding, travel and employment options."

This story first appeared in the June 2013 edition of the Legend. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Achieving success on his own terms

trevor.kenney — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 18:48:31 +0000

It was after a long, hard summer day working with his dad on the family dairy farm that a young Paul Campeau (BMgt '04) first pondered the values that he would live his life by.

"I grew up with a good sense that hard work is required to achieve anything in life. I worked with my father and uncle and woke up at 4:30 in the morning to milk cows and then I would go work in the fields when I wasn't in school," says Campeau. "I remember going into the house for dinner late one day when my dad told me that although his job wasn't glamorous, he loved experiencing life every day, making his own decisions about what to do and how to best do it. That definitely affected my life. I tend to do things off the beaten path. I still work hard; I just do it my own way."

Alumnus Paul Campeau and his business partner Will Henderson represent a new breed of accountant.

The co-owner and partner of the successful new accounting firm, Henderson Campeau Chartered Accountants LLP, also drew inspiration from his mother.

"My mom has always been supportive of everything I do," he says. "I watched her strength and love as she raised five kids. She enjoyed a beautiful life every day. I try to have a positive outlook and enjoy each day to its fullest too."

After high school, Campeau earned a business administration diploma from Red Deer College. Several years later, he applied to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Edmonton campus to complete his management degree with a focus on accounting.

"The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ accepted my business diploma courses and offered the broad range of courses I was looking for. The practical, hands-on approach to teaching gave me the flexibility to be myself, express my ideas, participate in in-depth class discussions and have access to great professors, most of them industry professionals," says Campeau. "I believe that you learn so much from experience and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's satellite campus had a great way of teaching that."

Campeau graduated in 2004 and began working on his Chartered Accountant (CA) designation while articling at Deloitte & Touche LLP in Edmonton. Two years later, with a CA designation under his belt, the lure of beautiful warm weather and a smaller firm had him jumping ship to Bermuda where he met his future wife, Carly.

"When I worked for Deloitte, I got a high level of education and experience but I always wanted to work for a smaller firm. The owners of the firm in Bermuda had a laid back attitude. They expected a lot but they also trusted that I would do what needed to be done," says Campeau.

Moving to Amsterdam with Carly in 2008, Campeau began working as a senior accountant for Align Technology. Living in the Netherlands further highlighted Campeau's desire to enjoy every moment of his life.

"In Amsterdam, your bike is your only source of transportation. They don't take things as seriously there as we do in North America. You learn that you can live a beautiful and uncomplicated life," says Campeau.

Spurred on by this same attitude, Campeau and his future business partner Will Henderson began laying the groundwork for an opportunity to control their own destinies; their accounting firm.

"When we were both students we joked a lot about starting our own firm. The timing was just right and everything just fell into place. We opened the doors in February 2010," explains Campeau.

Taking a different approach from more traditional accounting firms, Henderson Campeau is about high quality service in a relaxed and inviting atmosphere. The TV in the lobby and couch in the boardroom are examples of this unique approach.

Campeau and Henderson are living life and succeeding on their own terms, balancing hard work, reliability, trust and excellent service with a passion for fun and a determination to savour every moment.

"We don't ever want to get too big for our britches that we forget to enjoy life. We want provide a high level of service for all of our clients. We want to make them comfortable and respond to their needs the same day. It is exciting to see our clients succeed, to know that you have added value to them and to the community," says Campeau. "Walking into work with your best friend, being able to trust each other, help each other out and watch TV over coffee is great. This isn't just a job, it is a lifestyle."

GET THE FACTS

· He still rides his bike – the one he had in Amsterdam – to work each day

· Campeau grew up in a French-speaking household and is fluently bilingual

· Henderson Campeau reached its projected three-year goals in the first year and a half of operation

· Campeau's firm is looking at creating co-op programs to mentor students

· Henderson Campeau (www.hendersoncampeau.com) was recently featured in the fall 2011 Spotlight magazine published by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta

This story first appeared in the December 2011 issue of the Legend. If you'd like to see the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

1971 Chinooks get their due

trevor.kenney — Wed, 18 May 2011 21:50:13 +0000

Long before the Pronghorns men's hockey team skated away with a national title on Maple Leaf Gardens ice, another group of young athletes brought glory to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

The 1971 U of L Chinooks women's basketball team won the institution's first national crown, the Canadian Junior Women's Basketball Championship, 23 years before Mike Babcock and company claimed the school's second. It was a monumental achievement that went relatively unnoticed, both then and over the ensuing years.

Only now are we beginning to realize just what this motivated group of small-town overachievers accomplished and fittingly, their induction into the Pronghorns Hall of Fame is finally shining a spotlight on their legacy.

The 1971 U of L Chinooks, coached by Wilma Winters, consisted of Dixie Dow, Linda Dogterom, Leona Voth, Minne Van Dieren, Sharon Giduk, Marge Moore, Linda Voth, Rosemary Brodrick, Joan Cannady and Linda Dow.

"The very best fans we had were the janitors at the Civic Centre," laughs Joan Langille (Cannady) (BASc, BA '73). "We didn't have a lot of people come to our games. What really struck us though, was when we arrived back in Lethbridge from winning the championship, the only people at the airport to greet us were the boyfriends, the parents and the janitors; they supported us right to the end."

With a roster stocked by southern Alberta products, the Chinooks proved that small could play big if given the opportunity.

"Basketball was a comfort zone for many of us from the smaller communities," says Langille, a Taber native. "Those of us from high school, it seemed pretty daunting to make a university team but we managed."

Linda Joncas (Dogterom) (BEd '72) grew up in Broxburn, went to McNally School as a youngster and then finished high school at Lethbridge Collegiate Institute. The majority of the rest of the team came from the Coaldale area and the powerful Kate Andrews program.

"It was really neat because we all kind of knew each other growing up, either playing with or against one another and then we reunited once we got to university," says Joncas.

"For me, it was a struggle to go to school. I ended up being in a single parent home after my parents divorced, and I had to get student loans and an academic scholarship to get me through. Basketball and the team meant so much to me, it really helped me through what was a tough time for my family."

Langille and Joncas were co-captains of the Chinooks in 1971, both playing out their final years before graduation. Each used their U of L degrees to carve out satisfying careers, Langille as a longtime provincial government employee and Joncas as a teacher and guidance counsellor. They both laud the personal learning environment the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ offered.

"There's really something to be said for small schools and it was exciting to be a small school playing against the big universities. In terms of education, it was also such a great experience and years after, I would recognize that both in my career and when I would see other U of L graduates applying for positions in the provincial government," says Langille. "More often than not, they were very successful."

Joncas says she is an unabashed supporter of the U of L experience, and was for years in her role as a high school guidance counsellor.

"I remember coming back to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ 10 years after I'd graduated and as I was walking down the hall, somebody called my name and it was Dr. Petherbridge and he remembered me," she says. "That was very significant to me, 10 years after this man still knew who I was. There's a real student-centred focus at the U of L and in my experience, there's nothing much that compares."

That the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ has now recognized the Chinooks for their significant contribution to the school's sporting history, brings the team back into the fold.

"We're very appreciative, honoured and in a way humbled," says Joncas. "You don't realize at the time that it was a big deal. We were all young and it was fun and it was a "Wow, we did it" feeling, but in terms of the bigger perspective, I don't think we really understood the way we do now."

The only regret the two have is that their coach, the late Wilma Winter, is not around to reconnect with her team and enjoy the long overdue accolades they are receiving.

"It just breaks my heart actually," says Joncas before pausing to gain her composure. "She should have been here because she was some lady. She would have loved to be honoured, she would have loved it from a coaching perspective and been proud that her institution recognized her girls."

GET THE FACTS

· The Chinooks only adopted the Pronghorns name in the fall of 1971 when the campus moved to its westside location.

· They very nearly won consecutive national titles, losing in the championship game the year before when Lethbridge hosted the event.

· The Chinooks won the 1971 provincial title with a 66-29 rout of Red Deer College and a 71-25 blowout of Mount Royal College.

· In the national championship tournament, hosted by UBC in Vancouver's War Memorial Gymnasium, the Chinooks beat UBC 46-45, topped ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Ottawa 70-59, and then won the national title with a 52-40 decision over ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Victoria.

This story first appeared in the Legend. For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Chinooks inducted into hall of fame

trevor.kenney — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 16:10:29 +0000

It has been 40 years since a group of women from a new and small institution captured the school's first national championship, and the school will celebrate that accompishment by inducting the 1971 ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Chinooks into the Pronghorns Hall of Fame at the 44th Pronghorn Blue and Gold awards banquet on Friday, Apr. 8.

Just four years into the existence of the institution, the Chinooks captured the Canadian Junior Women's Basketball Championship at the War Memorial Gymnasium at Vancouver's ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of British Columbia.

The Chinooks, later renamed the Pronghorns in the fall of 1971 when the campus moved to its westside location, were coached by Wilma Winters, a Lethbridge native and assistant professor of physical education at the U of L. The team's roster was made up of players from southern Alberta with the nucleus hailing from provincial championship teams at Kate Andrews High School in Coaldale.

The U of L squad had come close to winning a national title the year before, losing to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of New Brunswick in the final of the 1970 national tournament, which was held in Lethbridge.

Lethbridge began its run the next year by once again claiming claimed the Alberta crown by defeating Red Deer College 66-29 and Mount Royal College 71-25. It marked the Chinooks' third straight provincial title win.

At the Canadian championships, the Chinooks opened by winning a 46-45 squeaker against host UBC and then advanced to the final by beating Ottawa 70-59. In the title game, Lethbridge defeated Victoria 52-40, with a great team effort.

Members of the team coached by Winters included: Dixie Dow, Linda Dogterom, Leona Voth, Minne Van Dieren, Sharon Giduk, Marge Moore, Linda Voth, Rosemary Brodrick, Joan Cannady and Linda Dow.

Co-op placement opens doors for Flood

trevor.kenney — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:47:24 +0000

Finding a job without experience can be difficult. But it can be made far easier with the help of a co-op placement. Just ask Trevor Flood.

The 1999 ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge grad completed five co-op terms before earning his bachelor of management degree, giving him an important edge in finding meaningful employment. Flood is now a supervisor with Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL), handling royalty reduction programs within the oil and gas industry.

"We're responsible for a number of different areas but the primary focus is gas cost allowances and

Alumnus Trevor Flood gives back to the co-op program that helped him shape his career.

equalizations," he says of his 11-person team.

"We've seen a significant reduction in drilling in Alberta because of the new royalty program. In some ways it's good, because it's helped slow things down as far as what I see coming through Alberta, which is my group's core area."

Flood started at the U of L in fall 1996 after completing a two-year program at Red Deer College. He initially found it hard to land a co-op opportunity but ended up with his first placement at the Red Deer United Way. After that, he began an eight-month co-op at the U of L Management Co-op office, a position that ended up changing his life.

"That was a great job and it allowed me to be a co-op student but still be at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and still experience university life. I learned about the recruiting process and a lot about career development, making sure you set yourself up for a career path that will take you where you want to go," says Flood.

"It really set me up nicely, because I met some really good people. And because of the contacts I made there I was able to line up another position in Calgary with Gulf Canada. That led me into the oil and gas industry, which is what I knew I wanted to do."

Following his final eight-month co-op with Gulf Canada, Flood was able to land another position within the industry before moving into his role with CNRL. This happened, he says, largely because of the U of L's continuing co-op program.

"When I was coming out of university the oil industry was in terrible shape. Nobody was hiring. But because I had a little bit of experience and made some good contacts, I was still able to get in there," he says.

"I think the co-op programs have a huge value. From the student's perspective, you get your foot in the door with great companies. It was a great transition for me from full-time student to part-time student to full-time employee."

Now that he's in a position to do so, Flood has started to use co-op students with CNRL.

During the past five years he has hired five co-op students as a way to ensure the program continues.

"We like to utilize that route whenever we're able to. Generally, they come in and get great experience. They do very similar duties to the full-time people. Most of them pick things up extremely well," says Flood.

"The learning curve is pretty steep for them but it's not insurmountable, so we see a lot of value in it. As long as CNRL continues to place an emphasis on hiring co-op students, I will be involved with the co-op programs."

To learn more about the Faculty of Management at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, visit this link.

Davis, Heninger named athletes of the week

trevor.kenney — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:38:11 +0000

A pair of sweeps from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns men's and women's basketball teams netted Randy Davis and Becky Heninger kudos as Subway Pronghorn Athletes of the Week.

College transfer Randy Davis had his finest weekend in a Horns uniform, combining for 41 points in the Horns' weekend sweep of the Manitoba Bisons.

Friday night, Davis picked up 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting; including 4-of-6 from behind the three point arc, in the Horns' 87-68 win over the Bisons.

The next night Davis erupted for a game and career-high 27 points, including an impressive six three-pointers, as the Horns romped to a 90-63 victory.

On the season, Davis is averaging 10.3 points in his first year with the Horns after transferring from Red Deer College.

Guard Becky Heninger came off the bench both games this past weekend and proved to be a huge spark that ignited the Pronghorns women's team in a weekend sweep of the Manitoba Bisons.

Heninger brought great defensive energy and was a part of changing the momentum in both games as the Horns extended their win streak to four.

Friday night, Heninger scored 19 points and tied for the team lead in rebounds with seven in the Horns' 98-87 win.

Saturday night, Heninger picked up another seven points and hauled in five rebounds. Her energy coming off the bench was one of the key factors as the Horns ripped off a 33-4 run in the second quarter, en route to a 89-61 win.

Through eight games this season, Heninger is third in team scoring averaging over nine points per game.

Well-grounded, well-rounded

trevor.kenney — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:10:44 +0000

We think we know Mike Babcock by who we see on our television screens. He comes off as a steely-eyed competitor, a taskmaster who pushes and prods his players to strive for an on-ice perfection that, by the nature of the game, is unattainable. In the end, we see a hockey coach and a man who has won at virtually every level of the sport – a champion.

That Mike Babcock is for public consumption. He is the button-down, blazer-wearing Stanley Cup champion and coach of Canada's 2010 Canadian Olympic Men's Hockey Team. He is just a sliver of the true Mike Babcock. For as much as Babcock strives to be at the pinnacle of his sport, his upbringing and family values tell him that true success is measured off the ice.

"My wife always laughs — she sees me wearing a suit behind the bench and wonders who that is because I'm wearing shorts and a t-shirt and ball hat most of the summer; I'm just like everybody else," says Babcock. "It's just that when people see me, they have me in that different light – my kids don't know who that guy is, either."

That guy is the one who never saw himself as a hockey coach but rather an academic and educator. He's the guy who resurrected a seemingly stalled coaching career by rejuvenating an on-the-ropes hockey program at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and guided the Pronghorns to an unlikely 1994 national title.

"I never dreamed I was going to be a coach in the first place. I thought I was going to be in the college world the rest of my life. I thought I'd go on and get a PhD and teach," says Babcock, who has an undergraduate education degree and graduate degree in sports psychology from McGill ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. "I liked being in the college environment. I thought it'd be a great job to be around young, excited people getting better and going places. I thought I'd always be a part of that."

After previously taking Red Deer College to a national final, Babcock accepted a coaching challenge at the U of L. The 1993-94 Pronghorns were not considered a championship contender. The program itself was in trouble and faced the prospect of being cut from the U of L athletic landscape. The Horns had never made the playoffs or even finished a season above the .500 mark.

"When I came to the U of L I had a pretty strong belief in how I thought hockey should be played and what we needed to do to have success; we instilled that from day one," says Babcock.

"I believe there's a right way to play the game and there's a right way to approach life, and I tell that to my kids all the time. I'm not a very cautious person; I'm not a very careful person. I believe in living and getting the most out of every day, and I believe that's also how you play the game."

It's a philosophy that has stood the test of time. Following his one-year stint with the Horns, Babcock guided the Spokane Chiefs for six seasons, twice advancing to the WHL championship series. In 1997, he led Canada to a World Junior Championship gold medal. Two years later, after a brief stop in the American Hockey League, he was coaching the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in the National Hockey League. In his first season he took the Ducks to the Stanley Cup final and in the five years since, he's been to two more Cup finals with the Detroit Red Wings, capturing hockey's Holy Grail in 2007-08.

"You have to get better each and every year if you're going to be successful in all walks of life," he says. "It's all about lifelong learning. The things I did at the U of L, technically I might not do anymore, but believing in people and getting them to work hard, to commit to one another and to the team are exactly the same things we talk about today in Detroit."

With the 2010 Olympic opportunity just around the bend, Babcock's approach will not vary. Why would it?

"What a great thing, eh? I'm excited like you can't believe. It's a dream come true to have the chance to be an Olympian," Babcock says, relishing the expectations of, and pressure from, a nation of rabid hockey fans.

"The reason we have expectations is because we have a chance. The tournament now is going to be closer than it's ever been, everybody has a chance to win; we're just big believers that we're going to find a way to get it done. I don't know exactly how we're going to do that, I just know we are."

It's been 15 years since Babcock guided the U of L Horns to that national title, and while everything around him has changed, he still sees himself essentially as the man he was in the fall of 1993, hunting in the foothills every day following practice, looking after his family and striving to be a better person and coach.

"I've always been a little fearful of not being good enough, so that gives me a little bit of drive to try and be better," says Babcock.

Born in Manitouwadge, Ont., Babcock spent much of his childhood in the Northwest Territories, where his father worked as a mining engineer. When Babcock was 12, his family moved to Saskatoon, Sask., where his father still lives today. In the off-season, it's also the area where Babcock, his wife and three children call home.

"I want my kids to be grounded," says Babcock. "My kids are growing up different than I did, but in saying that, we're hoping to raise really good people who are confident and who are going to be difference-makers in the world. That's how my mom spoke to me, and that's how I speak to my kids."

He lost his mother to cancer in 1992, but the lessons she taught still resonate with him today. They are part of the values with which he raises his family and that he also takes to the rink.

"I always say I learned to work hard from my dad, and I learned to talk to people from my mom," says Babcock.

His growth as a coach has garnered the respect of the hockey world and allowed him to work with the most talented players and personalities in the game. Still, despite his rise in professional status, he manages to stay true to the principles by which he was raised.

"It's been a work in progress, and I like to think that I keep getting better, and I'm going to be a better coach next year than I was last year," says Babcock. "You have to be in a constant stage of development if you want to be the best you can be.

"Am I still the same person? I'd sure like to think so. I tell people all the time, the measure of me as a man isn't going to be about the number of games I win, it's going to be about the family I raise."

UNews - Red Deer College

French language scholarship enables opportunity

Related Topics

Achieving success on his own terms

Related Topics

1971 Chinooks get their due

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Chinooks inducted into hall of fame

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Co-op placement opens doors for Flood

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Davis, Heninger named athletes of the week

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Well-grounded, well-rounded

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