As one Okanagan College business student will note when she addresses her graduating class June 4, it was often the most challenging moments of her studies that best prepared her for the future.
Jessica Lenz is completing a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) honours degree specializing in accounting, and for the past year has been a student researcher with the Scotiabank Centre for Non-profit Excellence located at the Kelowna campus. She recently presented her findings at the The Canadian Council for Small Business & Entrepreneurship national conference in Guelph, Ont.
91裸聊视频淚t was so beneficial to have real-world opportunities to engage with and learn from business leaders in our community,91裸聊视频� said Lenz, who now plans to pursue her Chartered Professional Accountant certification. 91裸聊视频淚t was very challenging but also very fulfilling as a student to be a part of research that has application to people91裸聊视频檚 businesses and livelihoods locally, and has the potential to bring about positive change.91裸聊视频�
Lenz is among the more than 1,450 students who will be recognized at the college91裸聊视频檚 convocation ceremonies this weekend. She will also take the stage to give the student address and will be presented with the Silver Governor General91裸聊视频檚 Academic Medal and Bachelor of Business Administration Medal, as the graduand with the highest graduating grade average in an Okanagan College baccalaureate program and the BBA program this year.
91裸聊视频淩eceiving the Silver Governor General91裸聊视频檚 medal was one of the goals I have pushed myself toward for a long time,91裸聊视频� Lenz said. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 an incredible feeling to realize a goal like this. I can91裸聊视频檛 wait to be at the ceremony with all my fellow graduates who share the same pride of accomplishment.91裸聊视频漈he college will recognize the achievements of nearly 1,000 trades students at its commencement ceremony on Friday evening, June 3.The following day, 481 credentials will be conferred to students in academic and vocational programs and include: 129 bachelor91裸聊视频檚 degrees, 55 associate degrees, 270 diplomas and 27 certificates.
The ceremony on June 4 in Kelowna starts at 10:30 a.m. and will see students from arts, science, engineering technologies, computer science, and health and social development programs receive their credentials. Local forest hydrologist, Dr. Rita Winkler, and Mission Hill91裸聊视频檚 Anthony von Mandl, OBC, will address the morning graduating class as Honorary Fellows of Okanagan College.
At the afternoon ceremony starting at 1:30 p.m., Okanagan College will confer degrees, diplomas and certificates to graduands of the Okanagan College School of Business.
It is in this ceremony that Lenz will share some wisdom gained during her time as a business student, followed by a local business veteran who shares her feelings on the subject of perseverance.
After being recognized as Honorary Fellow on Saturday afternoon, Kelowna entrepreneur Bill Redmond will address the next wave of business leaders who will follow in his footsteps.One of his key messages? Learn how to overcome adversity and even embrace it.
Redmond spent four decades building his career in the wholesale food industry. He is the founder and formerly the president and CEO of HRI Supply Ltd. Redmond launched the company in 1978 and guided its growth until it merged with Sysco Corp. in 2001. HRI Supply is the only food distribution company in the B.C. Interior to merge with a Fortune 500 company in the past 30 years. After the merger Redmond continued his career as president and CEO of Sysco Kelowna until he retired from the company in 2004.
91裸聊视频淚 am thrilled to be a part of the Convocation ceremony at Okanagan College,91裸聊视频� said Redmond. 91裸聊视频淚t is a big honour and I have been thinking carefully about what I want to say to the students before they make their way into the working world.91裸聊视频滵istilling a career91裸聊视频檚 worth of lessons into a few short minutes isn91裸聊视频檛 an easy task but Redmond says the lesson that has been most valuable was one that he learned early.
91裸聊视频淭he difficult things and the challenging things are what you remember,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淥vercoming adversity, even embracing it and seeking it out, is really what sets people apart. It is actually quite easy to be a great leader when things are going well but when things take a turn, that91裸聊视频檚 when you grow the most.91裸聊视频�
Redmond spent a year at Okanagan College as its first Entrepreneur-in-Residence in 2007. During that time he worked out of an office in the School of Business a few days a month, meeting with students, joining lectures and working with colleagues in the department. 91裸聊视频淚 was very impressed with the business students at Okanagan College,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淲orking with them made me remember the pure joy of learning about business. It91裸聊视频檚 a wonderful institution and a great privilege to address the graduating class.91裸聊视频�
This weekend91裸聊视频檚 ceremonies represent three of the College91裸聊视频檚 six annual convocation ceremonies. The first convocation ceremony of the year was held in January, when 310 credentials were awarded to students.
Two additional ceremonies will be held later in June. A ceremony in Vernon will be held on June 27. The final summer convocation in Kelowna will take place on June 29 and will confer approximately 380 diplomas and certificates. Former Okanagan College professor Rick Gee will be honored as the 2016 Distinguished Service Award recipient at that ceremony.
More than 2,100 students will have graduated from Okanagan College in 2016 before the end of the month. To watch the convocation ceremonies via live streaming, visit www.okanagan.bc.ca/convocationlive.
