Fall 2019 SCHS Newsletter

Fall 2019 Fall 2019
The “Heart of SCHS” Recognition Certificate
Dean’s Recognition “Apple” Awards
This award is designed to recognize those who foster a culture of respect, gratitude and recognition. These
individuals build upon existing work to further the sense of community and common passion within the College,
including the recognition of excellence, the celebration of success, the importance of learning-for-all, and the
responsibility of all employees to work for the betterment of the College and the students we serve.
Congratulations to the following staff and faculty:
Scarlet Dreimanis, Program Officer
Scarlett is someone who establishes and maintains a client-centered approach when involved with students as
she empathetically assists and encourages them in her day-to-day interactions. Scarlett demonstrates initiative
and active involvement in school-wide activities.
The Dean’s Recognition “Apple” Award was established to recognize the individual(s) who
has helped create a work environment that inspires our employees and/or our students
to strive and achieve ever-greater professional and/or personal growth. This award may
also provide Centennial College employees with opportunities for sanctioned involvement
with community projects, giving recognition for such work. Recipients of this award are
known for fostering collaborative, creative, solutions-oriented work environment where the
contributions of all staff are recognized, valued and respected.
The awards fall within the following categories:
Lindsey Jones, Professor and Program Coordinator, Recreation and Leisure Services
Lindsey is known for her incredible enthusiasm, passion and commitment. Lindsey has been instrumental in
ensuring a smooth transition for all of our Recreation and Leisure Services students, onboarding and supporting a
new full-time Professor starting in January 2019, and developing plans for program enhancements. Lindsey always
faces challenges with a smile and a sense of humor.
Michael Thomas, Professor, Paramedicine Program
Inspired by his eight-year old son, Mike promoted and implemented a Book Drive designed to supply books for
the Peel Children’s Center. Over the past three years, over 15,000 books were donated to support children ages
0 - 13. Mike also gained the support of the Peel Paramedic Association to help his son collect their goal of 5,000
books this year. This action on Mike’s part is an example of his selfless nature and desire to make his community
a better place.
Ann Vasilopoulos, Program Information Officer
Nominated twice for the “Heart of SCHS” Recognition Certificate, Ann is a person who exemplifies the ideals set
out in Centennial College’s Book of Commitments #8, 2nd edition. Ann establishes an employee experience that
is distinctive and unparalleled. Ann supports employee engagement to meet the needs of a changing workforce,
and builds capacity within the organization, resulting in an enhanced experience for our employees, our students
and employers. Ann encourages laughter, builds character, and champions learning. She tackles challenges with
respect, and puts the needs of our community before herself.
Michael Wood, Coordinator, Pre-Service Fire
Mike Wood is someone who is an active volunteer and ensures that he communicates with our current students
and alumni regarding opportunities to participate philanthropically in our community. He networks and engages with
Local 3888 Toronto Professional Firefighters Association to provide volunteers for their events like the TOY Drive,
Food Drive, boot Drives for Muscular Dystrophy, cancer, and women’s runs. He also seeks out nonprofit groups such
as Fire Service Women Ontario, and TESS that are focused on equity and inclusion within the fire service. Mike uses
his networks within the Toronto Fire Service to provide the students with community-building opportunities, leading
to fantastic learning opportunities for our students.
Global Citizenship
Rachel Larabee, Professor and Coordinator,
Community Development Worker Program
Rachel not only teaches it, but also lives and
breathes global citizenship. She is committed to
social justice, and is able to illustrate to her students
and colleagues how the world is connected from
micro to macro. Rachel has developed and led
Community Development Work (CDW) FLIP (Faculty
Led International Program) to Puerto Plata, Dominican
Republic. For the past three years, CDW students
have the opportunity to go to Puerto Plata during
the winter reading break, to learn about and assess
the opportunity for eco-tourism. Rachel worked
to integrate this into our Community Economic
Development course curriculum, so students can
relate concepts they are learning in the course to
hands-on experiential learning in the DR.
Further, Rachel organized a ‘Globally-Networked
Classroom’ so that all of our students participated in
a debrief after the DR trip, and students presented
their learning to our community partners in the
Dominican Republic. This was a truly transformative
learning experience for our students, and inspiring to
continue the global dialogue from the classroom.
Please see this powerful video of Tim Hall, our
Community partner and his words to our students
after he heard their presentation:
https://youtu.be/Oac2atCaeTo
22
23