College always looking to the future
Open house held at both Niagara campuses
Niagara College has no bigger cheerleader or recruiter than its own president, Dan Patterson, and that showed Saturday morning at the Welland campus as he greeted parents and potential college students during an open house.
Patterson, always with a smile his face and a friendly handshake, was quick to talk to anyone who was in the college’s Learning Commons that came by his ‘Meet the President’ area or suggest some program or classroom that should be visited.
“Hi. Hi, how are you? Welcome to Niagara College,” were his greetings during the hour he was there. He later went to Niagaraon-the-Lake to meet with people who came to the open house at the Taylor Road campus.
“The open house is a very important day for Niagara College. It gives us an opportunity to welcome people on campus, to come see our faculty and current students and the incredible array of programs and services we offer,” said Patterson.
People who came out — somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000 at the two campuses — had the chance to speak directly with faculty and ask questions about the college’s programs and services. Jacob Klauck, who moved from Alberta to Niagara last year, came out to check the broadcasting program, which gives students a chance to study radio, television and film industries.
Klauck said the radio side of the program is what interested him, especially since he heard the college’s radio program featured a state-of-the-art facility.
“I’ll be able to learn about the things I’m interested in very easily … it will provide the best education for what I am looking for.”
Klauck said his mother went to Niagara College and a number of people recommended the college to him.
Patterson said future students like Klauck could also see what services are available to them, things such as counselling and financial aid.
“What’s special at Niagara College, and the college system, is we are a community of practitioners, people who have worked in the field and bring in tremendous experience, knowledge and a connection to the outside world and bring that outside world into classrooms.”
Patterson said people are seeing the value of a college education due to its practical, hands-on way of learning and teaching.
One of those who had hands-on learning at the college was Joseph Nagy, who was in the mechanical design draftsmen engineering technician program in the 1970s.
“I became a draftsman,” said Nagy, who came to the open house to check out the college and see if he’d run into any former classmates.
He and international student Joule Lee, in the automotive technician program, took a photo with Patterson as they were speaking with him. Lee said he likes Niagara College and that his teachers are nice.
“It’s a good program,” he said. Tyler Bastien, a Grade 12 student from Denis Morris in St. Catharines, said Niagara College has more variety and more unique programs than other colleges. He’ll be attending the college and entering the early childhood education program.
As he met more prospective students and their parents, Patterson — he has been college president for 23 years — spoke about how Niagara, and other colleges, look to the future.
“We call ourselves pre-emptive college, a college that anticipates not only the labour market needs today but of tomorrow. So whether it’s the wine sector, renewable energy or the commercial cannabis production program, we try to look at the occupation clusters, the job opportunities in the future and develop programs that anticipate the needs,” Patterson said.