Northwest Community College Connections

Paula's last blog: Every Bitter Thing is Sweet

    I am very sorry for my absence since my last entry blog in February. It has been a very difficult time for my family and me. I have not been 100 percent myself since my grandfather had his first stroke. I really loved to go to class, though; no matter what, my instructors, class and art made me strong and gave me the will and power to get through this. You probably all have heard about my grandfather, Clifford Bolton.  His death was a big loss for all of us.  

My grandfather, Kitsumkalum master carver, Clifford Bolton passed away April 12, 2012.  He is a great loss for not only the Tsimshian community, but also all nations. He was an inspiration to all artists. In his desire to preserve the Tsimshian culture, he opened a path for artists to explore their own personal visions.  

My grandfather and I were very close-knit. He was a funny man, full of stories and compassion, an exceptional artist and friend. I will miss him greatly.  This picture I took a shot of my grandfather was taken at the Freda Diesing Student exhibition on April 15, 2011.  For the last 6 years, he contributed to the Freda Diesing of Northwest Coast Art School.  I thought I want to share something special he would be remembered where he loved the most was looking at the Northwest Coast pieces and meeting people. 

I am honoured to carry on his carving skills, as the very same instructors who taught him trained me: Stan Bevan, Ken McNeil, Dempsey Bob, and the late Freda Diesing.

The Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art at Northwest Community College changed my whole life. Enrolling in the First Nations Fine Arts program is the best decision I ever made in my life. I am very fortunate to have gotten to know Stan, Ken, Dean, and Dempsey in the last few years, as I have enrolled twice but had to withdraw from the program for family matters. Eventually, I came back in September 2010 to give myself another opportunity. Perhaps it is my lucky charm this time that I was able to complete the Diploma program.

My classmates and I celebrated our year-end show and graduation ceremony on April 13, 2012.  This ceremony is something I will never forget and I would like to give my gratitude to all of my classmates, the sign language interpreters, and all members of NWCC—especially the Freda Diesing instructors.

Beyond the Freda Diesing School, I also have future ideas for my art. At end of March, I received a letter from Emily Carr University (in Vancouver) that I have been accepted to go into the third year of the Visual Arts program there. Unfortunately, I could not accept this spot for September 2012.  Instead, I will be going to the school in September 2013.  Since I was 17 years old, my dream has been to go to Emily Carr.  For this gap year, I will have the opportunity to spend time with the local carvers and practice my carving skills, and try other media on my own. This will give me more confidence in myself so that I know I can do this. 

It has been my privilege to write my last blog for Northwest Community College. Be safe, be happy and please feel free to contact me at: [email protected]

 

Paula Wesley is NWCC's  full-time student blogger! Currently a second-year First Nations Fine Arts student at NWCC's Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art, Paula's mother is Coast Salish from Chilliwack, her father is Tsimshian from Port Essington. Born in 1976 in Terrace, BC, where she currently resides, she says she's inspired by the art of her people and creates art to continue what her people started long before her, "to express my cultures and represent our people through art."

Over the fall and winter semesters, she'll be giving her take on student life at NWCC. We're excited to see and read her posts and encourage you - the college community - to follow along.

 

Christines Blog - That's all she wrote

I WAS getting excited that this week was my last blog until I realized that it also meant this is my last month in the Business Program at NWCC.

This got me thinking about the times I’ve had and things I learned. I’ve written about lots of my experiences, but sometimes there are little tips and tricks you pick up along the way such as:

• If you come to school early, there’s tons of parking
• No matter how many times you beg for an open book test, it won’t happen
• Affordable school doesn’t mean a cheap education
• When the snow is gone, you’re no longer allowed to make up parking spots
• Get involved!  There are lots of opportunities and adventures available if you have an open mind and are willing to try new things
• Always go to class! A good professor can motivate you to take over the world, a boring one will help you catch up on sleep

There are some things I’m going to miss about going to school but I’m looking forward to being an entrepreneur and starting my own clothing store. Who knows, maybe I’ll blog about those experiences one day…

So as I wrap things up, I just wanted to say “Thanks” to NWCC for all the opportunities you’ve given me and the life lessons you’ve taught me. Also, thanks to all the people that have taken a few minutes out of their day to visit my blog and read my weekly rant.

And before I forget, Dr David Try is looking for a cat/kitten for his two girls. Please feel free to send him an email at [email protected] if you know of any to give away.

Cheers

Christine Leclerc is NWCC's first ever full-time student blogger! She's a second-year Business Administration student in Terrace who took part in a study exchange to China earlier this year. Over the fall and winter semesters, she'll be giving her take on student life at NWCC. We're excited to see and read her posts and encourage you - the college community - to follow along. She's looking forward to getting your feedback and maybe some inspiration, too, throughout her blogging experience. And in case you're wondering, that's her beloved English bulldog Maddox!

Christines Blog - China

EVER WANTED to be popular? The quickest way to be a celebrity (paparazzi included) is to dye your hair blonde and go to China. Let me tell you, there is nothing like being a blondie in China!

In April of 2011, seven NWCC students from Prince Rupert and Terrace went to China for six weeks of school. We took courses like “Business in China”and “Introduction to Mandarin”, learned about Confucius, and giggled over the Chinglish. What is Chinglish, you ask?  There are occasions when the translations of certain phrases or instructions to English turn into something much more comedic than was originally intended.

We embraced the Chinese culture in every way possible. Most days between classes our hosts would take the Canadian students and introduce us to something new. Highlights included learning how to use nun chucks from a Chinese warrior (no big deal!), discovering the traditional art of paper cutting, cooking (we made and ate dumplings), exploring the Great Wall of China, and being guests at a traditional meal in a Chinese home.  By the end of the trip I was able to speak just enough Mandarin so I could go shopping on my own (and I definitely did just that!).

The food was so amazing my belly smiles just thinking about it. At one of our cafeterias at school we had a man  who made pasta from scratch as you ordered it, hot plates, freshly steamed buns and squid on a stick for 50 cents. Dinner cost about 80 cents and beer was a mere 30 cents for a jumbo bottle (not that I’m speaking from experience!).

The people we met will be friends forever and the trip was amazing. I’m so happy I was able to go, and thankful that NWCC gave us the opportunity to do it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christine Leclerc is NWCC's first ever full-time student blogger! She's a second-year Business Administration student in Terrace who took part in a study exchange to China earlier this year. Over the fall and winter semesters, she'll be giving her take on student life at NWCC. We're excited to see and read her posts and encourage you - the college community - to follow along. She's looking forward to getting your feedback and maybe some inspiration, too, throughout her blogging experience. And in case you're wondering, that's her beloved English bulldog Maddox!

Christines Blog - KONY 2012

FIRST THINGS first, my apologies for no blog last week. I have been gallivanting around in Bermuda the past couple weeks and now am back to reality *tear*.  I had a great extended reading break and was able to do the number one thing on my bucket list – I got to swim with the dolphins! Words cannot begin to explain how amazing it was.

When I got back, I was surprised to see how popular one video had gotten on Facebook and in the media. KONY 2012 is the definition of a video gone viral. With over 70 million views in its first four days of being made public, it’s the perfect example of how social media can make something popular.

The video is an awareness campaign put on by ‘Invisible Children’ about a Ugandan war criminal Joseph Kony who is the leader of the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army). The LRA is accused of various heinous crimes for the past 26 years, such as mutilation, murder, abduction and turning young girls into sex slaves and young boys into soldiers. Worse yet he goes after children, so far over 30,000. He is not fighting for any cause, just to stay in power, and uses peace talks to re-arm and murder. Kony is apparently number one on the International criminal court list of persons to arrest.

On Oct 14, 2011 Obama ordered the deployment of 100 US military soldiers to act as advisors with regional forces in Uganda to remove Kony from battlefield. KONY 2012 was to help spread awareness of Kony in order to increase the involvement of the United States. Invisible Children Inc have asked people around the world to cover their streets on April 20^th with KONY 2012 posters, and to buy their action kit which includes campaign buttons, posters bracelets and stickers to help spread the word.

So what’s the problem you ask? When I first watched the video, I was divided between two thoughts. First and foremost, I thought GREAT! It’s awesome to see people fighting for a better world; for once something was making the news that wasn’t all negative. With that being said, their request for donations, especially from our youth who have only a few dollars to spare, didn’t sit well with me (and others). This is only a start of the controversy with the video. People want to know where Invisible Children Inc is putting their money, accusing them of spending only 30% of proceeds directly on the Kony project.

Another problem is conflicting articles and information across the internet. Some accusing KONY 2012 of spreading incorrect facts and some saying Kony has not been a problem since 2006 and this is just creating problems for local Ugandans.

I asked on my Facebook page what people thought of the issue and a friend of me helped me out and put it on her page as well (thanks Tash!).

“I have been following this horrible story for years, what is unreal is how many people were unaware but I am so very relieved that someone has managed to bring it to the world’s attention, no small feat. I too have "friends" also, unlike so many managed to escape from these atrocities. They come with deep, deep wounds both physical and mentally” D. Henderson

“True everyone is entitled their own opinion, other than some think it's a scam due to it popping up in Canada all of a sudden, because we never heard of it. I believe this is true I believe KONY should be found and arrested. As well not stop there either there's lists bother big time criminals on that page other than Kony” N. Mickey

The consensus was pretty strong in support of the video. Even though the Invisible Children organization is being accused of not using their money wisely, spreading false facts, going out too strongly when this has already been happening for 26 years, and many more claims, people genuinely seem to be pro KONY 2012 (*on board with the video, not supporting Kony). 

The KONY 2012 video is one example of how messages are spread quickly through social media and how this forum promotes awareness and discussion.  Maybe we don’t need to blindly follow what the creators of the video say, but it’s a new take on the norm when mass media finally takes notice and starts reporting on a story that was popularized through social media channels and a lesser known organization like Invisible Children. What do you think about this hot topic and is there anything you are going to do about it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc

Christine Leclerc is NWCC's first ever full-time student blogger! She's a second-year Business Administration student in Terrace who took part in a study exchange to China earlier last year. Over the fall and winter semesters, she'll be giving her take on student life at NWCC. We're excited to see and read her posts and encourage you - the college community - to follow along. She's looking forward to getting your feedback and maybe some inspiration, too, throughout her blogging experience. And in case you're wondering, that's her beloved English bulldog Maddox

Christines Blog - Lets talk about it

THE RECENT Bell Mobility commercial was an awareness campaign about depression which got me thinking about society and depression. I recently got a hold of some statistics on Terrace which talked about how much money we made our crime rates, education and graduation rates, to how much booze we’ve consumed. When you compared BC statistics to Terrace, well things weren’t looking so good. We have very high suicide rates in the North and need to do something about it.

Personally, I suffered from a very bad depression for years. I didn’t graduate because of it, and in a sense you could say I lost years of life because of it. The only reason I can give credit to being here today is because of my parents and I have a lifetime to thank them for this.

I am very comfortable now talking being depressed and encourage anyone going through it to try and do the same. It has taken me years to recover, with multiple relapses, hardships, many mistakes and tons of soul searching. In the end I have never felt better and am actually thankful for what I went through because in a sense I feel like I have a second chance at life.

I have learned lots in this life. I have learned to surround myself with good, positive people. I believe in a healthy mind and healthy body and taking steps every day to make sure I am doing my best to look after myself. The truth is simple, I’ve stopped trying to be someone that people want me to be and started just being myself. I’ve accepted that it’s fine to have silence in a conversation. I’ve learned that my comfort zone doesn’t get me anywhere, and I get so much more out of leaving it. I’ve learned to stick up for myself. I’ve learned its okay to ask for help.  I’ve accepted that I’m socially awkward around lots of people, but its okay because I’m also fabulous around others.

I have cleared my head and begun focusing on what I need to. I have goals; both short and long term and I feel invigorated every day. I still wake up some mornings with the urge to be sad. But now I am able to give my head a shake and tell myself that won’t get me anywhere, and I want to do fabulous things in this life. My depression, for me, was a blessing in disguise and I am thankful it has shown me what I don’t want in life so I am able to focus on what I do want and let me tell you, I am going to do amazing things.

But most importantly I’ve learned I wasn’t the only one with depression, and its everywhere we look. If you are suffering, know there are options. Your first step to getting better is talking to someone and finding out what options you have. Or if you know someone who is depressed, and they say they are, don’t tell them they’re not. Listen to them and try to help them find the help they need. With six degrees of separation and one small planet, we are all in this together. So let’s start talking…

Christine Leclerc is NWCC's first ever full-time student blogger! She's a second-year Business Administration student in Terrace who took part in a study exchange to China earlier last year. Over the fall and winter semesters, she'll be giving her take on student life at NWCC. We're excited to see and read her posts and encourage you - the college community - to follow along. She's looking forward to getting your feedback and maybe some inspiration, too, throughout her blogging experience. And in case you're wondering, that's her beloved English bulldog Maddox

Christines Blog - Education is a right

NOW IS the time to make your voice heard. The students union is putting on an information session and rally to stand up for the students rights. They will be addressing dropping student debt, reducing tuition fees and increasing education funding. I think its safe to assume the $2 million deficit we are facing might be on the agenda. I was told there would be pizza there, so at least if for no other reason show up for the pizza and check things out.

Where: Kiva Cafe, Terrace campus

When: 11:00am-1:00pm February 1st

Have some questions about it? Don't be shy to go and talk to Mikael Jensen, who you can find in the Cedar building, first door on the left.

Christine Leclerc is NWCC's first ever full-time student blogger! She's a second-year Business Administration student in Terrace who took part in a study exchange to China earlier this year. Over the fall and winter semesters, she'll be giving her take on student life at NWCC. We're excited to see and read her posts and encourage you - the college community - to follow along. She's looking forward to getting your feedback and maybe some inspiration, too, throughout her blogging experience. And in case you're wondering, that's her beloved English bulldog Maddox

Paula's Blog - Traveling Around the World through the pages

 

I have read some books through the year.  However; this is quite challenging because I realize I do too much researching than reading for pleasure.  That is why I thought I would do at least try to do a light reading book.  The other books I have been reading for my own pleasure.  I read in a quiet place where I can focus on reading and let it be a safe place.  Apart from school assignments, I love to read a book to help me relax and let my thoughts be in peace without feeling distressed.  It is a like meditation to me and when I read a story I feel like I become one of the characters myself, you know.

Here are a few of the things that I have been looking at and what I think of them.  What I got out of it. Who suggested it to me.  Whether I would recommend it. 

Right now I am reading a book called The Book of Negroes.  The story is quite interesting.  It talks about the African child have gone through many struggles.  It is truly inspiration. This book was given as a gift from my grandmother. 

My rating: 4 stars

 

You might also like read some historical and cultural books:

• Cherokee
• You Are Asked To Witness:  The Sto:lo in Canada’s Pacific Coast History
• American Indian Myths and Legends

 

What I got out of it is Anatomy for Fantasy Artists.  It helps me to understand how to improve my drawing skills for shading and forms.

My sister said I would enjoy this book.  That it would challenge me and enrich me.  That it would broaden my perspective and understanding.  That it would help me make sense of my frustration with my own kind, in a world radically changed.  Indigenous Storywork did all of that & more. 

My rating:  5 stars

 

 If you are not in the mood for reading in text then I would recommend Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind book.  It is about the the princess who rescue and befriended with the insects in the valley. In the world of Nausicaä and the Earth’s ecosystem have gone through quite changes.

My rating:  5 stars 

 

 Fantasy Art Now is breaktaking! This book contains awesome pictures and details on the art - I am finding it so very fascinating. This is one of those "Once you start - you just can't stop" books which depicts in detail the art, the artists behind the art and details of how the art came to be.  Who does enjoy and love to read fantasy art.

My rating:  5 stars

 

It would be nice to have an open discussion or suggestions of books to read.  I am trying to at least read some books that are not related to school research or assignments.  You may have heard or read from Christine's blog and also the President already mention about the college’s economic crisis on our NWCC Connections website.  This is why I wanted to do something different for this blog.

I would love to hear your suggestions, drop a note in the comments box! I would like to keep myself open-minded and open to any suggestions for future blogs.

Paula Wesley is NWCC's newest full-time student blogger! Currently a second-year First Nations Fine Arts student at NWCC's Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art, Paula's mother is Coast Salish from Chilliwack, her father is Tsimshian from Port Essington. Born in 1976 in Terrace, BC, where she currently resides, she says she's inspired by the art of her people and creates art to continue what her people started long before her, "to express my cultures and represent our people through art."

Over the fall and winter semesters, she'll be giving her take on student life at NWCC. We're excited to see and read her posts and encourage you - the college community - to follow along.

 

Christines Blog - 'It takes a deep commitment to change and an even deeper commitment to grow' - Ralph Ellison

IT'S LIKE there is an elephant in the room. Whenever I mention it, people will nod or agree, but wont dare say anything else. What are we scared of? Did I miss the memo or are we not supposed to talk about it?

I feel this is a subject we need address and people need to start talking. Our College is facing a 1.7 million dollar deficit and that’s scary. Great, now we’ve established our problem. Now what is our solution?

In times of budget shortfalls or projected deficits, organizations typically go into a 'trim the fat' mentality and everything ends up with a target on it. While that can be a good thing if there is lots of fat to trim, is it necessary to sacrifice things we love about the College or can we look towards more innovative strategies.

Personally I’m a fan of NWCC, and how could you not be? I’m able to cheaply live and go to a very reasonably priced college. My professors are amazing and the class sizes are so small they are able to take the time to learn why each of us is in our program, ensuring that the materials we learn are relevant to our needs. Not to mention I love Terrace. It has everything you want to do outdoors less than 20 minutes away. Why on earth would I want to move to a fast paced city and spend all my time commuting back and forth! Did I mention it takes me 6 minutes to get to College on a busy day?

I challenge NWCC and the students to take a step back from what they are doing and look at the big picture. ‘If you do what you’ve always done, then you’ll get when you’ve always got’ – Mark Twain. We have an awesome college and an incredible community, let’s do something to make things work.

A few ideas I came up with while writing this blog are:

· Try to get rid of the ‘it’s JUST a community college’ mentality.

· NWCC management to perform a SWOT(Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats/limitations) analysis monthly, put your goals into action.  (thanks LP)

· Sell success stories from other students. My sister went to SMUS which still sends semi annual publications which tells what they offer, talks about the school and shares success stories about their graduates.

· It’s great to target the high school teenagers as they are finishing, but only one person in my class is under 20. Clearly the high school students are only a small fraction of who we should be going after (and yes I understand that other programs like CPP would have higher numbers of high school students)

· Brag about our professors. I have two classes with 6 people! For a smaller price than most colleges I am getting a better education

· The north is booming and there is lots of jobs coming our way. Which of them need post secondary education, and what education do they require? Do we offer this?

· Sell our city! I’ve said this before and I will say it again. I find that Terrace doesn’t work together enough to market ourselves. The college and the city could be working together to promote each other.

And if we are already doing any of these things, that’s awesome! Then we need to work on making people more aware of it.

So that is my ranting on this subject, but I would love to hear what you think. What are some ideas you can share so that we can help our college to succeed?

Christine Leclerc is NWCC's first ever full-time student blogger! She's a second-year Business Administration student in Terrace who took part in a study exchange to China earlier this year. Over the fall and winter semesters, she'll be giving her take on student life at NWCC. We're excited to see and read her posts and encourage you - the college community - to follow along. She's looking forward to getting your feedback and maybe some inspiration, too, throughout her blogging experience. And in case you're wondering, that's her beloved English bulldog Maddox

Christines Blog - Til debt do us part

WHEN YOU click on the student union website, one of the first things you see is the debt calculator for Canadian students. We have accumulated a whopping 14+ billion dollars, and counting. This is a little intimidating when you think we have 34+ million people in Canada and clearly not everyone is in school.

Debt is like that extra weight you just can’t quite seem to get rid of. Although Jenny Craig doesn’t offer student loans those banks are sure eager to lend you a buck in return for your first born child. Like those extra pounds, it’s easy to get in debt, not so easy to lose it. Its something you have to continuously work on, making lifestyle changes along the way.

When it comes to being cheap and trying to save a dollar, I can definitely say I am learning the ropes.  The following is a list of things I’ve made to my routine to save some money

• Googled extreme couponing – sent away for some coupons and added ‘coupon alert’ to my tool bar which offers lots of great printable coupons
• Started meal planning on a budget – doing one grocery shop for the week, freezing some meals for when I have no time and knowing what I’m going to make for each meal so I only buy what I need
• Eating less meat
• Switched to store bought boxed hair dye *tear*
• Buying in bulk when I can
• Made my own conditioner! And I have to say I’m extremely happy with the results. For less than $3 I have 1.5L of conditioner and there are no chemicals in it that I can’t even pronounce, plus my hair feels healthier than it ever has. I’m very happy with this switch and am going to try homemade shampoo next.
• Dusted off my coffee maker. Goodbye McDonald’s coffee. I loved you but you burned too much gas waiting in the drive thru and dropping you for a semester bought me two text books.

These are the changes I’ve made to my routine so far and am constantly looking for new ideas. What do you do to save money as a student? Do you have any good couponing sites you’d like to share?

Christine Leclerc is NWCC's first ever full-time student blogger! She's a second-year Business Administration student in Terrace who took part in a study exchange to China earlier this year. Over the fall and winter semesters, she'll be giving her take on student life at NWCC. We're excited to see and read her posts and encourage you - the college community - to follow along. She's looking forward to getting your feedback and maybe some inspiration, too, throughout her blogging experience. And in case you're wondering, that's her beloved English bulldog Maddox

Welcome to the beginning of our journey towards 2012!

The beginning of the year always seems the appropriate time to take a step back and see what happened in the last few months…So let’s take a deep breath…

First of all, I am sorry for not keep in touch with the blog for the readers since school re-opened.  I felt like everything seem to go into the opposite way, if you know what I mean.  Perhaps I am the only one who feel this way.

The last year has been a busy for me…In September 2010, I had to draw the ovoids over and over.  We all did draw about the ovoids in dreams.  Crazy, hey but it did help!  After Christmas 2011, everything I felt was under pressure and stayed sane with the deadlines for two Art gallery show.  There were quite a lot of things happened in the Spring time and I thought I wasn’t even ready to finish all 4 assignments which was hectic.  And then I finally graduated in April.

Now I look back to this Fall 2011 that I have gone through quite a lot.  I have no idea how the heck I did manage to keep up with school and family schedule but hey I am still here!

What I have realized that I decide to make amends for 2012 that my priority is ME!   I didn’t realize how much my life has been way off and over my head.  After Christmas, I told my partner that I decide that I would start to look after myself first, then taking care of my lil’ man who is 4 years old with more TLC and well-balanced schedule for school, family and for myself too.  I wasn’t thinking straight and my partner told me that I worked too way hard.  I said, “Are you kidding, TW?”   I thought I didn’t really I wasn’t trying hard enough to keep up with school.  I realize that I have been staying up late quite a lot than I thought.  This doesn’t sound good. I had to stop and re-evaluate myself whether I am sane or crazy enough to have less sleep whenever I don’t feel tired. Now I feel that I need to spend more time with my family:  TW and my lil’ man.  They are my whole world and I could not imagine without them.

I guess you probably all need to look at yourselves in the mirror.  I remember one time, this individual once told me but I won’t mention the person’s name in here, however, someone told me to go home and look in the mirror, take a good look at myself.  At first I didn’t believe that I was a success and I denied it.  Somehow, someone said, “You are already a success so start now by saying this to your self everyday in the mirror (Oh and without laughing)".   Well, it took me several practice to start believing in myself.

I hope I still have the confidence to keep it up for 2012.  That doesn’t mean I need to spend less in school but tune up with the schedule and go for a walk with my dog everyday.  That makes a big difference, even thought I thought I was going crazy for not able to keep everything together.  I guess I better sign off and it is 11:36pm.  See what I mean.  I am pretty tempted to continue on and typing but I have to be a bit more firm with myself for getting enough sleep. Until next blog, I will come up with something more interesting, I hope so.  Good night to all..Take it easy.