Events Calendar All events take place at the New Westminster Campus unless otherwise noted. Suzuki Solo Recital June 6 2pm, Performing Arts Theatre Summer Graduation Ceremonies June 10 10:30am, 2pm and 6:30pm Gymnasium Suzuki Group Concert June 13 2pm, Performing Arts Theatre Final Budget Presentation June 14 Room TBA 5:30pm Creating small businesses from the ranks of the unemployed Small business is the wave of the future in British Columbia. While other economic indicators have sagged, BC saw higher growth in small businesses (7%) between 1990 and 1997 than any other province in Canada. That growth is attributed to large increases in the number of self-employed people, according to Western Economic Diversification Canada’s Small Business Profile ’98. So where are these self-employed people coming from? Many are being trained at Douglas College’s Self-Employment (SE) Program. Coordinated by the College’s Centre 2000 and funded by Human Resources Development Canada, the SE Program has helped establish over 500 businesses in the last four years of operation, making it Canada’s most successful self-employment program. Working with people claiming employment insurance, the program offers a combination of training and consultation to those interested in starting their own business. Ninety-four per cent of SE graduates are still in business after the first year, compared to a national average of 30 per cent for new businesses. And 87 per cent of SE graduates are still in business after the second year. So what makes the SE Program graduates so successful? Program Director Graham Hill points to a number of factors. Participants receive solid business training during the program, constant attention and monitoring by a business advisor during their first year of business, and the support of a full year of employment Ed leaves benefit all Eight education leaves are planned by College faculty over the next year, promising to keep them all very busy generating interesting results for the College community and others. Congratulations in advance to everyone! David Zieroth, Language, Literature & Performing Arts (1 year) David undertakes the next step in his creative endeavors, writing his long personal narrative poem The Village and his memoirs. Gary Tennant, Child, Family & Community Studies (1 year) Gary renews his professional practice by working with youth on the street using a youth safe house as a base. The documentation arising from this project will be available to Douglas College students. Robert Nicholls, Humanities & Social Sciences (1 semester) Robert will be writing a portion of a textbook on critical thinking designed explicitly for first-year college students. Briefly Here's lookin’ at you, Evelyn It was the trip of a lifetime for Child, Family and Community Studies Evelyn Terada. Evelyn, her husband and eight of their friends spent 25 days in April and May on a cruise starting in garb, and we saw the most gorgeous mosque — it’s the second largest in the world.” We're sure that this trip has Evelyn saying “Play it again, Sam”! Sunshine cabin rental Get away from it all and rent a three-bedroom cabin near a sandy beach, close to Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast. Fully equipped kitchen, barbeque, fireplace, large living room, Galveston, Texas and ending in Athens, Greece. Of the many ports of call, Evelyn’s favourite was Casablanca, Morocco. “It was so intriguing,” she muses. “Beautiful ocean scenery, women dressed in traditional INside Douglas College is published by the Communications & Marketing Office the first Tuesda Send WordPerfect or MS Word files to INside editor, CMO, Room 4700, New Westminster Camp insurance during their first year of operation. Hill notes, however, that these are the same components that make up other Canadian SE Programs. “T think that the quality of training we provide and the experience of our staff are the main factors that make us stand out from other SE Programs,” he says. “Community involvement also plays a big role in our success — volunteer committees made up of business members from each community in the Lower Mainland review S@itemp yment EE LDA OOM OO Proud Self-Employment (SE) Program grads pose on the steps of the David Lam Campus with Centre 2000's SE staff each student's business plan and develop and determine program policy. Their feedback is invaluable.” The College's SE Program also has a good relationship with local credit unions and major banks, who have lent SE Program grads over $3 million in start-up business loans. The banks recognize that the business plans developed in this program are as good as or better than any others they review. The SE Program celebrated its fourth successful year in May. For more information on the program, call 5840. Anna Helewka, Psychiatric Nursing (1 year) Anna will complete her graduate education, working towards a Masters of Science in Nursing at UBC. The focus of her research project will be on cultural diversity in the context of clinical practitioners in Psychiatric Nursing. Richard Norman, Child, Family & Community Studies (1 year) Richard will develop an assessment tool to benefit the Department of Child, Family and Community Studies (CFCS) and the Douglas College community. Kathy Denton, Humanities & Social Sciences (1 semester) Kathy will conduct three studies related to her eight-year research project on how social support networks can assist individuals experiencing psychological problems. Geraldine Street, Health Sciences Continuing Education (1 semester) Geraldine will complete a Masters in Educational Administration through the University of Victoria and is planning a research sundeck, canoe and pickleball court. July and August $375/ week, September to June $300/ week or $50/night. For more information call Jean Hammer at 939-5777. Jun's a winner! The April winner of the Employee 60/40 Lottery is Jun Clement of Systems and Computing. Jun wins $781.20 while student aid increases by $520.80. Psych Nursing on the move The Psychiatric Nursing Department moves from the faculty of Child, Family and Community Studies to the faculty of Health Sciences on June 1. The only physical move involves Departmental Assistant Laura McDonald when she joins Leah Ponting in room 1800, but her phone number should stay the same. project to examine issues around continuing education. Frank Leonard, Humanities & Social Sciences (1 semester) Frank proposes to revise current historical interpretations of the activities of the Great Northern Railway Company in British Columbia (particularly in New Westminster) by studying both local records and caches of material he has located in Ottawa, and St. Paul, Minnesota. Graduation Congratulations! Centre 2000’s Michelle Davies graduates June 4 from SFU with a BSc. Wendy Davies and the staff of Centre 2000 are very proud, and wish her all the best! Staff Changes In the CMO, Kathy Para moves from Layout Technician to Graphic Designer, and in the Office of the Registrar, Dave Dalcanale moves from Records Assistant to Supervisor, Information Services Unit. y of each month. Submissions and story ideas are welcome; deadline is working 10 days before publication. us; email to winterst@douglas.bc.ca; or call 527-5325. Printed by the Douglas College Printshop.