National Aboriginal Day celebrations about
leadership and community

When Priscilla Bartleman
thinks of what defines
National Aboriginal Day, it
all comes down to leadership.
And leadership is what made
alumni Suzette Amaya the
perfect choice to speak at this
years National Aboriginal
Day celebrations at Douglas

College.

“Last year Suzette was
awarded a leadership role
with the National Aboriginal
Health Organization and

she has a high profile in the
community. She'll be talking
about leadership — and that’s
what National Aboriginal Day
is all about,” says Bartleman.

National Aboriginal Day
celebrations take place at

the David Lam Campus.

on June 18 and at the New
Westminster Campus on June
19. Employees, students and
the public are all welcome to
take part.

Amaya will be speak both
days. The Criminology
Diploma and Associate of Arts
Degree graduate is a support
worker with several local
community organizations,
photographer and radio show

host and producer. She also
puts together a yearly calendar
featuring Aboriginal role
models in BC.

For her part, Amaya is
humble about her role in the
Aboriginal community.

“Once we break stereotypes
you will find a lot more
leaders out there. I am just the
messenger,” says Amaya.

Her speech will be followed by
free public workshops about
everything from health to
culture to two-spiritedness.
There will also be a film
festival and craft stations
where participants can try
their hand at beading and

sewing.

The celebrations will be
inclusive and not solely
focused on West Coast First
Nations, Bartleman promises.
Gift bags will include

cards decorated with Inuit
art, courtesy of her fellow
organizer, student Angela
Ikuallaq. Ikuallaq'’s aunt
donated the cards for the
event. One of the feature films
will be renowned Inuit film,
The Fast Runner.

 

New Commerce and Business Administration Dean Robert Buller says
it’s time to act fast.

i

 

From left, Aboriginal Student Services volunteers Angela lkuallaq and Priscilla Bartleman are looking forward to

sharing their culture on National Aboriginal Day.

‘The New Westminster
Campus celebration will close
with dinner, also open to the
public. The traditional menu
will feature bannock, stew and

blackberry pie. Amaya.

“It is a beautiful day. Any
time to openly celebrate my
culture and share our stories

of the journeys Aboriginal
peoples have taken is a day

shedding of ignorance and
embracing reality,” says

“The community can see that
Douglas College wants the

Aboriginal community to be
involved,” adds Bartleman.

to celebrate. It means the

“Non-Aboriginal people

will walk away with a better
understanding of Aboriginal
people and their culture. And
Aboriginal people will have a
day full of joy and walk away
feeling proud.”

Douglas College welcomes new dean

New Faculty of Commerce and Business
Adminstration Dean Robert Buller is a man
ona mission. Keeping Douglas College
competitive means responding to community
needs and doing so pronto, says Buller.

“Organizations that are successful have to listen
and act,” says Buller, who took the reins on
June t.

“We have to be nimble as well as responsive.
I'll be pushing to speed things up while being
complete in the process,” says Buller.

Already, he is impressed with an
Administration he credits with thinking
beyond the status quo. Buller is looking
forward to building on the success of the
Faculty, which introduced its Bachelor of
Business Administration Degree and Associate
of Arts Degree in Economics in 2007.

Buller comes to Douglas College from
Kwantlen’s School of Business, where he was a
professor and chair of Marketing for six years.
He has also served on faculty at Queen’s and
as a project advisor with its Executive MBA
Program.

“At Queen's, from start to finish, new academic
programs had to be developed in under one

year. There’s no reason Douglas can't do the
same. Just because youre 35 years old doesn’t
mean you can't be nimble,” says Buller.

At Kwantlen, Buller helped build new degree
programs from its base of diploma programs.
Establishing and maintaining excellent
relationships with the business community is
crucial in ensuring both diploma and degree
programs are meeting employment needs and
attracting good students, says Buller.

He is keen to continue this tradition at
Douglas, where community ties are a big part
of what draws students to the College.

Before leaving Kwantlen, Buller was working
on resurrecting business advisory groups

so students could build friendships with
established professionals. Even without the
advisory groups, his diploma students worked
on projects with well-known companies such
as Alaska Airlines.

“If you do it right, it’s a win-win situation,”
says Buller.

Buller replaces Rosilyn Coulson, who was dean
for five years.