Matthew Steinbach, News Editor
news@theotherpress.ca

 

Ashley Whillans, Associate News Editor
associate @theotherpress.ca

Douglas College offers co-op opportunities

By Ashley Whillans, Associate News Editor

L your list of New Year’s resolutions includes having
more money and a better job, you might not have

to look any further than Douglas College’s Co-op
Program.

On January 8", 12" and 13" the Department of
Cooperative Education is holding information sessions
at the New Westminster Campus for its Summer Co-
op Program.

The Summer Co-op Program links students with
local businesses and upon enrolment eligible students
will participate in a four-month job placement, while
receiving nine credits and an hourly wage.

What are the benefits of co-op? Well, according
to Lianne Johnston, Douglas College’s placement
coordinator, the program is a “win-win situation
because students are still considered full time, but

  

have the benefit of
putting classroom
theory into
action.”

“Students
are also able to
focus in their
areas of discipline.
An accounting,
computer science,
or marketing
student, for
example, will be
paired up with a
particular business
= that will give

them practical
experience in their chosen field,” said Johnston.

With wages averaging between 15 and 20 dollars
an hour and placements within companies such as BC
Hydro, ICBC, Century 21 and VANOC, the program
“provides a great opportunity for students to gain
college credit while working in their chosen field.”

Another benefit of Co-operative education is
the opportunity for students to land an extended or
permanent position, as was the case with one finance
student.

“A [finance] student I was working with applied at
BC Hydro, and got the job placement,” said Johnston.
‘He is now making $18 an hour. With no experience
other than school, he now has a great job that could
extend into a summer position.”

Johnston warns that co-op is competitive,

especially for the summer semester, and even after
registering for the program, students still have to apply
for the job and complete subsequent interviews, and
may or may not receive employment.

However, students do not pay program fees until
they are placed in position. Also, if a student registers
for Summer Co-op and doesn’t receive a posting, they
can register for classes without losing enrolment.

“The program oversees students all the way
through the application process, helping with mock
interviews and tightening up resumes for specific
applications, and is really fantastic opportunity —
especially during the summer,” says Johnston.

Students must meet the eligibility requirements
posted on the Douglas College website as well
as attend two workshops on resume building and
interview skills.

More information can be obtained online through
douglas.bc.ca

 

 

The next information sessions for co-op are:
Thursday, January 8" from 4:30-6 p.m. in room 4245
Monday, January 12" from 4-5 p.m. in room 4247
Tuesday, January 13" from 4:30-6 p.m. in room 4245

 

 

ITGnite YOUF POTNNTial 5, siiies seisscs. revs esi

Tite College will be releasing a new advertising
campaign this January to replace their “You Can Go
Anywhere From Here” campaign.

Starting this month the college wants to display
that they are a starting point for new and current
students, but that the college can also be a place where
you can finish up a degree as well as one from which
you can take other career paths. Thus, the college’s
marketing department has opted to change their tagline
to “Ignite Your Potential.”

At the Douglas College Board meeting that
unveiled the new campaign on December 18", Brad
Barber and Sean Kelly said that their inspiration came
from “putting up other schools’ materials on a wall
and noticing their similarities.”

This is meant to set them apart with something
simple, new, sleek and easy to understand. This
overhaul on their marketing campaign will take effect
immediately for the school’s billboard and transit
advertising and will lead into a new simpler and easier
to use Douglas College website. Other changes will
also follow in time; however, those changes were not
discussed at the presentation on the 18".

“You Can Go Anywhere From Here” began nine
years ago, so it was also time to consider a change in
marketing tactics given the changed state of education
in which there is currently lower enrolment than there
was at the time the campaign was initially released.
There is also less government funding for schools to
utilize. Thus, the schools must meet their enrolment
targets to remain competitive in their subject areas.

 

 

Salvation Army stores takes heavy damage

By Matthew Steinbach, News Editor

CG. December 10", a bus in a freak accident
smashed into the Salvation Army store in New
Westminster.

A Translink bus was parked up on Eight Street
before it began to roll down the hill, breaking through
a window and leaving the store and the bus damaged
in the process. According to CBC.ca, the costs of
repair were estimated at $100,000.

The Salvation Army is funded primarily by
charitable donations, so it is likely going to be a tough

task for them to re-coup their losses as many potential
donors are already “maxed out” by the end of the
Christmas season. Thus, they will have to use the
money they have earmarked for other projects to fix up
their brand new store instead.

This accident occurred shortly after the Salvation
Army had to move from their previous location half
a block up to make way for building construction in
the area. The building they moved into was restored
to its original 1912 look as a streetcar train station, an
expensive project for the Salvation Army.

The bus that damaged the Salvation Army store

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