News. Ambassadors of summer spirit Office for New Students, staff, and student ambassadors represent Douglas throughout the summer By Naomi Ambrose, Contributor n June 30 and July 1, staff from the Office for New Students (ONS), along with several student ambassadors, represented Douglas College at the 41 annual Golden Spike Days Festival held at Rocky Point Park in Port Moody. The group’s appearance at the festival was one of the many events and activities that the ONS staff and Student Ambassadors have scheduled on their summer calendar. Melody McKiernan, Student Outreach Coordinator, explains “this is now our fourth year participating in the festival [and] just being out in the community is the main purpose. Being out in the community and talking to people about either Douglas College and our programs, or the Summer Camps.” Student ambassador Roisin Connolly says: “I decided to participate in the Golden Spike Days because it is a great community event. It brings everyone together and [it] is a great day for families. I like getting involved in the community and giving back to the community.” In addition to the Golden Spike Days, the ONS staff and ambassadors also represented the college at the Teddy Bear Picnic in Coquitlam in May and the Pot of Gold Charity Golf Tournament in July at the Mayfair Lakes Golf Club in Richmond. The ONS’ summer calendar also includes organizing New Student Orientation (formerly known as Late Summer Orientation)—a full-day event that gives new students the information and materials they need to start their college life. Since this year’s theme is Mardi Gras, students who want to join in the fun and spirit of Mardi Gras can wear purple, green and yellow and get a chance to win some prizes. The Office for New Students helps new students make a successful transition to the Douglas College community. The Office also visits high schools, attends community and career fairs, and helps students reach their academic, professional, and personal goals. IMPORTANT DATES FOR STUDENTS: With the fall semester beginning in less than a month, there are a few important dates in the month ahead for students to keep in mind and mark on the calendar a: the month of August blazes by. August 6 — College closed for BC Day August 13 — Returning international students’ tuition due for fall semester. August 20 — Domestic students’ tuition fees due for fall semester. August 24 — Deadline for new international students to withdraw from 2012 fall semester and receive a 50 per cent refund or defer admission to winter semester. September 4 — Late registration begins. Also the first day of classes for fall semester. September 16 — Last day to drop courses without receiving a “W” on record. Also the last day to add classes. Through the Student Ambassador Volunteer Leadership Program, which was established in 2007, students develop personal, professional, and leadership skills and contribute to the community. By working closely with the Office for New Students, student ambassadors represent and promote Douglas College to current and prospective students, guests, and alumni through various events which include monthly information sessions where attendees can meet faculty and learn about the college’s programs and services. The ambassadors also spread some cheer on campus through various holiday events such as St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween, Easter, and Christmas. Dates for Orientation are as follows: David Lam Campus: August 21 from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. New Westminster Campus: August 23 and 25 from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Recycling, education and careers Former Douglas students speaks about By Dylan Hackett, News Editor Douglas student and New Westminster resident about recycling, education, and what local businesses are doing to help Metro Vancouver meet its green waste recycling goals for the next decade. Michael House, Operations Manager at Urban Wood Waste Recycling, Western Canada’s | ast week The Other Press spoke to a former Ss local businesses like Urban Wood Waste are heavily involved in achieving. “Metro Vancouver has established some extremely ambitious targets for recycling for the next 10 years or so and Harvest Power, through their companies Urban Wood Waste and Fraser Richmond Soil & Fibre, is one of the forerunners in helping Metro Vancouver reach those goals,” said House. “Cities like Portland, Oregon are far ahead of largest recycling company, explained his story as a Douglas student and employee at a local leader in recycling. “There was a synergistic relationship with my employment at Urban Wood Waste and my time at Douglas College. I started out at Douglas doing night courses while working graveyard at Urban Wood Waste while not knowing what the hell I wanted to do with my life,” explained House. “Through my work at Urban, and in the recycling industry, I ended up switching my major to environmental studies.” “My experience in the recycling industry is what encouraged me to pursue what I studied at Douglas and what I studied helped me grow at Urban. I built my education on my work and my work on my education. I came to the point where I was working so much at Urban that I couldn’t continue my studies at Douglas. I never finished my degree, I stopped studying to focus on work, but my time at Douglas influenced and seriously helped me in my job.” Metro Vancouver has set a goal to divert all green waste from landfill by 2020—a goal which Metro and are experiencing recycling rates of up to 70 per cent for their entire green waste,” said House. “Metro Vancouver is at 54 per cent. We're getting there.” House spoke of the foundation of Urban Wood Waste and how one man’s dream became a recycling giant. “The founder of the company saw an opportunity and he built on it. His initial goals may have been personal profit and his initial goal may have been recycling-minded, but in the end, he cared about what he did and he built the company into what it is,” said House. “His initial goal was to process 50 metric tonnes a day. In last 20 years, Urban Wood Waste grew to produce 800 metric tonnes per day of material with about a 75-80 per cent recovery rate. Sean passed away two years ago and the company was left to his wife then subsequently purchased by Harvest Power. Harvest has continued Shawn’s vision of making Urban Wood Waste a recycling leader in Metro Vancouver.”