Events Calendar All events take place at the New Westminster Campus unless otherwise noted. Noon at New West Student Showcase Recital December 9 12:30pm, Performing Arts Theatre Community Music School Choral Society Concert December 11 8pm, Performing Arts Theatre Tickets: $12/$10 at the door For reservations call 431- 9906 Community Music School Student Recital December 12 2pm, Performing Arts Theatre Douglas College Holiday Celebration December 16 4-6pm in the Upper Cafeteria Meet in the concourse at 4pm for a group photograph New Westminster Campus Kids and work a good mix “employees” on November 3 during Take Your Child to Work day, part of the curriculum of many local school districts. From left to right, front row: Shelley Alcock, daughter of Sue Alcock (Systems and Computing), Carolyn Angus, daughter of Trish Angus (Registrar's Office), Jesse Jackson, son of Deb Jackson (Registrar's Office) and Julia Baylis, daughter of Jonathan Baylis (Student Development) learned that “there isn't a lot of difference in atmosphere between College classes and advanced-level high school classes, that cafeteria food is the same everywhere, and that when you come to the College to register you should always bring your ID or else you end up at the back of the line.” College alumnus brings home the gold Daniel Igali, a former Douglas College criminology student, became the first Canadian ever to win gold at the 1999 World Freestyle Wrestling Championships in Turkey this past October. Coached by instructor Dave McKay both at Douglas College and Simon Fraser University (SFU), Igali came to Canada from Nigeria for the 1994 Commonwealth Games and ended up staying. “He'd actually heard about the Douglas College wrestling program while he was in Nigeria,” says McKay. “Daniel is very receptive, very coachable. He's really a model for others to follow, showing that you can come to college and combine athletics with an education and progress upwards through the system.” Igali is presently a student at SFU. To read more about Igali and his journey to Canada and the gold, please see the news clipping posted on the bulletin board outside of room 4700. Briefly Holiday Closure The Personnel Office will be closed on December 29 & 30 for the holidays. Thank you from Denise I would like to thank everyone who attended the surprise celebration planned by Chris Johnson for me on Wednesday, October 20th in the boardroom to celebrate our 10-year working partnership. A very special thank you to Chris for the card, flowers, kind words and gorgeous gift. Ifanyone would like to see the gift, just give mea call, I'll gladly show it off! And for anyone interested in my job, please take a number and get in line...I don’t plan on leaving any time soon! Denise Rutherford Brad's a winner! The November winner of the Employee 60/40 Lottery is Brad Barber from the Communications and Marketing Office. Brad wins $810 and student aid increases by $540. Bob and the baby Proud papa Bob Webber (Student Development) is a father again, Catriona Vivian, born October 18, 1999 tipped the scales at seven pounds, ten ounces. Webber tells us his greatest accomplishment of fatherhood thus far was - when his wife Roberta thanked him for changing a diaper at three in the morning and he had no recollection of doing so: autopilot systems are still fully functional. Little Catriona however, seeking revenge later that day, latched on to Webber’s right bicep and gave hima hickey. Life in the ’burbs is wild! Correction In last month's INside we incorrectly identified Jan Humphrey as moving from auxiliary to regular as Program Assistant in the Interpreter Program (CFCS). In fact, it is John Humphrey who moves Cultural understanding improves workplace Nadia was amazed. Recently arrived from Russia, she was working hard to understand Canadian culture and society but was having difficulty accepting the huge number of divorced people. It nagged at her until she mentioned it to Douglas College Communications instructor Debra Wolinsky. After discussions, the two discovered that a cultural difference was at play. In Russia, married people wear their wedding band on their right hand, switching it to their left only when they are divorced. Nadia’s (not her real name) fears about Canadians were diffused. “Sometimes we make assumptions about people and how to relate to them based ona lack of information,” says Wolinsky. “In the end, our assumptions are wrong.” Today’s multicultural workplace can often be a hotbed of misunderstanding, leading to strained relations between co-workers, bosses and customers. “There’s a need for people to be more mindful about multicultural issues,” says Wolinsky. “We need to know about cultural similarities and differences in order to connect.” To help people learn how to connect, Wolinsky and fellow Communication instructor Lin Langley, along with Student Development's Tom Whalley and Linda Villarreal, developed Interpersonal Communication Skills for the Multicultural Workplace, a new course offered this January at the College. Focusing mainly on workplace situations, this experiential course helps students learn through small group exercises, video-taped interviews, reflective journal writing, simulated job interviews with people from other cultures, and more. The class begins January 4, Mondays from 7-10pm at the New Westminster Campus. Employee telereg has passed, but employees can still register during general registration. Students benefit from A Class Act Over $15,000 in student aid was generated by the more than 300 attendees at the Foundation’s annual fundraiser, A Class Act, held November 10 at the Executive Inn, Coquitlam. In addition to raising funds, the event provided Hotel and Restaurant Management students with valuable work experience. “The staff of the Executive Inn were just amazing,” says the Foundation’s Executive Director Myrna Popove. “With their help and coordination, students gained experience doing event set up, serving, food preparation and breakdown.” into the Program Assistant position. Our apologies to both of you! An udderly delightful conference John Blackwell (CISY), Sheila Paige (OADM), Susan Smythe (DDev/ Geography) and Susan Greffard (DLS) attended the League for Innovation in Chicago in October, where Blackwell presented a paper and Paige and Greffard spoke about an on-line course. The highlight of the trip, however, was Cows on Parade, an outdoor collection of almost 300 life-size acrylic cows that were sponsored and painted by local Chicago artists and then auctioned off in October for charity. “Cows were all over the city,” says Greffard. “They were so funny, some had fuzzy pink slippers, one was on its back and was named something like ‘udderly reclining nude.’ Moraine College (one of the League sponsors) had a likeness at the convention, and all four of us had our pictures taken with this cow. As Susan Smythe remarked, a four-cow rating of the League!” Staff Moves Dean Jansen of Finance has resigned and is moving to Victoria, while Mary Lou Morris of Continuing Education (Commerce and Business) is taking early retirement on December 31st. “We're packing up, selling the house and moving to Horsefly!” she says. Enjoy your retirement, Mary Lou! In Systems and Computing, Juan Losada is the new Computer Tech (Help Desk), while in the Office of the Registrar Drena McCormack has moved from auxiliary to regular as Academic Advisor/Admissions/ Records. In Centre 2000, Terri Riddell is the new Clerical Assistant for the Self-Employment Program. INside Douglas College is published by the Communications & Marketing Office the first Tuesday of each month. Submissions and story ideas are welcome; deadline is working 10 days before publication. Send text-only files to INside editor, CMO, Room 4700, New Westminster Campus; e-mail to winterst@douglas.bc.ca; or call 527-5325. Printed by the Douglas College Printshop.