By Connor Lynch
Perth campus hosted its open house on Feb. 8, welcoming families, high school students and everything in between.
This year’s open house included a demonstration of the workshop facilities of the campus’ carpentry and heritage masonry programs.
Representatives from all programs were on hand to answer questions, such as the one’s asked by James Martin, a grade 12 student from St. Pious in Ottawa, who was accepted to the advanced housing program this year.
He has yet to decide what he’s doing. However, at the moment “I’m weighing my options,” he said.
The programs on display were the personal support worker program, social service worker program, construction carpentry-advanced housing program, office administrator-executive program, carpentry and joinery-heritage program, and the police foundations program.
Representatives from the other campus’ were also present.
“We’re the two Jodie’s,” said Jodi Becholtz, a client service officer from the waterfront campus in Pembroke.
She was joined by Jody White, a recruitment officer from the Woodroffe campus.
The campus is offering three new programs starting this year, including business, hospitality services and office administration-medical office assistant.
Across town there was also the Sobe project which is currently being built by second year advanced housing students.
The project will be finished by April, just in time for the campus’ second open house this year.
The program is a team-up with Richard Ellard, who owns the local Home Hardware, that is sponsoring the project.
It proceeds according to his design, and “sweat equity,” said Mark Bell, the co-ordinator of the advanced housing program.
“He [Richard Ellard] is providing an educational opportunity and we’re capitalizing on it.”
The students who work on the houses second year do everything, “walls, floors, ceilings,” said Bell.
The houses are intended to be “high-performance, low energy,” said Bell, adding that “some people might call it green. I’m more focused on the energy efficient side of it.”
The open house was a joint effort between faculty and students.
The ECE table was manned by three ECE students, Ashley Steele, Taylor Shoots, and Tori McGregor.
Student ambassadors drifted throughout the area to answer questions.
The open house drew all varieties of people including a group of four young children who were entertained with safety scissors, glue, magic markers and construction paper, provided by Shoots.
Employment Ontario also had a hand in the event. They hosted two booths with representatives for both the Community Employment Services and the Academic Upgrading Smith Falls Centre.
Anne Davis represented Academic Upgrading, a program which exists to help adults acquire pre-requisite courses for either general college or specific program acceptance.
Academic Upgrading also has a grade 12 equivalency program, called the academic and career excellence program.
After an assessment they take part in a free, individualized program to get them the skills they require.
The local flavour remained even there.
Davis’ daughter, a senior at Perth and District Collegiate Institute, a local high school, was present to help out with the display.