Message from Jeff Murrell, associate dean, School of Trades:
With a heavy heart, I announce the retirement of Colin Robinson, who will be retiring from Niagara College on June 30, 2021 after 17 years of dedication to the Carpentry and Renovation programs as a part-time and full-time faculty member. He started with Niagara College in September of 2004 and transitioned to a full-time role in 2006, the same year he took on the co-coordinator role and has been the cornerstone for the program and the School of Trades ever since.
Colin began his teaching career in 2003 at Lakeshore Catholic High School in Port Colborne, where he filled in for a temporary leave position. That experience ignited his passion for teaching, leading him to start his career and becoming a significant part of the Niagara College family. His interactions with youth in our community go back even further, as he coached a variety of sports and was a Boy Scout leader for a few years as well. He brought the qualities that you find in a great coach to the classroom on a regular basis with his true desire to see students excel and do their best. But just like any good coach, he interacted with his students with calm, positive feedback aimed to guide and help them improve and achieve the ultimate goal: learning and growing as individuals.
To determine how much of an impact Colin has had on Niagara College, the students and the School of Trades, you simply need to do a search of his name on InsideNC. You will find 14 articles that mention him with a link at the bottom to look up older ones. Of the multitude of articles that are there, the one that sticks out most is the announcement of him winning the Faculty of the Year award in 2016. True to who Colin is, he is quoted in the article saying, “I feel honoured to even be considered when you look at all of the outstanding things being done by the other faculty here at Niagara.” At a moment to celebrate himself he remained very humble of his own accomplishments as an educator and instead wanted to point out and give recognition to the rest of the faculty at Niagara College. Giving to others is part of his charitable nature and who he is to the core, a very giving individual who always gave 110% to everything he did at Niagara College.
As a result of his charitable nature, two significant projects were huge successes for years at NC, the Habitat for Humanity build and the Many Hands project. These wonderful projects not only taught the students about the skills required to be successful in the trade, but also in life as they opened their eyes to the larger community and awakened feelings of charity in them all.
The term “cornerstone” is an understatement when referring to Colin. During his time in the School of Trades, Colin always wanted to teach in a level one course every term and after five years I understand why. He became instrumental in laying the cornerstone for each student’s education, ensuring they all had a solid foundation on which they could complete the program. It has been this foundation, laid by the interactions with this gifted educator, that each and every graduate of the program has built their future. On behalf of those countless students who have had the pleasure of knowing and learning from him, the team in the School of Trades, as well as his colleagues across the college who have had the benefit of working with him, I would like to thank Colin for his 17 years of dedicated service.
Please join me in wishing Colin all the best as he transitions into his retirement.
