Niagara College’s Child and Youth Care (CYC) program played a pivotal role in the success of a provincial industry conference held on campus for the first time earlier this fall.
L-R: CYC students Abbie Macauley, Alicia Oldfield, Valentina Cabrera Orjuela and Mariam Adnan volunteer at the OACYC 2023 Belong Conference at the Daniel J. Patterson Campus.
Presented by the Ontario Association of Child and Youth Care (OACYC) – the governing body for all Child and Youth Care practitioners in Ontario – the 2023 Belong Conference was hosted at the Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake from October 25 to 27. A virtual day of learning rounded off the event on Oct. 29.
“The CYC team was instrumental in all aspects of the conference,” said NC Professor Sherry Visser-Fleming. “We were brought into the fold by the OACYC Conference Steering Committee from inception and represented NC regularly on the committee with weekly meetings since early spring.”
Visser-Fleming noted that the CYC team was supported throughout the process by Carol Phillips, Dean, Community Services, Justice and Fitness Studies, and Jaclyn Frail, Interim Associate Dean, School of Community Services. “Without their support, we would not have been able to do this,” she said.
Staff from other areas of the College, including Ancillary Services, Facilities Management and Campus Safety, and Information Technology Services, supported logistics for the multi-day event, while Chartwells catered lunch and Indigenous Education provided a space for Indigenous presenters to smudge with conference participants.
In total, approximately 125 people attended, with practitioners from sectors including education, healthcare, justice, mental health, community outreach, live-in treatment, addictions and more. Educators from colleges and universities across Ontario, industry professionals and government organizations were also in attendance.
“The first day of the conference consisted of the OACYC AGM, along with an educator’s day followed by a wine and cheese. The second and third days both started with amazing keynote speakers, followed by a variety of workshops covering a vast range of topics in Child and Youth Care,” explained Visser-Fleming.
Alicia Oldfield
Visser-Fleming noted that 11 CYC students from all cohorts of the program volunteered over the duration of the conference, assisting with registration and directing people around campus. “Students were given full access to all aspects of the conference for their volunteering, including attending workshops, lunches, and some of them even attended the gala,” she said.
Among the students were Alicia Oldfield, Patience Jaja and Dana Hauser, who found the experience beneficial.
Oldfield, a first-year student who helped greet attendees, noted that getting involved in the conference was important to her as an opportunity to network and get to know other professionals in the field.
“I felt a sense of belonging and admiration from each of the individuals I was able to connect with. My experience at the conference helped me feel confident about a successful future in Child and Youth Care,” she said.
Patience Jaja
Jaja, a second-year student who volunteered at the registration table and attended some of the keynote addresses and sessions, also found the experience rewarding as she looks ahead to the future.
“Attending the conference heightened my education and intensified my mindset and growth as a future CYC [professional],” said Jaja, a second-year student who volunteered at the registration table and attended some of the keynote addresses and sessions. “I also gained some free souvenirs and agency information networking,” she added.
Hauser, another first-year student who volunteered, attended as many sessions as she could fit in. She also joined a group of her classmates at the OACYC Gala, hosted at Ravine Vineyard the evening of Oct. 26. Alison Ryder, NC Recruitment and Outreach Coordinator, also joined the celebration to speak with guests.
“The gala itself was a lot of fun – the food was great, the location was lovely, but the highlight of the night (besides the dancing) was the presentation given by a Niagara College staff member, Alison Ryder,” said Hauser. “She was fun, engaging, and really connected her talk with the theme of the conference, which was ‘Belonging.’ Watching her live out her messaging of inclusion with so much passion was really engaging.”
Dana Hauser
Hauser also appreciated the opportunity to connect with NC alumni at the conference.
“I loved connecting with second year and now graduated students of the program, who gave us insights to our next few semesters, as well as shared highlights of their placements in years past,” she said. “I look forward to attending the next conference in 2 years’ time, hopefully as a new grad myself.”
NC alumna Lauren Leo (CYC, 2019), who is Casework Supervisor with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Niagara, was among the conference-goers in attendance. She shared her feedback with her former professors following the event.
“I just wanted to thank you for putting on such an inspiring conference. I feel it is easy to lose that perspective when you’re in the field these days,” said Leo. “I left feeling so inspired and excited to go back to work with all the new things I have soaked up over the last couple of days. It has given me a new purpose and redirected my lens on why I got into this line of work in the first place. I am forever grateful.”
For Visser-Fleming, a conference highlight was seeing her students interact with well-known author Micheal Burns. “He had many of his books there, and spent time chatting with and inspiring our students, many who are currently studying one of his texts in class,” she said.
She also noted that conference received positive feedback from local industry partners. “Overall, the message was that the conference really did succeed in cultivating a sense of belonging for everyone.”
