This is the final spotlight in a series highlighting NC’s 2024 Awards of Excellence recipients. The highly coveted awards are presented annually at Niagara Day to faculty, support staff and administrative employees in celebration of the impact they have on students, colleagues, and the college at large. A team award is also given to a group of employees who have demonstrated outstanding collaborative work. All award winners receive a dedicated parking spot on campus.
“If the plan doesn’t work, change the plan, but never the goal.”
These words of wisdom have become the guiding principle for Niagara College’s 2024 Administration Award of Excellence recipient, Carly Root.
Root, who is NC’s Director of Community Relations and Events (CRE), is a talented collaborator and relationship builder. She leads, inspires and motivates teams to bring impactful, memorable initiatives to life at NC and in the community, pouring her heart and soul into every project she works on.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Root spearheaded the transition of cherished college traditions – Convocation and Niagara Day – to successful virtual delivery and continues to lead the production of these first-in-class events. She works tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that every community, employee engagement, and day of significance event captures the heart of NC. She is also known as “College Mom” to many students and alumni in the Broadcasting – Radio, Television and Film program, with whom she works regularly with to produce many of these events.
An alumna from NC’s Event Management program (2006), Root has worked in several departments at the College, including Student Recruitment and the President’s Office. In 2023, she was tapped to lead the College’s newly formed CRE department, where she creates ‘magical NC moments’ along with her team.
InsideNC caught up with Root, who shared more about her love working at the College and with the Niagara community.
What does it mean to you to be recognized by your colleagues and the College with this award?
It makes me very teary. Support from my colleagues truly means everything to me, so I will simply say “thank you.”
How does it feel knowing you have had such a positive influence on so many NC students, employees and alumni, as well as community partners?
Root was surprised to learn about her AOE win at 2024 Niagara Day while working behind the scenes at the event.
It is a true privilege to come to work every day, and if my passion and love for this college and the collective work of the Community Relations and Events department can be a positive influence for our NC community, then that makes my heart very happy.
Whether it is celebratory (Convocation, Niagara Day), educational (Dates of Significance events), informative and policy influencing (Government visits), supportive (community collaborations like Coldest Night of the Year or World Rowing), or fundraising (NC Gala or NC Golf Classic), I know if I believe in the work and give it my all, then that supports a similar approach from others.
With our students, it is really important for me that they see how true dedication, trust and respect for others, hard work, patience, and problem solving can contribute positively to a healthy and fulfilling career and how our actions influence the actions of those around us.
It is also very important that students know how much I appreciate their contributions to our projects – they are often the spark that creates something really special!
How do you champion collaboration through your work?
I truly believe in the importance of the village, of building and nurturing relationships and recognizing how these relationships contribute to the success of the work.
I also believe in taking the time to get to know people as best you can, building trust and learning what motivates others in their work. A balance of leadership, direction, collaboration, and teamwork is so critical to success and is always top of mind for me. I know my teammates approach their work this way as well.
Creating space for the sharing of ideas, appreciating and respecting the talents and perspectives of others, patience (lol), and clear communication and gratitude, are all close to my heart. I certainly don’t always get it right, but it’s important to recognize when I don’t and learn from those moments moving forward.
What do you consider to be the most rewarding aspect of your work?
As a team , we focus our energy on creating beautiful experiences and magical moments for the NC community, and for so many community members and external partners.
By far this is the most rewarding part of my job, celebrating all things NC. From the excellence of our students and graduates to our exceptional programs, staff and faculty, it is a privilege every day to have the opportunity to bring to life our college’s collective work and to celebrate our achievements and community collaborations.
It has also been deeply rewarding to share these experiences with the CRE team. Each team member is incredibly skilled and to see their love for the work and their talents result in such exceptional experiences for our college community, brings me a lot of joy. I am incredibly grateful to work with each of them!
NC’s Community Relations and Events team: Heather McFarlane, Sarah Scott, Carly Root and Lindsey Hendriks
Any memorable NC moments you’d like to share?
Over the course of my career there have been countless NC moments, and just when I think an event or project can’t be topped, another comes to life and becomes another career highlight!
I would say the following are some of my most memorable moments and pride points:
(2019) It was an honour to work with so many colleagues, the Board of Governors, alumni and external partners on the retirement celebration for Dr. Dan Patterson (NC President Emeritus). Over 600 community guests, family and friends attended the event at the Performing Arts Centre to celebrate Dan’s legacy at NC.
(2020) Preparing for the announcement of NC’s sixth president (President Sean Kennedy) and working with President Kennedy behind the scenes to ensure the moment was not only special and celebratory for him and his family, but also for the college community (employees and students) that he loves and respects so deeply. There were so many happy tears that day!
(2020+) Working with Dutch (Peter VandenBerg) and Luke (Gillett) and so many dedicated and talented NC colleagues and students to lead the team that created NC’s virtual convocation experience. When things were so challenging and dark, we were able to rally and combine the talents of some exceptional people to create something that celebrated each and every one of our graduates. We produced 24 live ceremonies, read over 11,000 graduating student names and had 120,000 viewers worldwide. It was an “only at NC experience” as President Kennedy would say!
Related stories:
Virtual convocation, real success: Niagara College caps off five days of ceremonies to celebrate Class of 2020
Virtual convocation breaks new ground for Class of 2020
(2023) The launch of the CRE department at NC was truly a dream come true for me. To be offered the opportunity to grow a team of Community Relations and Events experts, to share my years of experience and my love for this college and our community while embracing the talents, expertise and fresh perspectives of those supporting NC in this space, means everything to me.
