YourTV covered Niagara College’s 33rd annual Gala at the Fallsview Casino Resort on April 5, where two transformational gifts were announced: a $5 million donation from the Myhal Family Foundation – the largest individual gift in the College’s history – and a $2 million donation from the Segal Family and GuardMe International Insurance, marking the largest individual gift ever made in support of a student program.
In the April 13 segment, President Sean Kennedy is interviewed by Lori Taraba, where he highlights the goal of NC’s Together fundraising campaign: to support two critical workforce shortage areas in Niagara – healthcare and skilled trades.
“We want to make sure we’re aligning the most critical needs in the workforce shortages with our fundraising and our programming,” said Kennedy.
The segment also features Osvaldo Avilia, Professor in the School of Hospitality & Tourism, who shares what it means to take students out of the classroom and give them real-world learning opportunities through supporting the production of the gala.
“I think this is what puts Niagara College on the map,” said Avilia. “It’s our industry partners and the way we combine strong academics with [experiences like this]. Our students have been hands-on…[working with me at the gala venue in a real-world setting.]”
Peter “Dutch” VandenBerg, Program Coordinator and Professor in NC’s Broadcasting – Radio, Television and Film (BRTF) program, also highlights the experiential learning opportunity his students gain by contributing to the gala’s broadcast.
“One of the hallmarks of the college and our program delivery is experiential learning [so] for us to be able to integrate their learning in the classroom into these real-world scenarios means everything,” he said. “This is applied learning at its best.”
Watch the April 13 segment here.
