Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 07, 2012, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE B1 * Annual Percentage Rate. ? OAC. Subject to change. Mortgages Starting at ( APR*) 2.24 happily mortgaged? Are you CITY & BUSINESS CITY EDITOR: PAUL SAMYN 697- 7292 city. desk@ freepress. mb. ca I winnipegfreepress. com THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 2012 B 1 O K, so every parent has taken his or her child to school - but go to school WITH your kid? Barbara Klassen and Vanessa Parent went through the 10- month Red River College dental- assisting program together at the Winkler campus and now they're graduating together. Ian Ross, meanwhile, provides even more evidence it's never too late to go back to school. He's graduating at 43 in business administration and hoping to put that education to work on a long- cherished dream - establishing a summer camp for disabled children. They're among 1,764 graduates at Red River College's spring convocation, receiving 915 diplomas, 773 certificates and 76 post- graduate diplomas Wednesday and today. So flash back to a phone conversation in Winkler between Klassen and Parent - Parent is 25 with an office job and a young child, and mom is 52 and had spent the past 27 years at home raising three children. Klassen told Parent she'd just enrolled in the dental- assisting program. And 20 minutes later, Parent phoned back to say she'd enrolled, too. " Right from high school, I had taken my business administration. I'd done accounts in a small business," Klassen said. " I did some catering, I did some retail work. I've been a stay- at- home mum for 27 years." When her youngest reached 17, Klassen said, " My husband said, ' This is your turn, go and do something you want to do.' I signed up and said to my daughter, ' Am I stupid to do this at my age?' " Parent takes up the story. " I said that would be awesome. " I started working right out of high school, as a receptionist in a medical centre. I had thought about ( becoming a dental assistant) on and off," Parent said. " I decided I'm just going to go for it - it's a better career." First, mother and daughter had to go to the adult learning centre in Winkler to get their Grade 12 biology. Then off to class, lab, and clinic. All 20 students on the Winkler campus were women this year. " We were in class together the whole time - we sat together. I was labelled the mum of the class," Klassen said with a laugh. Parent said the rest of the students were delighted to see them together. " It was a lot of fun. Me and her are best friends, so we never get tired of each other." At night, Parent would bring her daughter over to her parents' place, where she and Klassen would do homework together. " My husband made sure that when it was study time, no one bothered us," said Klassen. " It was unbelievable getting back into that study group." Klassen explained a dental assistant prepares trays and mouthguards, deals with the instruments, keeps the patient's mouth clean, hands the dentist instruments, and most importantly, " You're comforting the patient... be sure the patient is comfortable and remains calm." The Winkler campus has four dental chairs. " We were working on each other," Klassen said. " We worked on family members galore." With school done, the reality of finding a job sets in - a job they'll compete for against each other as well as the program's 18 other grads. Some of the 20 came from as far away as Elie and Letellier, and some came from Winnipeg because of the shorter waiting list in Winkler. There are two dental offices in Winkler and two in Morden, and only one half- time position currently open, said Parent. " It's going to be intense." And as for how the two did when it came time to discuss report cards... Klassen laughed and acknowledged, " Her marks were just a little bit better than mine." Ian Ross' marks were high enough to earn him a Lieutenant- Governor's Medal. He started work last month as assistant CAO of the RM of Armstrong, working out of the municipal office in Inwood. But his dream remains Camp Kan- Do. The camp site is 48.5 hectares, off Highway 7 between Arborg and Fraserwood. " It's pasture land with a little bit of trees," he said. But if he can raise $ 20 million - if - then Ross and his wife will transform that site into a camp for disabled children, with a dorm, a big hall, cabins, an artificial lake and an indoor swimming pool. When his wife's vision began an inexorable deterioration nearly eight years ago and she started dealing with organizations that work with the disabled, Ross learned recreational opportunities for disabled children are limited. " Especially if they have multiple ( disabilities)... your options pretty much drop to zero for a little guy." Ross has had considerable information technology training over the years. He gave university a try a while back, but, " found the pool hall more entertaining than the professors." At his most recent job before returning to school, Ross worked for U- Haul for 7 � years in management, only to be laid off by the American head office. " At the time, I was the ( company's) only victim of the recession in Manitoba. I went into the Employment Manitoba program." That led Ross to Red River, where he was the oldest student in business administration. With his studies and now a full- time job, and all the work on Camp Kan- Do, Ross said, " My nights were usually full. I look and say, where the heck did I even have time to sleep?" nick. martin@ freepress. mb. ca Award winners Gold Medals . Aboriginal Self- Government Administration - Ashley Atatise . Aircraft Maintenance Engineer - Matthew Bowditch . Animal Health Technology - Rachel Harms . Aviation Management - Peter McKenzie Heron . Business Administration ( marketing) - Christa Cogill . Business Administration ( office management) - Brittany Nicole Stephen . Business Information Technology - Justin Daniel Haywood . Chemical and Biosciences Technology - Mitsuko Sylvia Miyamoto . Child and Youth Care - Charlene Renee Penner . Civil Engineering Technology ( structural) - Angela Kasdorf . Community Development/ Economic Development - Molly Jacklyn Dunbar . Computer Applications for Business - Courtney H. V. Tait . Creative Communications - Ryan Gregory McBride . Digital Multimedia Technology - Gilles Francois DeCruyenaere . Disability and Community Support - James Gerald Gayhart . Early Childhood Education - Stephanie Joy Klassen . Graphic Design - Christian Lloyd Gutierrez Gilbang . Greenspace Management - Jonathan Scott Peters . Health Information Management - Adelita Dilim . Power Engineering Technology - David Michael Kestirke . Technical Communication - Wyeth Antoine Krauchi LIEUTENANT- GOVERNOR AWARD WINNERS Patricia Comeau: A graduate of Red River College's business administration program, Patricia Comeau is putting her skills to use as an assistant accountant at Wildwood Transport. Ian Ross: A fellow graduate of the business administration program, Ian Ross and his wife have plans to open a summer camp in Manitoba's Interlake region that will provide recreational opportunities for children with disabilities. 2012 INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGIES TEACHING EXCELLENCE AWARD Jim Mackey Jim Mackey has embraced technology in the classroom, introducing animation programs into the gas turbine repair and overhaul program at Stevenson Aviation. As an instructor in the industrial math and science department, Mackey incorporated Smart Board technology and tablets. 2012 STUDENTS' ASSOCIATION TEACHING AWARD OF EXCELLENCE Allan Green An instructor with Red River College's School of Business, Allan Green has been teaching since 2002, when he joined the RRC team following a diverse career in business and marketing. 2012 RED RIVER COLLEGE DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD Bob Tallman Entrepreneur and philanthropist Bob Tallman is the 2012 recipient of Red River College's Distinguished Alumni Award. The longtime owner and CEO of Princess Auto Ltd., Tallman joined the family business in the mid- 1970s, shortly after graduating from Red River College's business administration program. Graduating with class Latest RRC grads include mother- daughter duo, camp designer By Nick Martin BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Ian Ross is graduating from Red River College in Business Administration ( above). Barbara Klassen and daughter Vanessa Parent finished class together. ( PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Here's lookin' at you. Over 300 graduates at Red River College gather at the Notre Dame Campus Gym Wednesday night to accept their diplomas. B_ 01_ Jun- 07- 12_ FP_ 01. indd B1 6/ 6/ 12 11: 50: 02 PM ;