Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?
In the tradition of the Alumni Endowment Fund Gala, enjoy good food, in good company, for a good cause. Warm hospitality awaits you at the private residence of a generous community leader. This year, the gala goes home.
Date: Saturday, December 3
Time: 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Location: Your host's private residence
Support UBC’s Okanagan students and build our community. Tickets are $100 per person and sales close November 24. Each host will welcome up to six guests. Feel free to register with friends and family.
For more information, please contact Erica Triggs at 250.807.9360.
January 21:
UBC Community Curling Funspiel
Watch the December newsletter to register for this event as an individual or with a team for a day of all-Canadian winter fun that is all about UBC spirit. Alumni, students, faculty and staff, this is your day to meet, greet and - sweep!
Registration includes good food, all equipment, a quick curling lesson (optional for those who already know how), plus prizes for everyone.
Location: Kelowna Curling Club, 551 Recreation Ave.
 UBC Southern Medical Program needs volunteer patients
Interested in training the next generation of doctors? The UBC Faculty of Medicine Southern Medical Program (SMP) is recruiting volunteer patients to help train its inaugural class of medical students.
“Volunteer patients play a vital role in the education of future doctors,” says Diane Oorebeek, BSc ’95, SMP volunteer patient recruiter. “They get to experience firsthand how today’s medical students are trained, while at the same time fulfill a significant program need.”
A volunteer patient can be anyone from the general public who participates “as themselves” in a supervised, clinical training session. Medical students learn to hone their basic communication and clinical skills through personal interaction with the patients.
In January 2012, the SMP will welcome its inaugural class of 32 students as part of the UBC’s MD Undergraduate Program. By 2014, the SMP will have 128 students across all years of program study.
To learn more, please contact Diane Oorebeek, SMP Volunteer Patient Recruiter at 250-980-1329.
For information on volunteer opportunities visit UBC's Okanagan Learning Exchange website. To be added to the alumni and friends volunteer roster contact Brenda Tournier at 250.807.8167.
Big news from the Bookstore
The UBC Bookstore announced today that, through a partnership with Campus E-Bookstore and Google eBooks , it is now selling 250,000+ e-books online via its website. The initiative, which will result in reduced printed materials, supports UBC’s commitment to environmental sustainability.
And just in time for the holidays, UBC’s annual book sale starts on November 19 in the Okanagan and Vancouver. Find unique books and great gifts for up to 75% off, with free shipping on orders over $50 to anywhere in BC from November 14 - 26. Don’t forget your A-Card. Alumni receive 10% off on regularly-priced, single items of clothing, giftware and non-course books at the Bookstore (except diploma frames).
December 10:
Christmas Traditions Family Fun Day
Ho! Ho! Ho!
Alumni are invited to the second annual Christmas Traditions Family Fun Day, promising an enjoyable afternoon for kids from 1 to 100. Take in a live performance of the heart-warming Peanuts classic A Charlie Brown Christmas, performed by students from Glenmore Elementary. Traditional holiday fun includes an old-fashioned hayride, craft market, cookie decorating and pictures with Santa. Enjoy hot apple cider, holiday treats and a hamburger/hot dog concession.
Time: 1:00 to 4 p.m.
Location: Administration building, theatre, room ADM026, Okanagan campus.
Tickets are $5 and may be purchased from the UBC Bookstore on the main floor of the Administration building. Children under age two are free. All profits go to UBC's 2011 United Way campaign.
Susan Crichton helping teach faculty in Pakistan
The challenge faced by Aga Khan University (AKU) is a big one. It has to reach people in some of the most geographically hard-to-access places on the planet and Susan Crichton travelled half-way around the world to help meet that challenge by co-facilitating a professional development program.
The associate professor and director of graduate studies with the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus was invited by the Karachi-based university to work with 15 faculty from five campuses on two continents to develop a blended learning program that combines face-to-face instruction with online learning.
In areas like Pakistan, Afghanistan and parts of East Africa where AKU operates, both types of teaching can be a difficult endeavour, so Crichton helped faculty determine what methods would best serve their learners.
UBC Study: South Okanagan immigrants face many hurdles
Better transit, cheaper housing and better pay needed
Wolfgang Depner, BA ’95, has studied immigrant issues in the South Okanagan and found there are challenges to keeping immigrants in the region.
By resolving many of the issues around retaining immigrants, rural municipalities will also be better able to keep young people in the community.
Wolfgang Depner, a UBC PhD candidate in interdisciplinary studies, has studied the issues faced by immigrants in the South Okanagan, and discovered many of the challenges immigrants must deal with overlap the challenges young people face.
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Forensic psychologist student Leanne ten Brinke has studied 78 emotional, televised pleas to find indications about who is lying and who is not.
Emotional pleas focus of extensive psychology study
UBC researchers able to tell who is being dishonest
It is a scenario that has played across television screens countless times over the years: a tearful plea for the safe return of a loved one.
But, is the person telling the truth, or attempting to cover up their own dirty deed? Leanne ten Brinke knows what to look for.
The forensic psychologist student studying at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus spent the last six years working with psychology professor Stephen Porter, MA ’94, PhD ’98, to study 78 cases in Canada, the U.S., U.K. and Australia of people pleading for the safe return of a loved one.
In half of the cases, the people were lying and were proven to be responsible for the disappearance. Through extensive frame-by-frame study of their pleas, ten Brinke and Porter established solid guidelines to tell if their plea is genuine. Ten Brinke hopes the information they have developed will help law enforcement in future cases.
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Congratulations to Sharron Simpson BA’60, BSW’61 on the launch of her book, The Kelowna Story, a comprehensive history of the city, and a labour of love by the historian whose family roots have been entwined with Kelowna's for five generations.
The book begins in the days of the S-Ookanhkchinx, who enjoyed a largely peaceful existence along the shores of local lakes and rivers; and takes readers right up to game-changing recent developments like UBC’s Okanagan campus.
Sharron Simpson believes that history is best told through the extraordinary stories of ordinary people, and this book is filled with fascinating tales of the remarkable people who built our region. |
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UBC Stories at a Glance
The mentoring r - evolution
This weekend we welcomed over a dozen alumni back to campus to participate in the 5th annual Student Leadership Conference.
They attended a fabulous keynote speech by Ray Zahab, and shared their personal experience of life after graduation in our workshop: Real World 101. After, at a private lunch, we had the chance to get to know each other better and to talk about alumni engagement on the Okanagan campus.
First, big thanks to all the alumni who stepped up for this event and shared their time on a Sunday morning, Daylight Savings Time or not! Something these people share, aside from their university, is their desire to make a difference – in the lives of students and in their community. And, as they will tell you, mentoring is a fantastic way to do that. Students learn from the stories and experiences of graduates who are out in the world; alumni learn from other alumni who are dealing with – or have successfully faced - the same challenges they are.
We are fortunate that UBC attracts very special students who graduate into equally impressive alumni. Through volunteering, and mentoring in particular, we can take full advantage of the calibre of our school and everyone is able to keep UBC in their lives in a very important way.
We are always looking for alumni to lead the way for our students and in our community. Sign up today to be a mentor. Keep in mind that this is not all about career advice. It’s about navigating life, making choices and inspiring futures. We look forward to hearing from you.
Erica Triggs, BA '10
A guide to generating leads on LinkedIn
10 secrets of successful leaders
What hiring managers really look for
Career Connections
To find out more visit UBC's Okanagan Career and Life Planning website.
Also, check out a wealth of career resources offered through UBC Career Services in Vancouver.
Jobs
Brighten Optics Ltd. is seeking three recent (5 years) PhD graduates in Physics, Chemistry, Electrical Engineering or Engineering Physics, for hire through NSERC’s Industrial R&D Fellowship Program (IRDF). For more information regarding these positions, please contact may@brightenoptics.com.
Based in Vancouver, Brighten Optics Ltd. is pursuing R&D projects in the areas of laser science, detection systems and liquid crystal control devices. They provide advanced electro-optical design services and high-quality custom optical components to a wide range of industries in the North American and overseas markets. |
November 2011 |
What’s your passion, alumni?
Name: Josh Byron
Position: Project Manager, Moving Pixel Productions, Kelowna, BC
Degree: BA, International Relations, 2007
What's my passion?
I graduated from UBCO in 2007 with a dream to make a difference in the world through the United Nations, CIDA or a global NGO. Although I have had the opportunity to travel around the world and volunteer with organizations like the UN and Free the Children, I couldn't quite leave Kelowna. So, it is from here that I find my significance through volunteering on the core team of Global Citizen Kelowna.
Now in our 8th year, Global Citizen Kelowna Week is an annual initiative celebrating the role of Kelowna’s citizens in international humanitarian efforts. Through a series of activities, organized by local non-profit and humanitarian groups, Global Citizen Kelowna Week features events to entertain, educate, and inspire change. In 2012, GCK is excited to have the participation of many UBC students, some of whom are taking roles on the core team. Alumni and students are planning the Global Citizen Speaker Series as well.
Challenge: I believe we should let our significance in the lives of others define who we are. I challenge other UBC grads to find out what they can do to help make a difference either locally or globally. If you’re in Kelowna, there are many opportunities with Global Citizen Kelowna, including some executive volunteer posts that can help to build your resume.
If you have a passion that ties to UBC’s vision for positive change in the world, let us know.
UBC vs UBC
Canadian sport history was made on November 4 and 5 when the UBC’s Okanagan HEAT took on the UBC [Pt. Grey] Thunderbirds in varsity volleyball competition. The games marked the first time a university has played itself in Canada West and Canadian Interuniversity Sport competition. Playing two games each, HEAT men came away with a win and a loss; while Heat women were defeated this time around.
UBC again meets UBC January 27 and 28 when men's and women's basketball teams battle in War Memorial Gym at the Pt. Grey campus.
For more information about the HEAT, please contact Adam Goodwin at 250.807.8862.
November 24:
Father knows best? Integrating masculinities and health promotion
Learn how research findings on male behaviour are used to develop innovative, man-friendly approaches to promoting health and smoking cessation. This presentation is brought to you by the Institute for Healthy Living and Chronic Disease Prevention.
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Location: UBC’s Okanagan Campus, University Centre room 334.
This event is open to the public and is free to attend. For more information and access to webcast details, please contact Kate Woods at 250.807.8072.
UBC Events at a Glance
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