Kelowna

The competition was fierce, the presentations nearly flawless, and after two intense days at the SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) National challenge in Calgary, Okanagan College is bringing home seven national awards – more than any of the other 53 teams in attendance.

Okanagan College’s Green Team won first place in the country after presenting to a panel of industry experts on a variety of community-minded sustainable projects that included partnerships with the Kelowna and Vernon Chamber of Commerce and Glenmore Elementary. The efforts of Kelowna’s Sattu Dhaliwal, Kevin Slater and Braydon Ouellet and Vernon team members Graham Moir and Megan Annand solidified the reputation of the fledgling team from Okanagan College as one of Canada’s top performing business institutions.

Green Team captain Sattu Dhaliwal said the win is a direct reflection of the support Okanagan College business students receive from their school and their communities.

“What we were able to demonstrate at this competition is that we stand up for our communities,” explained Dhaliwal. “We take every opportunity to create change and put our social entrepreneurship education into action.

“Last year when we made it to the finals, the advisors from Ryerson didn’t even know who Okanagan College was. Just one year later we are national champions in the Green Challenge. What is really important about this win is the impact our volunteer work has had in our communities because an award is nice but knowing that our team helped make this community more sustainable is very powerful.”

Third-year Kelowna business student Matthew Cosar earned the David Henderson Bursary for Entrepreneurial Leadership in recognition of his strong team leadership.

Okanagan College faculty were also singled out with awards. Faculty Advisors Sheilagh Seaton (Penticton) and Garth Maguire (Vernon) earned the John Dobson Ace Fellow awards for 2010. Garth is a founding advisor to SIFE Okanagan and is credited with building the success of the Vernon campus’s SIFE team. In 2009-10 SIFE Okanagan expanded to the Penticton campus and was led by instructor Sheilagh Seaton.

At the final awards ceremony Okanagan College received an unexpected but highly coveted award for the Most Supportive Campus Administration.

“The support our team receives from Okanagan College is unlike any other institution,” explained Dr. Kyleen Myrah. “I am often asked how we are able to generate the kind of support we receive because other schools want to be in a similar position.”