For students, faculty, and staff at Bow Valley College, September is a busy and exciting month as we orient ourselves to new classrooms, develop healthy new habits, and are pulled in by the increased activity on campus.

The 2019/20 academic year is shaping up to be memorable. We just released our new academic plan under Open Doors – Open Minds, a College-wide strategy that` sets programs and initiatives to make all learning count. The intent of our plan is to make sure our students in career programs are ready to fill positions and start businesses in the changing economy in Calgary and Alberta. A lot of that work will be in the technology sector. We talk about just that in our story about the post-diploma certificates the College offers in technology.

The College has a long history of educating students to be valuable contributors to the economy. We’ve grown from one classroom that offered upgrading courses in the basement of SAIT, to our campus here downtown under the name AVC (Alberta Vocational College), to the three modern campuses we operate from today. Bryce Chase was a counsellor at AVC who helped students succeed in their studies. Read about Bryce’s amazing careers and his equally exciting retirement in one of our stories.

In this issue, we look at Bow Valley College’s Matched Savings program, where students get a great incentive to learn how to better save. They receive three times the amount of their savings over four months, during which time they attend workshops to learn how to manage their money. It’s a great program—and Bow Valley College is the only post-secondary school in Calgary to offer it. Read about it here.

And we look forward to Thanksgiving in our story Have a Sustainable Thanksgiving. The story was inspired by all of the good work our BVC Green team at Bow Valley College is doing. As we enjoy our Thanksgiving feast next month, let’s also celebrate all the goodness the Earth provides so long as we take care of it.

There’s lots more good reading in this issue of CHOICES. We compiled these stories for you to show you how your contributions are influencing the lives of our students and their families, while they are in school, and in their lives. Thank you. And enjoy.

Best wishes,

Tasneem Rahim

Director, Fund Development and Alumni Engagement

If you have any questions about our CHOICES giving program, or feedback about your CHOICES newsletter, please contact our Advancement Specialist Aldera (Ali) Chisholm at 403-410-1443 or achisholm@bowvalleycollege.ca