Algonquin College Residence Recognized as Ottawa's Favourite Student Living Facility
On Saturday, January 27th, 2018, Algonquin College Residence was recognized by the Annual Faces of Ottawa Awards as the city’s Favourite Student Living Facility. The ceremony is considered one of the largest award events in Ottawa that highlights the best local professionals and businesses in the area, including community contributors and services providers.
Over 150 awards were given out, and they were voted on by the people, tallying over 1 million votes collectively. More than 600 people attended the ceremony, including 10 of our staff from Algonquin College Residence, who were on hand to receive their award in person.
Campus Living Centres has been proudly managing the Algonquin College Residence since 2000.
Mental Health Academica
This summer, Campus Living Centres hosted their first ever Symposium on Mental Health & the Student Experience. Hosted at the George Brown College Student Residence, in Toronto, Ontario, the event aimed to open dialogue around the struggles students face while pursuing post-secondary education. Vice President of Student Affairs & Organizational Development, Joe Danis says, “We are fortunate to work with so many great people doing amazing things at post-secondary institutions across the country, it only makes sense that we bring everyone together to network and learn from one another.”
For more information, Campus Living Centres collaborated with the Academica Group to discuss the importance of mental health in student success. To read the article, please click here.
Campus Living Centres’ Staff Recognized For Their Excellence in Residence Life
During the 2017 Ontario Association of College and University Housing Officers (OACHUO) Spring Conference in Ottawa, two individuals from Campus Living Centres were recognized for their excellence in Residence Life.
Brittanie Walker-Reid, Residence Life Manager at Algonquin College Residence was presented with the OACHUO Mentor of the Year Award. Awarded annually, this award goes to an individual who continually encourages the development and growth of another member in the association.
Andrea Pape, Residence Life Coordinator at Seneca College Residence won an Association of College and University Housing Officers – International (ACUHO-I) Scholarship. Through this scholarship, Andrea was given the opportunity to attend the ACHUO-I Annual Conference in Rhode Island in June. The Annual Conference is ACUHO-I's largest event, and brings together campus housing professionals from around the globe for four days of invigorating speakers, engaging educational sessions, and invaluable networking opportunities.
Committed to the engagement and support of students, Brittanie and Andrea are a part of our overall Residence Life team of over 400 staff. These awards illustrate their commitment to students and demonstrate the amazing work and progress of our Residence Life program.
Algonquin College Residence and Seneca College Residence are professionally managed by Campus Living Centres.
Algonquin College Residence Takes an Innovative Approach to Customer Service and Staff Engagement
Algonquin College Residence is taking an innovative approach to improving customer service, and engaging their staff in a training development opportunity. The Residence has offered an English as a Second Language (ESL) course for housekeeping employees who may not be fluent in English. Employees work with an ESL teacher once a week, for an hour.
The goal of Algonquin College Residence is to provide their entire team with the skills and tools they need to deliver a 5-star customer service experience during both the academic year and the summer accommodations season. In addition to enhancing the student/guest experience, this is also a great opportunity to provide staff with relevant language skills that they are able to use at work, and in their everyday lives.
Algonquin College Residence is professionally managed by Campus Living Centres.
Campus Living Centres is pleased to announce Dimple Savla as the new Associate Director, Residence Life & The Student Experience
Dimple comes from York University, where she gained a wealth of experience as a student, a student staff member, and most recently, as a Residence Life Coordinator. Throughout her time at York, Dimple made contributions to the Residence Life program through a variety of projects outside of day-to-day residence management. She was instrumental in the development of the Residence Curriculum, embracing Alf Lizzio's Senses of Student Success and the Association of College and University Housing Officers – International (ACUHO-I) Standards, to enhance the first-year student experience in residence. She co-authored two Case for Change Proposals on campus-wide First Year Experience, and Residence Living-Learning Communities, that provided a vision, framework, and recommendations to foster engagement, increase retention, and improve satisfaction for first-year students. In addition, Dimple oversaw the residence judicial board and contributed to the development of an enhanced Residence Orientation program. Last summer, Dimple was part of the Host Committee for the Ontario Association of College and University Housing Officers’ (OACUHO) Spring Conference hosted at York’s main campus for over 170 delegates from across the province. Dimple completed her Bachelor and Master of Education, with diplomas in Urban Education and Post-Secondary Education from York University.
Campus Living Centres Volunteers with the Daily Bread Food Bank
As a part of our community service engagement, developed from our corporate values of Lead, Serve, Engage, Campus Living Centres believes it is important to give back to the communities we serve through our student residence buildings. On Thursday, January 28th, a group of Campus Living Centres’ executives participated in our annual volunteering event at the Daily Bread Food Bank for an afternoon of community service, team-building, and fun.
Leading up to the annual volunteering event, Campus Living Centres also held an office food drive, and made a financial contribution to the Daily Bread Food Bank.
We would like to thank the Daily Bread Food Bank for everything they do in the community and for hosting our team. If you are interested in getting involved by volunteering with the Daily Bread Food Bank, or hosting a food drive, please visit their website: www.dailybread.ca.
Residence Runs Fire Prevention Events to Raise Awareness
During Fire Prevention week this year (October 4th-10th), the Seneca College Student Residence at the Newnham campus took a proactive approach to educate their residents about fire safety. The residence staff ran multiple events throughout the week to raise awareness about fire safety knowledge and prevention, on and off campus.
Through a partnership with the Seneca College School of Fire Protection, the residence organized an outdoor Live Burn of a mock dorm room. 400 residents witnessed first-hand how quickly a fire spreads, and the safety measures to take in the event of a fire. Seneca College resident Connor Johnston said, “Seeing a live burn up close and personal is so much more intense than any textbook or safety plan could teach us.” Other events included supplementary workshops educating residents on operating fire safety equipment properly, and Campus Living Centres’ fire safety, prevention, and evacution policies.
Campus Living Centres has managed the student residence buildings on the Seneca College Newnham and King campuses since 1998.
Campus Living Centres Commits to Raising $10,000 on Behalf of the Raising the Roof Toque Campaign
Campus Living Centres is excited to announce the launch of a company-wide philanthropic initiative for the 2015/2016 academic year. As an effort to further uphold our core values of LEAD - SERVE - ENGAGE, we are committed to giving back to the communities whom we serve. With this in mind, we have partnered with Raising the Roof, a Canada-wide charitable organization that works toward providing long-term solutions to homelessness across the country. Through Raising the Roof’s annual Toque Campaign, we have committed to raising $10,000 through the sale of toques at each of our properties.
The Toque Campaign has raised $7 million to date, supporting 184 Partner Agencies nation-wide. In 2015, 50% of funds raised directly benefited participating Partner Agencies, with the remaining proceeds supporting Raising the Roof's national homelessness initiatives.
For more information, please contact Greg Hum, Associate Director, Residence Life, at ghum@campuslivingcentres.com.
Algonquin College Residence Staff Recognized For “Making A Difference"
From left to right – Algonquin College (AC) Director of Student Services, Shelly Styles; AC Residence General Manager, Sophie Galvan; AC Residence Services Manager, Nicola From.
Algonquin College Student Support Services (SSS) regularly recognizes staff who exemplify the College Core Values through their work, their initiatives, and their efforts in making a difference. During the SSS staff retreat last month, Algonquin College Residence General Manager, Sophie Galvan, and Residence Services Manager, Nicola From, were recognized with awards for “Making A Difference” for their respective roles in supporting the Minto Fire Emergency Response.
When presenting Sophie and Nicola with the award, Algonquin College Director of Student Support Services, Shelley Styles, said, “The commitment of these two women to service Algonquin College as well as their students is unparalleled and they should be honoured for their commitment which continues to this day.” Sophie and Nicola worked tirelessly for a month, including weekends, to support the Minto Fire evacuees, all while student move-out and summer operations turnover were taking place. Sophie and Nicola both commented that the awards were a testament to the commitment of the residence team at Algonquin College, as everyone on staff played a role in assisting the displaced Minto residents.
Algonquin College Residence is professionally managed by Campus Living Centres.
Lead. Serve. Engage. – Campus Living Centres’ Innovative Approach to Staff Training and Development
As part of our commitment to staff development and engagement, Campus Living Centres (CLC) hosted its 2nd Annual CLC Conference at the Durham College/University of Ontario Institute of Technology campus from June 21st to June 24th, 2015. The Annual Conference is a great opportunity to reintroduce and reinforce the Campus Living Centres’ core values of Lead, Serve, Engage over several days of professional development workshops. This conference had an astounding 64 delegates attend.
This year, the conference accepted presentation proposals from staff, and session presenters had the opportunity to share their “best practices” from their property. Presentation topics touched on all disciplines within student housing, exposing delegates to new and relevant industry ideas and trends.
Leading up to the conference, Campus Living Centres also sent out a staff engagement survey to all employees. This anonymous survey was an opportunity for all staff to share their thoughts on whether CLC is championing Innovation in all facets of our business, including training, support, and professional development.
The final day of the conference highlighted our Staff Enrichment Day, which was attended by more than 80 staff. This year’s keynote began with a special moment, as Peter Brown, Senior Partner at Deloitte Canada, presented Campus Living Centres with its plaque for being named one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies. Through his keynote address, Peter shared the key traits and innovative strategies of Canada’s Best Managed Companies. Peter noted that bringing the staff together for a week of professional development was very much an innovative “best practice” unique to successful organizations.
Staff Comments
“The CLC Annual Conference is a great way to get the CLC team together to learn and grow as a company. Lead Serve Engage” – Jeff Shuts (Niagara - NOTL)
“The conference was a great opportunity for me to discover best practices at various properties. Meeting new people and reconnecting with others was also very important. I now have some great networks within CLC” – David Norwood (Conestoga)
“It was a great and humbling experience to be around wonderful, energetic, expressive individuals.” – Patty Alencar (Mohawk)
“If I could describe this year’s conference in one word it would be inspiring! I appreciate CLC for giving employees an opportunity to present to their peers, and empower conference delegates to integrate their ideas at our respective properties. A huge thank you to all of our conference speakers!” – Hayley McNamara (Seneca - Newnham)
Peter Brown, Senior Partner at Deloitte Canada, and Tatyana Sabitova, Business Development Manager & Coach at Deloitte Canada, presenting Canada’s Best Managed Companies Award to Campus Living Centres’ Vice Presidents, Brian Freeman and Michael Paul.
CLC Conference Delegate Group Photo
Kamika Wilson, Senior Manager Human Resources at Campus Living Centres, presenting “The Purple Cow – Developing Your Personal Brand”