Inspirational alumni

  • A person wearing a scubasuit sits on a white boat that's driving across a blue ocean.

    People of Georgian: Alumnus finds confidence by trying new things

    Meet Arjun Batra, alumnus of Georgian’s Mechanical Engineering Technology – Automotive Manufacturing program.

  • Two people attached to each other skydive in tandem, while one of them covers their eyes with a hand.

    People of Georgian: Friend’s death sparks woman’s life-changing travel

    Meet Joanne Foxton, Manager of #ChangeTheNow and Georgian alumna.

  • A person with long, brown hair and pink dress shirt smiles while standing outside against a wall of windows.

    People of Georgian: International alumna’s key to success staying open to opportunities

    Meet Prerna Sharma, an alumna of Georgian’s Big Data Analytics program.

  • Two people stand together. One is dressed in a ribbon skirt, jean jacket and black, beaded hat, and the other is wearing a buckskin dress.

    People of Georgian: Indigenous program reconnects consultant with heritage

    Meet Sharon Rigby, a two-time Georgian alumna, current student, and an Indigenous Employment Services Consultant.

  • Two people stand together outside on a deck overlooking a body of water and a skyline in the distance.

    People of Georgian: Administrator driven by helping international students

    Meet Sid Taneja, ServiceNow Administrator, Innovation and Digital Experience, and Georgian alumnus.

  • Collage of five photos of people.

    People of Georgian: Top 5 stories of 2022

    Looking back on 2022, we have collected the most-viewed People of Georgian stories featuring Georgian employees, students and alumni.

  • A person with short hair, sunglasses and a white, collared shirt, and a person with short, blonde hair, glasses and a floral top smile in a selfie.

    People of Georgian: Analyst has ‘life-changing experience’ as running coach

    Meet Tony Podziemski, a Georgian alumnus, former varsity running coach, and college employee for 35 years.

  • A person wearing a red-and-black para ice hockey uniform and black helmet, skates across the ice and handles a puck with their stick.

    People of Georgian: Paralympian shares ‘unreal’ experiences he nearly missed

    Meet Brad Bowden, two-time Georgian alumnus, medal-winning Paralympic athlete, and recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award.

  • A square of four images put together, showing the same two people in different images.

    Mother and daughter nursing students head back to school together

    Meet Tonya Kennedy and her daughter, Jess Cos, who are both studying to be nurses at Georgian College.

  • A person with brown hair pulled back, bangs, glasses, brown striped sweater and blue jeans, looks at the camera and stands in front of a wall of 10 colourful paintings.

    People of Georgian: Student uses painting to share autism journey

    Meet Emily Slaght, a student graduating from Georgian’s Fine Arts program this June.

  • A person with short, curly red hair, blue T-shirt with a colourful design on it, and jeans, smiles and holds up two pieces of colourful art in clear wrapping.

    People of Georgian: Artist dreams up future as entrepreneur

    Meet Monica Levac, artist and alumna of Georgian’s Hospitality – Hotel and Resort Operations Management program.

  • One person with black hair, red sweatshirt and black pants, kneels in front of another person with curly, red hair, yellow shirt and pants, in front of a blue backdrop.

    People of Georgian: Alumnus celebrates the weirdness of life

    Meet Dan Hendley, alumnus from Georgian’s Visual Photography and Imaging program.

  • A person with long brown hair and bangs, wearing a black T-shirt, smiles at the camera.

    People of Georgian: ‘Bubbles’ makes full-circle college journey

    Meet Lisa Lavigne, Georgian alumna and Academic Program Assistant at the college’s Owen Sound Campus.

  • Lindsay Rice, in her racing gear, sponsored by AUdi Canada.

    Lindsay Rice: Racing into the future

    There is a group of girls who come out to a lot of my races around Ontario and they’ll come to visit me when the races are done. There may be 15 drivers around me and every one of them is male, but I’m showing these girls that I’m still out here doing this, and so can they.

  • Guy-Olivier Potvin in a suit, standing on a staircase (image is in black and white)

    Grad’s automotive ecommerce gains traction

    It’s National Entrepreneur’s Day! To mark the occasion, read about Guy-Olivier Potvin, an ambitious young entrepreneur and graduate of the Automotive Business School of Canada.

  • A person with long brown hair and beard, circular sunglasses, shirtless, and orange jacket, grimaces while holding up three fingers on one hand.

    People of Georgian: Student by day, wrestler by night

    Meet Corbin Crawford-Joslin, alumnus from Georgian’s Advertising and Marketing Communications program.

  • A person with short, brown hair and wearing blank pants and a navy T-shirt and face mask stands next to a cat mascot wearing a blue cap with the letter "B" on it, in front of a food truck that says Foodiez Barrie.

    People of Georgian: Aviation student launches food truck after co-op in Nunavut

    Meet Sachin Sharma, alumnus from Georgian’s Aviation Management program and owner/operator of Foodiez food truck in Barrie.

  • A person with brown hair and dressed in a paramedic uniform sits in the back of an ambulance with two children on their lap, all of them smiling at the camera.

    People of Georgian: One comment changed the course of Paramedic student’s life

    Dustyn Paton, an alumnus and current student in Georgian’s Advanced Care Paramedic program.

  • Two photos superimposed together, showing the same athlete wearing a white swim cap and black goggles swimming across a pool, on the left, and in a wheelchair with brown hair in a ponytail, wearing a red jersey and black shorts and holding a basketball and looking up, on the right.

    People of Georgian: Paralympian finds ‘pure happiness’ in sports despite setbacks

    Meet Darda Sales, Georgian alumna, and Paralympian gold and silver medalist and World Champion swimmer and wheelchair basketball player.

  • A person wearing a purple Hawaiian shirt smiles at the camera in a selfie while standing outside.

    People of Georgian: Family’s key to ‘the good life’ for events coordinator

    Meet Beedahsiga Elliott, Events Coordinator with Georgian’s Indigenous Services and a three-time Georgian alumnus.

  • Two people stand and one crouches and holds a golf club on a golf course next to a hole and golf ball.

    Golfing this weekend? Georgian alumnus launches golf safety device during pandemic

    Meet James Skrypec, a Georgian alumnus, who helped launch Pin Caddy, a device aimed at helping make golfing safer.

  • Nurse and Georgian grad Sebastian Collins, in full PPE

    Nurse focuses on empathetic healthcare during COVID-19

    This article was originally published in the spring 2021 edition of GeorgianView, the college’s alumni magazine.

  • Anne Moller on ski-doo, petting a dog, on a snow lake in Northern Canada. Two children are in a sled behind the snowmobile.

    Retired nurse reflects on decades of service

    Although the first eight years of her career were spent at urban hospitals in Edmonton and Barrie (with a year at a nursing home in Barrie) she spent the next 10 years as an outpost nurse working in Canada’s far north.

  • Sarah hugs her mother Shelley on convocation day

    Daughter begins nursing career as mother fights for her life in ICU

    “It makes me kind of emotional thinking about it because Mother’s Day was the last time I saw my mom before she went into the hospital. This has definitely made us closer."

  • Person smiles at the camera.

    People of Georgian: Watching police movies with dad inspires alumnus’ career path

    Meet Const. Wazeer Rahiman, a Georgian alumnus and police officer with the South Simcoe Police Service.

  • A headshot of a person looking at the camera.

    People of Georgian: Instructor finds support – and second career – as mature student

    Meet Marco D’Intino, Georgian alumnus and part-time Academic Technologist at the college’s Owen Sound Campus.

  • A person smiles at the camera in a selfie.

    People of Georgian: Indigenous Studies co-ordinator connects with students through virtual reality

    Meet Michele O’Brien, Georgian College alumna and Co-op Experience Consultant with the college’s Indigenous Studies programs.

  • A person sits at a table and smiles at the camera.

    People of Georgian: Alumna inspired to rewrite her life story at college

    Meet Alasoba (Lala) Kelsy-Braide, alumna of Georgian’s Child and Youth Care program.

  • A person smiles at the camera.

    People of Georgian: Alumna’s hunger for higher education propels her from ‘humble beginnings’

    Meet Roxann Whittingham, Georgian alumna. She recently created a scholarship for Black students studying at Georgian.

  • A person stands outside with a building and mountain in the background.

    People of Georgian: International coordinator finds ‘true personality’ at college

    Meet Kenta Shirakura, alumnus of one of Georgian’s Hospitality programs, and the International Housing Coordinator with Georgian’s Segal International Centre.

  • A person smiles at the camera.

    People of Georgian: Nursing student rises from foster care to college with ‘amazing’ faculty support

    Meet Frankie Von Dahlen-Klaus, a Practical Nursing student and PSW alumna at Georgian, who’s a model for the college’s MORE campaign.

  • A puppet sits on the branches of a Christmas tree.

    People of Georgian: Dopey the real star of student recruiter’s Christmas tree

    Meet Kailey Hawkins, Georgian alumna and Student Recruitment Specialist at Georgian College.

  • Person standing outside wearing a bicycle helmet smiles at the camera.

    People of Georgian: Support officer an ‘outdoors fanatic’

    Jay Harris, Student Systems Support Officer at Georgian College and alumnus, is a huge fan of anything that gets him active outdoors.

  • Person smiles at the camera while holding up a clapperboard.

    People of Georgian: Award-winning Peruvian filmmaker finds inspiration in diversity

    Meet Paul Arredondo Rodriguez, a Georgian College alumnus, Support Clerk and filmmaker, whose short film won two awards at the Barrie Film Festival this fall.

  • Person smiles at the camera and leans against a podium inside a building, with a small airplane hanging from the ceiling behind them.

    People of Georgian: Alumna ‘brave enough to suck at something new’

    Meet Anna Julia Sirghiuta, alumni of Georgian’s Aviation Management program and founder of Georgian Skies. She now works in corporate airport operations at Billy Bishop Airport in Toronto.

  • Person smiles at the camera while holding an award.

    People of Georgian: Indigenous-Canadian actor champions cultural empowerment

    Meet Nadia George, Georgian alumna, award-winning Mi’kmaq-Canadian actor, public speaker, and Indigenous rights and youth advocate.

  • A group of people smile at the camera and give a thumbs up.

    People of Georgian: Philanthropist says family treated college as ‘part of the family’

    Meet Jane Brown Jackson, Georgian alumna, philanthropist, and longtime friend of Georgian.

  • Person stares with wide eyes and open mouth at a monster sculpture they're holding in their hands.

    People of Georgian: Graphic designer creates movie monster magic

    Meet Adam Dagenais, Community Animator for Georgian’s Centre for Changemaking and Social Innovation, and a Georgian alumnus from the Art and Design Fundamentals program.

  • Person smiles at the camera.

    People of Georgian: Early ‘turmoil’ inspires alumna’s child-rights advocacy

    Meet Jane Kovarikova, Georgian alumna and founder of Child Welfare Political Action Committee of Canada.

  • Person smiles at the camera and holds up two medals.

    People of Georgian: Massage Therapy alumna pays it forward with inspiring advice

    Meet Lindsay Geiger, graduate of Georgian’s Massage Therapy program and owner of Kneading Balance Services.

  • Person smiles at the camera while crouching down and holding a stick above her head.

    People of Georgian: Army coach finds second family through fitness

    Meet Chelsey Tuck, Georgian alumna, Fitness and Health Promotion program, and fitness and sports instructor at Canadian Forces Base Borden.