Entrepreneur Komal Minhas inspires Algonquin College students during Third Thursday event

Komal Minhas came to Algonquin College on Nov. 17 to speak to students on how to protect their well-being and build confidence as ambitious students as a part of The […]
Photo: Myriam Landreville
Magan Carty (left) interviews Komal Minhas (right) at the AC Hub for Third Thursday.

Komal Minhas came to Algonquin College on Nov. 17 to speak to students on how to protect their well-being and build confidence as ambitious students as a part of The Third Thursday series at the AC Hub.

Minhas, an executive coach and speaker who worked on the Dream Girl documentary, was interviewed by Algonquin College journalism student Magan Carty. Minhas spoke to the audience about resiliency, work ambition and future projects.

Minhas talked about being diagnosed at 26 years old with a rare form of skin cancer and having to go between Ottawa and New York for treatment.

“What I learned through that entire journey, through starting my business, through pivoting and meandering through my career is that our resiliency is our through line,” said Minhas. “It is a muscle we can build.”

Minhas said she found reconnecting with her community one of the best ways to find her resiliency.

“Reconnecting with the people that know us well, who have been with us through hard times, is a key way to be resilient,” she said.

To keep up with one’s community, Minhas explained it was important to find small ways to stay connected and to build those interactions in our daily schedule.

While answering questions from the audience, Minhas explained the importance of balance. Look at life like an athlete does, she suggested.

“Athletes have their pre-season, their in-season and their off-season,” she explained. “We have to think about that, as students, your semester is your in-season, this is when you are going hard and going all out.

“When holidays come this can be your off-season. This is when you really allow yourself to replenish,” Minhas continued. “At your pre-season those first few days before the semester starts, then is when you get yourself prepared for the semester ahead.”

As for future goals, Minhas said, “I really want to explore the opportunity of entering politics in the next five years.”

When asked what kind of politics she would enter, Minhas said she wasn’t ready to publicly say.

The Third Thursday series at the AC Hub features speakers who inspire students and create conversations.

The next Third Thursday is scheduled for Jan. 19 with Julia Slanina, an entrepreneur and CEO of Treehouse, an app designed to help organize family healthcare providers.

Wolves men’s volleyball team cap off dominant weekend

The Algonquin Wolves men’s volleyball team won its second consecutive game 3-0 when it defeated the George Brown Huskies on Nov. 12. The Wolves ended their two-game losing streak with […]
Photo: Kolbe Devaux
Jeff Commerford pushes the ball over the Huskies blockers in the tight third set.

The Algonquin Wolves men’s volleyball team won its second consecutive game 3-0 when it defeated the George Brown Huskies on Nov. 12.

The Wolves ended their two-game losing streak with a trashing of the Durham Lords on Friday. Their victory against the Huskies continued their undefeated streak at home.

Head coach Jelle Kooijman was pleased with his team’s performance.

“We feel really good,” he said. “I think this weekend we mentioned the words blueprint in the meeting. This is the blueprint of how we want to play the rest of the season so we’re very happy with the way that we played. We bounced back from last weekend which was not the greatest volleyball we’ve ever played.”

The Wolves started the first set strong, jumping out to a 12-3 lead. The Huskies pulled the score back to 14-10, but the Wolves scored 11 of the next 29 points to win the set 25-18.

The hosts then repeated their strong start before closing out the second set in even more dominant fashion, 25-13.

For second year player Warner Jaworski, who agreed with his coach’s thoughts, the Wolves’ serving was key.

“Last weekend I think our serving performance wasn’t really good,” he said. “This week through practice we tried to improve that and it showed. We missed a lot less serves and it really helped us just get the ball in play and work our defence and our block.”

The third set proved to be a much tighter affair. The Huskies opened a 4-8 lead, before the Wolves tied the score at 9-9. The two teams split the next 14 points equally, being tied at every score line from 9-9 to 16-16, before the Wolves pulled away slightly, 19-16. They managed to hold on to their slender lead, clinching the third set 25-21, sealing the straight sets victory.

“I think this weekend shows our team can be a very dominant team this year. Once our opponents see that we beat two teams this weekend 3-0, it sends a message that we’re going to be a force to be reckoned with,” said Jaworski.

Looking forward to their next match, Kooijman is excited to see how his team plays against a historically difficult opponent

“We’re going to Canadore and they’re going to be a tough opponent. But with the way we’re playing now, if we can recreate that, I’m confident that we’re going to be able to go on the road and get a result there,” he said.

The consecutive wins saw the Wolves’ record move to 5-2 on the season, positioning them in third place in the Ontario College Athletics Association’s East Division.

Wolves women’s volleyball team bounces back with five-set win

The Algonquin Wolves women’s volleyball team returned to winning ways with a 3-2 win against the George Brown Huskies on Nov. 12. The Wolves’ resilience was tested after they dropped […]
Photo: Kolbe Devaux
Kristina Renwick jumps to spike the ball against the George Brown Huskies.

The Algonquin Wolves women’s volleyball team returned to winning ways with a 3-2 win against the George Brown Huskies on Nov. 12.

The Wolves’ resilience was tested after they dropped the first set of the match and their fourth consecutive set, following their defeat to the Durham Lords on the previous day.

However, they would win the next two sets in a similar fashion. Both sets were close as the scores climbed into the teens but the home team made late runs to clinch them both 25-18.

“When you’re playing a team and you’re pretty evenly matched, you know it’s going to be point for point,” said head coach Everton Senior. “We knew it would come down to the end and we preach on making the right decisions. When we’re near the end of a set we don’t want to give away points. We want our opposition to earn their points.”

The Huskies started the fourth set strongly and kept the hosts at arm’s length, claiming the set 25-17 and setting up a deciding set.

For returning player Kristina Renwick, the do-or-die fifth set was not overly daunting because of the team’s previous experiences.

“We’ve had a lot of experience playing fifth sets,” she said. “I know last year we had three games in a row that we went to a fifth set, and came from behind and won so I do think that’s a strong suit of our team and we have an advantage because we’ve played so many.”

The team’s fifth-set experience paid off. With the score at 6-5 in favour of the Wolves, the hosts scored the next eight points. The Huskies scored another point to end their run but the Wolves found the final point to seal the fifth set 15-6 and take the victory.

“We knew going into the fifth set we’d have to get a really fast start and we came out and worked really hard for every point. I’m so proud of my team to just dig in after losing that fourth set and come back and kind of demolish them in the fifth. It was a lot of fun,” said Renwick.

“Yesterday’s result was disappointing but the match wasn’t really disappointing. That’s the number 12 team in Canada and we were right there point for point with them. We were actually happier with the way we played yesterday than we are today. I think we could have been better, but George Brown is a good team and we’re happy to get the win because we’re fighting with them for a position,” said Senior after the match.

The win meant the Wolves’ record moved back above .500 at 4-3 on the season, positioning them in fifth place in the Ontario College Athletics Association’s East Division.

November Horoscopes

Wolves men’s volleyball team takes control over Lords at home

The Algonquin Wolves men’s volleyball team took full control of the court against the Durham Lords in its first home game of the season, winning 3-0 on Nov. 11. “We […]
Photo: Alyx Ewing
Jacob Matheson blocking the ball during the first set.

The Algonquin Wolves men’s volleyball team took full control of the court against the Durham Lords in its first home game of the season, winning 3-0 on Nov. 11.

“We executed the gameplay, like, if you would have looked at what we wrote down beforehand, what you saw in the court today lined up and it worked,” said Jelle Kooijman, the head coach for the Wolves.

The first set ended with a close score of 25-20.

Just like their first game against the Durham Lords on Oct. 21, Jeff Commerford ended the night with 10 kills and two digs after a strong performance on the court.

“As a team, we passed and served a lot better than we have before. We relied on that and everyone stepped up,” said Pras Jey, the Wolves’ captain.

Jey also had a strong performance in the game that night, ending it with nine kills.

During the second set, the Wolves dominated on the court with a final score of 25-18.

“Finnie’s serving run at the end of the third set really brought us back in and it really helped us close that game up,” said Jey, referring to his teammate Connor Finnie, who ended the night with three kills.

During the final set of the night, the game became very heated with control bouncing between the Wolves and the Lords. Players on the bench shouted encouragement to teammates on the court.

With the Lords leading 13-10, the Wolves started taking control once again, but the scoring stayed close until the end of the game. Once the Wolves took the lead at 20-18, Liam Arnold-Paquette substituted with Erick Menjivar and joined his team on the court. Once Finnie took his turn to serve, he closed the gap with two successful serves.

The final serve for the Wolves went to Warner Jaworski, who ended the night with five kills and three digs. The Wolves took the final point of the night, ending the set 25-20.

“We played exactly how we wanted, we were always in control and we were always going to win this game,” says Kooijman.

The Wolves recognized Remembrance Day before the second set. The school’s mascot joined the team to roar like a wolf in honour those who fought for our country.

Algonquin College students predict World Cup contenders

The biggest sporting event in the world, the FIFA World Cup, is making its return after a long four-year wait. While soccer might not be the biggest sport in North […]
Photo: Elio Elia
"Messi is football history. Everyone wants Messi to win cause it's his last World Cup," said Ismail Abu Shaweesh.

The biggest sporting event in the world, the FIFA World Cup, is making its return after a long four-year wait.

While soccer might not be the biggest sport in North America, there is no doubt it is the biggest globally, with an astonishing 3.6 billion people tuning in for the final of the previous World Cup. There is a lot of anticipation ahead of the tournament, which will be held in Qatar starting on Nov. 20.

Soccer is a sport on the rise in Canada, helped by the fact that for the first time in 36 years, the men’s national team will be in the World Cup.

At Algonquin College, soccer fans and are looking forward to the tournament.

“Ever since I was a little kid, I always supported Brazil,” said Yazan Qaddumi, a 19-year-old student in the heating, refrigeration and air conditioning technician program. “I think they’ll make it to the semi-final, but I think either France or Germany will be the winners in the end.”

Fellow student Msaed Alzuwaid feels the same way.

“I think France will win it,” said Alzuwaid, who is in the building construction technician program, and is rooting for the tournament hosts. “I’m hoping Qatar do well, maybe make it past the group stages.”

The upcoming World Cup will be the final international tournament for Argentinean captain Lionel Messi, who is widely considered to be the best to ever play the sport. The World Cup is the only trophy that has eluded the attacker, and many hope he finally achieves it.

Fitness and health promotion student Ismail Abu Shaweesh is one of those fans, and he’s supporting Argentina solely for that fact.

“I have been a Barcelona fan since I was young, and that essentially meant being a Lionel Messi fan as well,” Abu Shaweesh, 20, said. “Messi is football history. Everyone wants Messi to win cause it’s his last World Cup.”

“I think they could win it, but just to be realistic, I want to say they’ll reach the semi-final,” Abu Shaweesh said.

Canada’s national team is the strongest it has ever been, with players like Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David being some of the best in their positions. In the next 10 days, Canada will play Bahrain and Japan in friendly games before the tournament begins.

“Canada have done really well to prepare for the World Cup, and I’m really hoping they do well at the tournament itself,” said Matthew Gharib, another student in the building construction technician program.

Canada won’t have it easy being placed in a group with previous finalists Croatia and previous semi-finalists Belgium, which is currently ranked second in the FIFA men’s team global rankings. They will be joined by another strong team, Morocco.

“Unfortunately, I don’t see (Canada) getting past the group stages,” said Gharib. “To be honest, after how long it’s been, if they manage to make third place in their group I’d say it was good enough.”

Gharib’s fellow students Abu Shaweesh, Alzuwaid, and Qaddumi all felt similarly about Canada’s chances, with Qaddumi even saying he “loves Canada” but “they should stick to hockey.”

‘Invert’ the way you think about climate change

Lewis Yam was looking for a way to reduce his carbon footprint so he could provide a better future for his children. While browsing LinkedIn, Yam came across an intriguing […]
A screenshot of the Invert app in action.

Lewis Yam was looking for a way to reduce his carbon footprint so he could provide a better future for his children. While browsing LinkedIn, Yam came across an intriguing new platform.

The people at Invert Inc. produced a convenient solution, a mobile application. The app has two main functions: it allows users to track their carbon footprint by asking them questions on a weekly basis to assess their carbon usage and track trends over time, and it allows users to invest in projects around the world that aim to reduce carbon in the atmosphere. These projects are well-sourced and researched allowing users to make informed choices to reduce their carbon footprint.

“I saw that Invert was releasing an app for carbon offsets and to kind of monitor, you know, your own kind of carbon levels,” said Yam.

Yam and his wife, like many Canadians, are worried about the future of their children.

“I think they will see the impacts (of global warming) a bit more than myself and you know being net zero, you know, or kind of living in a net zero opportunity was something that me and my wife are looking to accomplish some time in our life,” he said.

Many people find it difficult to deal with the immensity of climate change. Invert aims to simplify the process.

“They say three of the four people believe in climate change, that’s our first part. Secondly, they believe climate change has a tangible impact on their day-to-day life and they want to do something about it,” said Invert co-CEO Rade Kovacevic.

“But the problem is most of the messaging and news and marketing around the world is in crisis and you know, we are going to burn up as temperatures rise. And while that may be factually accurate, it does not lead to action. It tends to lead to people like, you know, a little clearly want to pull a blanket over their head and hide from the world because that is a scary idea and for us the key was having a meaningful positive impact in the world which in turn drives action.”

Invert CEO Rade Kovacevic
Invert CEO Rade Kovacevic

However, Kovacevic is no developer. His background is in business and the scaling of small companies into large enterprises. He had to enlist the help of developers such as Algonquin College alumni Manuel Duong.

Duong is a graduate of the mobile application design and development program. He credits his post-education success to his professors in the program who “bring and teach the very latest technologies.”

Kovacevic speaks very highly of the Algonquin graduates he employs and the skills they bring to the table.

“You see that graduates of Algonquin College tend to be very practical,” said Kovacevic. “I mean that in the most positive way, so like the ability to have their background in college and then come to the company and make a practical meaningful impact on how we drive the business forward.”

From the idea stage all the way through to the final design of the application, the team at Invert is here for one reason, to make a difference in the world.

“I want people to think that Invert was part of the reason carbon removal projects were financed when this was still a decent cottage industry and that we are now hitting our 2030 goals because of the scale of those carbon group removal projects,” said Kovacevic.

“We view our software as something that will drive employee engagement. And so, I want people to think of Invert as that company, that creative platform that lets the view of sustainability permeate corporate culture get everyone involved and drive culture in corporations to hit their goals truly. And then third is I want to be the platform people think about in terms of, ‘I remember when climate change was overwhelming. I did not know what to do. And that Invert platform was my first step into it’,”

By the numbers: How College ward sent Johnson and Sutcliffe to city hall in the municipal election

Laine Johnson won the seat on city council for College ward in the Oct. 24 municipal election, making her the first new face for the ward in 20 years. But […]
Photo: Nathan Drescher
College ward residents chose Laine Johnson to represent them at Ottawa City Hall. The municipal election happened on Oct. 24.

Laine Johnson won the seat on city council for College ward in the Oct. 24 municipal election, making her the first new face for the ward in 20 years.

But voter turnout was low, and the races for the council seat and mayor were tight.

The Algonquin Times crunched the data from the official results, and here is what we found.

Voter turnout

Unsurprisingly for municipal elections, voter turnout for College ward was only 46 per cent. There were 36,958 registered voters in the ward, but only 16,906 people actually cast a ballot.

There is a silver lining. College ward had a higher voter turnout than the city average, where overall only 44 per cent of voters participated in the elections.

Some of the polling stations around this ward received extremely low turnout. For example, the Minto Sportsplex only had one voter show up. Of the 271 registered voters for the polls at West End Villa, only 23 people turned out.

City council

It was a hard-fought race and Johnson overcame her closest contender, Pat McGarry.

Johnson took 8,899 of the votes cast, while 5,652 people voted for McGarry. Wendy Davidson finished a distant third with 1,338 votes.

McGarry did well at a few polls, beating Johnson at Meadowlands Public School and Michelle Heights Sports Centre. Otherwise, Johnson led at every single polling station.

Granda Kopytko managed to garner 649 votes, while Vilteau Delvas brought up the rear of the pack with 368 votes.

Mayor

Mark Sutcliffe won the race for mayor city-wide with a clear majority, and he also took the most votes in College ward. He took 7,620 votes compared to Catherine McKenney’s 5,562 votes.

Sutcliffe’s vote share city-wide was just over 51 per cent, and College ward was not too different, where Sutcliffe won 52 per cent of the vote. McKenney took 38 per cent of the vote both city wide and across College ward.

Some of the polls were extremely tight. Sutcliffe beat McKenney by only one vote at Agincourt Road Public School, while McKenney beat Sutcliffe by only five votes at Westcliffe Park Community Building.

There were 2,206 fewer votes for mayor than for city councillor in College ward. Only eight of those were rejected ballots, which can happen when a ballot is improperly filled out or spoiled intentionally. Elections Ottawa said this is common when people only check off their vote for councillor without filling out the other selections on the card.

Bob Chiarelli was in third place with 858 of the votes cast in the ward, or just under six per cent.

Postcards for Peace gets students thinking about Remembrance Day

Enthusiastic to give back to those who gave the most, students bring excitement, energy and effort to their writing in honour of Remembrance Day. Two days before Remembrance Day, Algonquin […]
Photo: Sophia Adams
Celia Munoz Arias expresses thanks to Canadian soldiers on her postcard.

Enthusiastic to give back to those who gave the most, students bring excitement, energy and effort to their writing in honour of Remembrance Day.

Two days before Remembrance Day, Algonquin students, all with warm demeanours, visited the AC Hub to write heartfelt postcards to veterans in Canada.

It was an important gesture for many of the participants who have veterans in their family.

Dustin Villeneuve, a police foundations student, came with a group of friends who each wrote a postcard.

I came to pay my respects and to write a heartfelt letter for someone to enjoy. I have many veteran family members which I respect greatly,” Villeneuve said.

Leah Grimes and Elizabeth Holmes from the college’s Volunteer Centre greeted students as they arrived for the Postcards for Peace event.

The event, which was designed to share messages of thanks to Canadian war veterans who are living in long-term care facilities across the country, had participants eager to join.

Sitting side by side, Celia Munoz Arias, Huxly Tindaan and Alexandre Tremblay joined Villeneuve to pay their respects.

Dustin Villieneuve (left) and Alexandre Tremblay (right) working away on their postcards.
Dustin Villieneuve (left) and Alexandre Tremblay (right) working on their postcards. Photo credit: Sophia Adams

Villeneuve and friends contributed to the 100 postcards to veterans written over the course of the day.

Arias said, “I am very thankful for our Canadian soldiers, and I wanted to show respect to them.”

The AC Hub was crowded with good people doing good things, and it showed. It was an environment that radiated with love.

It is important for veterans to know that their courage and bravery is valued and appreciated, especially by young people who may have not been as directly affected by the war as previous generations,” said Holmes.

Most of Canada’s Second World War veterans have passed away. Veterans living today are often from the Korean War and Canada’s many peacekeeping missions in the latter half of the 20th century.

The Volunteer Centre was able to find the address of veterans living in long-term care facilities in Canada through the federal government’s Veterans Affairs office.

Julian Dubois, also a police foundations student, took comfort at a table alongside Holmes and Grimes and got set up with supplies.

Julian Dubois spending his time giving back in a meaningful way.
Julian Dubois spends his time giving back in a meaningful way. Photo credit: Sophia Adams

Working steadily away, Dubois said, “I wanted to help out in any way I can with my spare time and that is why I am here today.”

Expressing excitement and gratitude toward everyone who participated, Holmes said, We hope that these messages spread joy and make these veterans feel connected to young Canadians.”

Algonquin College students struggle with soaring inflation

When Maddi Lacari thinks of her life now, inflation touches every aspect. “During my lunch break at work, instead of getting a sub from Subway, I will get a bagel […]
Photo: Sophia Adams
Wahwedullah Qane, a diagnostic cardiac sonography student, paying for his meal at the Marketplace Food Court at Algonquin College.

When Maddi Lacari thinks of her life now, inflation touches every aspect.

“During my lunch break at work, instead of getting a sub from Subway, I will get a bagel from Tim Hortons as it is only $2. It is definitely not as filling as a sub and causes me to be hungrier, but it is cheap and that is what I need,” Lacari said.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures prices for products and services Canadians buy, rose 6.9 per cent in September, according to Statistics Canada. Although some prices for things some students buy, like gas, fell somewhat, prices for food, rose even quicker, at 11.4 per cent in September.

As a result, some students are feeling even more pressure from inflation than they are from their schooling.

Maddi Lacari, a child and youth care student whose life has transformed in a negative way due to inflation.
Maddi Lacari, a child and youth care student whose life has transformed in a negative way due to inflation. Photo credit: Sophia Adams

While students have adapted to the pressures of schooling, meeting each deadline and mastering the right schooltolife balance, Lacari, a child and youth care student at Algonquin College, said she has lost the freedom to spend money freely. She is even skipping meals.

“I now constantly think that I do not need to eat because it costs too much money,” Lacari adds.

Inflation does not just affect food. It hits other student necessities like transportation and housing, forcing students to make tough decisions.

To better understand the effects of inflation among the students at Algonquin College, the Algonquin Times surveyed 45 students in the E-building in the early afternoon of Nov. 4.


Seventy-five per cent of the students the Times talked to said they now resort to borrowing money from family members and the same proportion said keeping within their budget has become harder.

Unable to pay her car expenses or buy clothes without worrying, Lacari worries about what resources she will have to rely on in the future if prices continue to rise.

Students living at home with their parents told the Times that while they do notice inflation, they are sheltered from its greatest impact.

According to Friday’s survey, 25 per cent of students are working full-time while they are in school and 20 per cent work just under that but are still finding prices far more demanding than they can manage.

Fifteen per cent said they are using deferred payment plans for their tuition to kick expenses down the road. Five per cent said they had resorted to using a food bank just to get by.

Saddened with the Canadian government’s response to inflation — or the lack of response — Lacari wishes that the government offered more help to those in need.

Evelyn Glube, a student success specialist at Algonquin College, said she sees the impact inflation is having on students through her work each week at the college.

Keeping in tune with the emotions and talk among the students, Glube has noticed an increase in the number using the word overwhelmed when describing how they are feeling.

For students like Hallom Hamid, who already has every paycheque stretched to the last dime, inflation could not have a more negative impact.

“It felt like I blinked and prices were up. I had no time to adjust and feel like I am playing catch up to the prices all the time,” Hamid said.

Working 35 hours a week, Hamid, a full-time early childhood education student, works as many hours at her job as she is in school.


Hamid lives at home, in a family of six that is feeling the inflation of food prices badly and reserves $200 from each of her paycheques to contribute to her household’s grocery bill.

Hamid explained she is happy to contribute to her family, but she worries about the quality of food she is getting rather than the quantity.

“I started consuming more fast food and less fruit, which caused my eating patterns to change for the worse,” Hamid said.

Hamid started using reward-points systems to stretch the value of her budget. Gaining points for the money she spends, Hamid is hopeful the accumulation will assist in the purchase of more nutritious foods.

Algonquin College is prepared to help students through internal bursaries and external scholarship opportunities and Glube said students are encouraged to apply to ease their financial situations. Glube said despite her office’s best efforts, she still encounters students who are unaware of the options available to them.

For those who are facing difficulties and who would benefit from support, Glube advises students to communicate with employers and instructors about the hardships they are facing.

Your instructors have expectations and standards that they need to uphold, but they’re also human — they hear your concerns and will do what they can do to accommodate and support you,” Glube said.

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