Seventy-five Assiniboine students to graduate from Parkland campus in Dauphin

Seventy-five students are set to formally graduate from Assiniboine Community College’s Parkland campus at a ceremony in Dauphin this afternoon.

Celina Houle, in photo, is graduating today with a Practical Nursing diploma from the Parkland campus of Assiniboine Community College.

“It’s hard, but it’s not as hard as you think it is. You can do it. It is possible,” said Celina Houle, the Parkland campus rep to the Assiniboine Community College Students’ Association, who will address the graduates.

Houle will graduate in Practical Nursing today, after receiving diplomas for Mature Student High School in 2016 and Comprehensive Health Care Aide in 2017.

“In the middle of that, I also had a baby,” she said. Her daughter Lilly just turned three and her son Gabriel will turn five this summer. Houle recently married Curtis Houle, who is also graduating today with his Mature Student High School diploma.

“It may seem like a big, daunting task. But if you have goals in life, if you want to buy a house, if you want to make money, before you know it, you’re at the end. You’re finally able to move on to the future and be successful,” she said.

Houle has already found employment in her field. She starts next week as a licensed practical nurse at the Dauphin Personal Care Home.

Gabe Mercier, director of the Parkland campus, thanked the students for committing themselves to Assiniboine as the best way to train for a career in their fields. “We join their friends and families in celebrating their achievements,” he said.

Mercier believes graduates should commit themselves to lifelong learning.

“Develop a passion for learning and you will succeed,” Mercier said. “I am talking about learning everything you can about what interests you, what makes you happy, what the world is all about and how to become the best you possibly can in this world.”

The 75 students are graduating from seven different certificate and diploma programs. These include Business Administration, Carpentry and Woodworking, Comprehensive Health Care Aide, Early Childhood Education, Early Childhood Program Management, Mature Student High School and Practical Nursing.

Twenty-five students will graduate with distinction from post-secondary programs and four students will graduate with honours from the Mature Student High School program.

In 2017, Assiniboine announced that its Practical Nursing program would be made permanent at the Parkland Campus, with intakes beginning every other September.

Student awards will be presented during the Student Achievement Celebration dinner later in the day.

The graduation ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. today at Credit Union Place in Dauphin.
 Next week, a graduation ceremony for Assiniboine students at the Victoria Avenue East and North Hill campuses will be held at the Keystone Centre in Brandon.