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Laurentian alumna and Master’s of Social Work student enjoys studying and working in Northern Ontario

Laurentian alumna and Master’s of Social Work student enjoys studying and working in Northern Ontario

Chloé Génier is passionate about youth, mental health, and education

(March 16, 2023) - Chloé Génier, a Master’s of Social Work (MSW) student, was born and raised in the small town of Cochrane, Ontario, located about four-hundred kilometers north from the city of Greater Sudbury. She graduated from École Catholique Nouveau Regard (2016) before attending Cambrian College where she earned her diploma in Community and Justice Services (2018). She went on to continue her undergraduate studies at Laurentian University, and is an alumna of the service social program (2022). 

“I’ve had a unique experience in post-secondary education,” explained Génier who earned about a year’s worth of transfer credits toward her Bachelor’s degree, thanks to her efforts at Cambrian College. “My undergraduate degree at LU was also completed fully online, which kept me on my toes as online programming requires students to make their own schedules but nevertheless work toward tight deadlines.”

For Génier, maintaining a positive mindset throughout her post-secondary journey has been a top priority. When she graduated high school, she admitted that she wasn’t initially sure if university was the route she’d want to take, however, upon earning her college diploma, she felt compelled to earn a degree. “I knew Laurentian was where I wanted to go, and even if I was a little nervous, an important mentor and a close family member once told me that we need to learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. This mindset has helped me get to where I am today and to continue challenging myself and stepping outside of my comfort zone.” 

While the fact that Laurentian offered a degree for which Génier could earn transfer credits was enticing to her, that the program she sought to study was available in French was of equal value. A proud francophone, Génier enthused, “when I graduated from service social, I earned my certificate of bilingualism, which was pretty cool.” This certificate is a recognized acknowledgment of bilingual (English & French) competency that is sought after by the province’s employers.

Even though her undergraduate courses were accomplished online, Génier stressed that she has met some incredible friends at Laurentian. “I’ve been so lucky to have made such strong connections with my peers. My friends and family are so important to me - they have motivated me to reach my full potential.” Génier explains that supportive faculty members have also assisted her efforts, as have her experiences in placements better prepared her for career opportunities. 

As she works toward her Master’s degree, Génier keeps busy as a Probation and Parole Officer at the Cochrane Probation and Parole Office. “I’m also a registered social worker. Though I support all sorts of clients, I am especially interested in and passionate about mental health amongst youth and children.” Soon, Génier will select a topic of inquiry for her graduate thesis. “I’m not yet sure what my focus will be, but my interests in youth, mental health, and education are good stepping stones.” 

Once she completes her MSW, Génier, who lives with her partner in Cochrane, hopes to stay in the region. She has a special place in her heart for Northern Ontario and for contributing to her community. “I’m certainly open to opportunities, and am excited for what my future holds.”

Raising awareness on the importance of consent

Raising awareness on the importance of consent

Consent video launch part of ongoing commitment to student safety.

(September 20, 2022) - As part of our ongoing commitment to student safety, Laurentian University is proud to partner with Cambrian College, Collège Boréal, the Greater Sudbury Police Service and Sudbury & Area Victim Services to raise awareness on the importance of consent. 

Any form of sexual activity without consent is sexual assault. Consent is legally required and necessary. We are proud to launch our collaboration video that discusses the importance of obtaining consent, the law around consent, and some support options available to individuals affected by sexual violence.

Members of the media are invited to attend the launch of the video that was made possible by the Government of Ontario through the Proceeds of Crime Front-line Policing Grant. The video launch will take place at 11:30 a.m. on September 22, 2022 in the Laurentian University Student Centre.  

Sexual assault is extremely underreported and we are working hard to change that by committing to innovative and collaborative efforts focused on awareness and education. 

Laurentian University community members who have been affected by sexual violence can seek confidential assistance from the Equity, Diversity and Humans Rights Office for options, supports and resources. 

If you have experienced a sexual assault, you also have various options for reporting the incident(s) to Police* if and when you are ready to do so. In the case of an emergency, if you are in danger or need medical assistance, if the incident just took place, or the person responsible is nearby, please call 9-1-1 immediately. If you are reporting a sexual assault after the fact and you do not believe that you require immediate assistance, you can call Police at 705-675-9171 or you can report it online through the online reporting option on the GSPS website (www.gsps.ca). Under the “Reporting” heading you will find a page dedicated to sexual assault reporting with additional information including a “Sexual Assault Survivors Guide”. 

We recognize that this is a very difficult time for Survivors and we want to provide you with the assistance, resources and support that you require.

*It is always an individual's choice whether or not to report the incident to the Police. 

Cambrian College, College Boreal and Laurentian University Launch Red Dress Campaign

Cambrian College, College Boreal and Laurentian University Launch Red Dress Campaign

(Sudbury, May 5, 2022) Today is National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

It is also known as Red Dress Day.  Since 2011, people have been hanging red dresses in public places to remember missing and murdered Indigenous females in Canada, who are estimated to number in the thousands.

To honour the occasion, Cambrian College, College Boreal, and Laurentian University are launching a red dress campaign.

All three institutions will be accepting donations of red dresses on their individual campuses.

“The hanging of the red dresses reminds us to pause, reflect, grieve and commit to working together to end the ongoing violence toward Indigenous women and girls and 2SLLGBTQQIA to ensure a safer world for all,” says Dr. Susan Manitowabi, Laurentian’s Interim Associate Vice-President in the Office of Academic and Indigenous Programs.

The red dress was chosen for a variety of reasons. According to Indigenous culture, red is the only colour spirits can see, and is a way of calling the spirits of missing and murdered women and girls back to their loved ones. The colour red also symbolizes many things, such as blood, anger, love and the strength of women. It is also eye-catching and hard to ignore.

“As an Indigenous person, I believe this initiative is very important for everyone,” says Richard Meilleur, an elder at College Boreal. “In order to heal, this type of injustice has to stop and more awareness efforts need to be made so we can move forward and hopefully prevent more trauma. J’encourage tous les gens de participer, de s’informer, d’en apprendre, et de faire ce qu’on peut pour aider les survivants et les familles affectées.”

All the red dresses donated will be used to create pathways on each campus, to draw attention to murdered and missing indigenous women and girls in Canada. This event is being held Tuesday, February 14, 2023, during the academic year, to encourage student and employee participation. 

“This important collaboration between all three campuses will bring awareness to the memory of those gone missing and the importance of reducing and eliminating violence against women,” adds Ron Sarazin, Director of the Wabnode Centre for Indigenous Services at Cambrian College. “We must learn from our past and move forward to create a positive safe future for our community.”

Donations of red dresses can be made at the following locations on campus:

Laurentian and Cambrian collaborate to boost research and innovation in Northern Ontario

Laurentian and Cambrian collaborate to boost research and innovation in Northern Ontario

Laurentian University  and Cambrian College have formalized an agreement that facilitates the creation of collaborative partnerships and enables faculty, students, and staff at both institutions to pursue large-scale research projects –sharing professional expertise, facilities, equipment, and administrative services in order to boost innovation, productivity, and results.

The aim is to harness the resources and expertise of the two institutions, in order to:

  • Enhance the educational experience for student researchers;
  • Attract and develop top quality professionals;
  • Increase fundamental and applied research capacity and income;
  • Strengthen Sudbury’s culture of innovation through post-secondary collaboration.

 

The memorandum of understanding provides guidelines for new research partnerships to be developed.

At a media conference on March 8, 2017, Laurentian University President Dominic Giroux; Vice President of Research Dr. Rui Wang; Cambrian College President Bill Best; and Vice President International, Applied Research and Business Development, Sonia Del Missier, along with guests and members of the media, got a look at one initiative already underway under the auspices of the memorandum of understanding.

The collaborative project is led by Dr. Dean Millar, professor of Energy in Mining at Laurentian’s Bharti School of Engineering, and Energy Director of Laurentian’s MIRARCO.  Dr. Millar is investigating how a unique hydraulic air compressor (HAC) system may be developed to clean and cool the air in ultra-deep mining environments, where air temperatures may reach upwards of 40 degrees Celsius. Laurentian researchers are collaborating with Cambrian College faculty and students to conduct trials on the “BabyHAC”, a pilot scale unit installed at Cambrian’s Glencore Centre for Innovation.  In the meantime construction of the much larger Dynamic Earth HAC is underway. Faculty and students in Cambrian’s metalworking shops are fabricating a key part of the Dynamic Earth HAC: a 21st-century version of an air-water mixing head last used in the Peterborough Lift Lock HAC in 1967 which was designed by Graduate Students working within Laurentian’s MIRARCO.

This Laurentian-Cambrian collaboration is one part of a long-term, large-scale research project with multiple partners, including industry and government, funded by the Ultra Deep Mine Network, the Independent Electricity System Operator, the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation and Electrale Innovation Ltd.

 

About Cambrian College

Cambrian College is the largest college in northern Ontario, offering more than 80 full-time programs across diverse fields of study. The College provides hands-on learning opportunities, flexible study options, and hundreds of agreements that enable graduates to build their credentials at the university level, or across disciplines. Through accredited programs, strong industry connections, and comprehensive support services, students are well-prepared for dynamic careers. Employers who hire college graduates have ranked Cambrian’s grads as the best in Ontario, and 85 percent of Cambrian grads find work within their field within six months. To learn more about everything Cambrian has to offer, visit cambriancollege.ca.

Applied Research at Cambrian College

Cambrian College is a hub of applied research activity in northern Ontario, employing 48 student researchers in 2014-15. The College is ranked third in Canada among mid-sized colleges for the number of students employed in research activity, and sixth overall. It is the only college in Northern Ontario to be among Canada’s Top 50 Research Colleges, as determined by Research Infosource. Cambrian’s research activities are concentrated within its applied research arm, Cambrian Innovates.

 

About Laurentian University

Laurentian University offers an outstanding university experience in English and French, with a comprehensive approach to Indigenous education.  Laurentian University, situated on the traditional territory of the Anishinabe peoples of Atikameksheng First Nation, prepares students as agents of change and empowers them to create innovative responses to local and global challenges. Laurentian’s students benefit from small class sizes and exceptional post-graduation employment rates.  With nine Canada Research Chairs and nineteen research centres, Laurentian is a recognized leader in its specialized areas of research strength, which include mining innovation and exploration, stressed watershed systems, particle astrophysics and rural and northern children’s health. Laurentian University has secured over $100 million in research income in the past five years. 

New office will support young entrepreneurs on Sudbury campuses

New office will support young entrepreneurs on Sudbury campuses

Laurentian University partners with Cambrian College, Collège Boréal, NORCAT Innovation Mill in new program

December 22, 2014 – A full-time Entrepreneurship Coordinator hired at Laurentian University will work to develop a strong and vibrant entrepreneurial culture for post-secondary students and recent graduates in the Greater Sudbury region. 

The position has been created through an On Campus Entrepreneurship Activities grant awarded to Laurentian University in collaboration with Cambrian College and Collège Boréal, and in partnership with NORCAT. The new Entrepreneurship Coordinator, Matthieu Dasys, will build and implement a program to foster a strong entrepreneurial culture across all four institutions, creating experiential learning opportunities for students and recent grads, and helping them to start new businesses. 

“There are so many smart and enthusiastic young entrepreneurs in our midst, with terrific ideas,” said Dasys, who graduated in 2014 with an Honours B. Comm from Laurentian University. “We can help them to refine their ideas, test their models and launch viable enterprises, with the support of this program.” 

Funded through Ontario’s Youth Job Strategy and managed by the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE), the OCEA program is designed to stimulate the entrepreneurial spirit and cultivate opportunities for innovation in Ontario’s young people. 

“Fostering the entrepreneurial spirit among students is a key component of Ontario’s Youth Jobs Strategy, through programs that help transfer their ideas and skills to the marketplace while creating rewarding careers,” said Reza Moridi, Ontario’s Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities. “By partnering with colleges and universities to support entrepreneurship, we are ensuring our province’s business leaders of tomorrow are getting the support they need to succeed today.” 

Among the initiatives and learning opportunities to be led by the On Campus Entrepreneurship Activities office are boot camps and seminars in business development and funding; guest speakers; internship and mentoring possibilities, and a repository of best practice models. The OCEA grant will fund the position from December, 2014 to November, 2016. 

“This program was created to support students who are seeking to grow and expand new businesses. The promotion of entrepreneurship endeavors has been recognized as a shared interest among all three post-secondary institutions. Collège Boréal proudly supports all exercises facilitating the partnership and collaboration of educational institutions,” said Pierre Riopel, Collège Boréal President.” 
 

 “This much-welcomed government funding paves the way for Sudbury’s three postsecondary institutions to work together to support the entrepreneurs in our community,” said Cambrian College President Bill Best. “Small businesses create building blocks for economic growth in our communities, so by providing support for our students and grads through this new OCEA grant, we are taking an important step in ensuring their success.” 

“The NORCAT Innovation Mill is excited to be a part of the On Campus Entrepreneurship Activities initiative here in Sudbury. We look forward to working with and supporting Laurentian, Cambrian and Boreal to foster entrepreneurism across their campuses,” said Kyle McCall, Coordinator, NORCAT Innovation Mill. 

“Ontario Centres of Excellence is pleased to be able to deliver this project as a trusted partner of the Government of Ontario,” added Tom Corr, DBA, President and CEO of Ontario Centres of Excellence. “I look forward to putting our years of experience in connecting academia and industry, and our on-going support of young entrepreneurs to good use in making this initiative a tremendous success.”