Latest news with #CambrianCollege
Hamilton Spectator
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
South River soprano receives national award
Emma Pennell's talent is gaining national attention. The soprano singer from South River has been named the 2025 recipient of the RBC Emerging Artist National Award, presented in partnership with the National Arts Centre. Pennell will receive the award at the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Show on June 14 in Ottawa. Pennell emphasized in release, 'For many emerging artists, especially those from underrepresented communities, awards like this can be the difference between possibility and reality.' 'They help launch careers, yes, but they also signal to the world that these voices matter,' Pennell added. Pennell's family tree has its roots with the Mi'kmaw of Ktaqmkuk, the Indigenous peoples of Newfoundland. Raised in South River, Pennell discovered opera through the home's battery powered radio. Once enrolled in Cambrian College's music program in Sudbury, Pennell had the opportunity to hear live opera for the first time, during a student talent showcase. That moment changed Pennell's life. 'I showed up thinking someone's going to hand me a guitar and we're going to do some four-chord song jams,' said Pennell. 'But no. They do a student showcase, and my now-dear friend gets up and sings an opera aria. I'd never heard someone sing like that and it blew me away. You can't hide in the opera; you take up space which deeply resonated with me. That day, it was like a lightbulb went off.' At Cambrian, Pennell began formal vocal training and quickly made an impression. Pennell then went to Western University to complete her music degree while minoring in Indigenous studies. After Western, Pennell studies at The Glenn Gould School at The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. Pennell has performed at the Banff Centre, is currently workshopping Indians on Vacation with the Indigenous-led collective EQ and is preparing for a featured performance with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. The RBC Emerging Artist Award will come with a $25,000 prize to support their career development. 'This RBC Emerging Artist Award will have a transformative impact on my career,' Pennell said. 'This will help fund audition travel, vocal coaching, help refining my craft, and other essential professional development as I transition from a young artist into a full-time professional.' Pennell added, 'It will also support the creation of future projects that centre Indigenous narratives in opera, ensuring that my work remains rooted in community as it grows in scale and ambition.' David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
CTV News
5 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Deafblind man finds independence while calling Sudbury home
A deafblind man has made Sudbury home after moving out of his parent's place for the first time. Loading the player instance is taking more time than usual Loading the player instance is taking more time than usual A deafblind man now calls Sudbury home after moving out of his parents' place in Sturgeon Falls. Alec Malette, 24, has been deafblind whole life, with limited sight and hearing through the support of his glasses and a hearing aid. Malette moved out on his own over the summer with the help of DeafBlind Ontario Services. While he was nervous at first, he said he has since settled in well. 'I like to play on my computer, play video games and make food,' Malette said. He cooks most of his own meals, does most household chores and has taken on a part time job at a diner. Following in his older brother's footsteps, he completed some computer science courses at Cambrian College. DeafBlind Ontario provides an array of services, offering community and residential supports for individuals who are deafblind, deaf, hard of hearing, and are non-verbal with developmental disabilities. Alec Malette Alec Malette, 24, has been deafblind whole life, with limited sight and hearing through the support of his glasses and a hearing aid. (Amanda Hicks/CTV News) 'For Alec specifically, we have our intervener services team that provides communications supports, helps him get out in the community, we help him with his job, his school work, we're basically the eyes and ears to facilitate him to live his best life,' said Crystal Pigeon-Way, community engagement manager of DeafBlind Ontario North Region. Malette moved into one of the organization's three homes in Sudbury and lives with two roommates. GAINING INDEPENDENCE Pigeon-Way said the move has allowed him to increase his independence. 'He was really excited to have his own home and gain his own independence,' said Pigeon-Way. 'Coming from a small town, he wasn't able to get everywhere on his own, there was no public transportation, stuff like that. So moving to Sudbury really opened up his ability to engage within his community.' Malette enjoys baking in particular and recently made a chocolate cake and built a gingerbread house. He said he will soon be heading back to Sturgeon Falls to visit his family for Christmas.
CTV News
23-05-2025
- Science
- CTV News
Province invests in critical minerals through new lab at Sudbury college
The province announced NOHFC funding on Friday for a Cambrian College lab focused on critical minerals development and research.
CTV News
21-05-2025
- Health
- CTV News
New mural unveiled at Sudbury hospital's outpatient centre
Change is the name of a new, two-panel mural at Health Sciences North's Sudbury Outpatient Centre, created by students and faculty in Cambrian College's Design and Visual Arts program. Pictured from left to right are students Bronwynn Kuilboer, Raine De Dominicis, and Emily Audette, along with professor Johanna Westby. (Cambrian College)
CBC
20-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Post-secondary sector says budget measures won't avert crisis in northern colleges and universities
We need elbows up, but also heads up, says the president of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Employees in response to measures announced in Ontario's budget last week. Nigmendra Narain speaks for the organization representing 18,000 faculty, academic librarians and academic staff. He says some steps announced in the budget are welcome, but will do nothing to ward off an impending financial crisis, and argues the province is reducing its funding from last year. Many colleges and universities in the northeast are struggling and having to adjust their budgets suddenly. Federal policy changes have capped the number of international students who pay three to six times the amount of domestic students. While post-secondary institutions work to avoid outright lay-offs, schools such as Cambrian College in Sudbury and Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie have been offering early retirement incentives to faculty, re-assigning instructors and suspending intake to programs with low enrolment. Cambrian College in Sudbury said it had to eliminate 22 positions because of a $40 million dollar drop in revenue. Algoma University is seeing its operating budget cut in half and it will welcome more than five thousand fewer students next fall. It has suspended intake to five programs with low enrolment this fall. In a recent statement to CBC, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Colleges and Universities said the government has made an historic investment of $1.3 billion in the sector, and put $750 million to fund science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) student seats over five years. Narain said those numbers need to be put in context. "Their claim is based on the idea that they are doing it over the course of history, that it's a larger investment," he said. "Their own blue ribbon report suggested (an investment) closer to $3 billion. So they are 50 per cent or half the amount off of what their own blue ribbon panel suggested was a minimum amount of investment that is needed." Narain said the amount being put into research is also declining since last year and while the STEM investment is welcome, it would be better for even more overall funding so all students could study and contribute "Some of them are going to do engineering degrees, they're going to do medical degrees, but they're also going to do English and theatre and political science and economics," he said. "So we need that funding to be there for the students to take the courses and so forth." The budget also includes an additional $10 million dollars to help out small, northern and rural colleges and universities. The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance welcomed that measure in a statement. "Rural and northern institutions have less-than-adequate infrastructure and services in place for their students compared to their more urban counterparts. As a result, this funding is a good step towards more comprehensive supports for these schools and we'd be keen to see this investment grow in other northern post-secondary areas like transit and infrastructure." More college graduates live and contribute to rural, northern communities An Ontario researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Carolina Agarão, said a larger concentration of college graduates live and work in northern Ontario. She said while the reliance on higher tuition of international students has masked the problem of insufficient government funding, there is a now a crisis as those students stay away. "I think we are really seeing a funding crisis in post-secondary education, but we know that colleges are critical to promote the well-being of workers and communities and what we really need to see is that the government needs to step up," Agarão said. 'We're there for colleges and universities', says Bethlenfalvy In an interview with CBC Sudbury after the budget, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy acknowledged the difficulties facing the sector with the cap on international enrolment, but said that was an "Ottawa decision" and the province is putting in significant investment to fund colleges and universities.
