Limitless 2023: Innovative Solutions for Emerging Challenges

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Negotiation is a powerful tool, whether you’re applying for a job, asking for a raise, or as simple as choosing a good time for your teammates to meet up for a group assignment. In this interactive workshop, you’ll learn why negotiation is important, when it is useful, and how to negotiate effectively in any situation. Plus, you’ll choose a few situations that are relevant to your life or work and practice applying the negotiation skills you learned. Boost your negotiation skills and much more in the second half of the session by exploring related courses on LinkedIn Learning. 

Ginny Chien is the Student Success & Co-Curricular Coordinator at CC, with over 15 years of teaching and administrative experience working primarily with international students and newcomers. Her educational background includes a fun (and slightly indecisive) mix of psychology, education, business, and project management. As an early adaptor of digitization (think Google Drive beta user over a decade ago), she thrives in technology and enjoys utilizing digital tools to enhance work efficiency and explore multimodal skills development opportunities. You can find her surrounded by colourful posters and signs (and in the middle of creating more) in The Learning Centre. 

Data has become so important in today’s scenario as businesses have vast amounts of data which they have been collecting from the past decades. But what’s unfortunate is the lack of data literacy. Data literacy rates are hardly 25% among the people running businesses in the present economy. With satellites and new technologies being developed every now and then, immense amounts of data is being collected every second. All this information can be used for further advancements in space science and planetary trave. In this presentation you will learn why data literacy is important and how it is and can be a game changer in space science and astronomy. 

Harsh Sharma is a Columbia College alumnus and a passionate emerging professional in the field of data science. Harsh graduated with the class of 2022 upon completion of his Associate of Science degree with a special emphasis in Computer Science. Harsh had to adapt to virtual learning as he started school in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. After completing his degree from Columbia College, he joined the Data Science Bootcamp. As a technology and STEM freak, he keeps on learning new skills in data field and astrophysics. His keen interest in data science and machine learning is what makes him hungry to utilize his knowledge and skills in space science. 

Learn how Squamish people lived prior to contact, how residential school affected our language, culture and way of life, listen to the stories, know the truth. Begin to understand education through an Indigenous worldview. Anjeanette’s philosophy of education upholds three main principles: 

• It begins in community 
• We can’t do this alone 
• We are all equal in doing the work 

Using these principles, participants in this workshop will begin to understand education through an Indigenous worldview. This includes working on and with the land, an approach which may be new to many who are educated in Western ways of knowing.  

Spelexilh, Anjeanette Dawson

Skwxwú7mesh úxwumixw – Squamish Nation 

Spelexílh, Anjeanette Dawson is an Indigenous Educator, Counselor, Traditional Wool Weaver, Indigenous Educator, Cultural Worker, Knowledge Keeper, Historian and Workshop Facilitator. She has been involved in Indigenous Education for 35 years and has worked in band operated, catholic, private, public and independent schools. She have earned the following degrees: Graduate Diploma in Indigenous Education – Education for Reconciliation and Masters of Education, Indigenous Education: Truth, Reconciliation and Indigenous Resurgence from Simon Fraser University.  

Anjeanette was one of ten women to revive the traditional art of Wool Weaving in Squamish community. She have  blankets hanging in the Squamish – Lil’wat Cultural Center in Whistler and two blankets in the Aboriginal Atrium at Simon Fraser University. She made the shawl for the Opening Ceremonies for the  2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Anjeanette’s passion is to share her perspectives regarding Indigenous Education and working with teachers in indigenizing their lesson plans and materials.  

To truly work towards Reconciliation, we must begin to do this work together. The Creator has blessed me with many opportunities to work with Indigenous and non Indigenous people in creating safe places to learn and teach.  

“I look forward to what the Creator holds for me in the future and whose paths I cross to continue this important work in the field of Indigenous Education.” – Spelexílh, Anjeanette Dawson.

In this session we will cover the basics of personal finance, including budgeting, credit, and basic investing. The session will be facilitated by two TD experts who are passionate about sharing financial literacy to all. 

Presenter:

Kelvin Gloor and Lynda Juan (Branch Managers, TD Bank)

Join us for this hands-on workshop to learn a new craft. You will learn to weave on a cardboard loom. Anjeanette Dawson (Spelexílh), a traditional wool weaver, will demonstrate weaving techniques and teach you how to create your own small quarter bag. The workshop will also introduce the history of wool weaving and the revival of weaving within her community. Anjeanette will also discuss the teachings that go along with weaving. 

Presenter: Spelexilh, Anjeanette Dawson

Join us for an interactive talk that will dive deep into the changes and advancement in technology over the past two decades. In this session you get to learn from highly equipped industry experts as they share their career story from starting as a junior systems coordinator as a newly landed immigrant in Canada to excelling in the computer world, dedicating their life to IT support and infrastructure development and establishing themselves in North America. 

Are you passionate about social justice? Are you thinking of pursuing a career in community engagement or politics? Are you planning to study political science or law at university? 

Join us for the special LIMITLESS edition of Backpack to Briefcase from 1:15 PM – 2:30 PM. The theme for this specific session is “Social Justice, Politics, and Activism”. We will be joined by dignitaries with backgrounds in non-profits, human rights advocacy, community development, and politics, who will share their personal experiences and insights on political activism in Canada. This session will provide advice and guidance to international students as they transition from Columbia College into the Canadian workforce or universities. 

PANELISTS

Raj Chouhan – Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 

Raj Chouhan is currently the Speaker of the BC Legislature and MLA for Burnaby-Edmonds. He was first elected as the MLA for Burnaby-Edmonds in 2005 and in December 2020 he was acclaimed as Speaker. He is the first individual of South Asian heritage to serve as speaker of the house in the BC Legislature. 

Raj immigrated to Canada in 1973. As a student in India, Raj was actively involved in student union activities. Upon his arrival to Canada, Raj was greatly impacted by the plight of other immigrant workers and the wide disparity between the rich and poor in a prosperous country. This contributed to his ongoing advocacy for community and social justice for workers. 

Raj is the founding president of the Canadian Farmworkers’ Union and served as the director of bargaining for the Hospital Employees Union for 18 years. Raj also served as a member of the Labour Relations Board of B.C. and the Arbitration Bureau of B.C. 

A founding member of the B.C. Organization to Fight Racism, Raj has worked relentlessly in promoting human rights and racial equality. He has served as the vice-president of B.C. Human Rights Defenders since 2003. Raj has taught courses on human rights, the B.C. Labour Code and collective bargaining since 1987. He has also travelled across Canada to give seminars and attend conferences that raise the awareness of issues such as racism, poverty, worker rights and discrimination. 

Kasari Govender – BC’s First Independent Human Rights Commissioner 

Kasari Govender took office as B.C.’s first independent Human Rights Commissioner on September 3, 2019. Her role is to lead the promotion and protection of human rights in British Columbia through the Office of the Human Rights Commissioner. 

Govender has devoted her life to promoting human rights, with a focus on the rights of those most marginalized. She is passionate about using her skills as a lawyer and community builder to create a more equal and just province. She has worked closely with organizations and communities promoting gender equality, Indigenous rights, children’s rights, the rights of people with disabilities and the rights of immigrant communities. 

From 2008 until 2019, Govender held leadership positions at West Coast LEAF and was appointed Executive Director in 2011. She has co-authored key reports and articles and speaks widely on crucial social issues such as hate speech, access to justice, gender based violence and systemic racism. Her earlier work includes a pivotal role in establishing the Rise Women’s Legal Centre, a non-profit legal clinic in British Columbia. 

Govender earned her law degree from the University of Victoria and her Master’s degree in International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford, UK. She has served on the board of directors for the University of Victoria, Pivot Legal Society, the Coalition for Public Legal Services, and the Society for Children and Youth. Govender has taught as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of British Columbia and as an instructor at Simon Fraser University. Her work was recognized by the Women Lawyer’s Forum which honoured her with their Award of Excellence. 

In addition to her role as Human Rights Commissioner, Govender is a mother, an aunt, a daughter and a sister. 

Niki Sharma – Attorney General of British Columbia 

Niki Sharma was elected MLA for Vancouver–Hastings in 2020 and is Attorney General.  

Niki is a lawyer whose practice focused on representing Indigenous people, including residential school survivors. Niki has worked throughout B.C. as an advocate on climate policy and reconciliation. She has also been recognized for her work on combatting racism. 

Niki was elected to the Board of Vancity Credit Union, where she served as Vice-Chair and chaired the Climate Justice Working Group. She also served as Chair of the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation. In these roles, she worked to improve her community and make life better for people and our planet. 

In 2017, Niki worked as a Senior Ministerial Assistant helping to deliver more childcare spaces for B.C. families. 

Niki was raised in Sparwood B.C. A mother of two, she has lived in East Vancouver for over 15 years and has deep connections in the community. 

MODERATOR

Mark Friesen  

Mark Friesen is the Executive Director of the Institute for Equity and Advancement in Education at Columbia College. Mark has served as a volunteer, association founder, and an executive director, and has led fundraising, strategic planning and program development efforts in the non-profit sector for over 20 years.

During his time at Vantage Point, BC’s leading not-for-profit capacity builder, Mark shifted his focus to governance; working with groups to enhance or redefine organizational decision making. Working with the Crown Agency Board Resourcing Office of BC, Mark guided the province to shift the governance and training material of BC’s public sector organizations away from shareholder accountability and towards governance in the public interest. 

Mark obtained his Masters’ in Urban Studies at SFU, where he received a Graduate Fellowship in 2012, the Doug Drummond Research Fellowship in 2013, and graduated with the Dean of Graduate Studies Convocation Medal in 2015 for his research into governance at the scale of the city-region. He served on the City of Vancouver Election Task Force, was Chair of the Our Place Inner City Governance Committee, and sits on the Board of the Ripple Coast Society.  

Research shows that a growing number of millennial & Gen−Z youth prioritize fulfillment in their work as being key to their career choices. However, with so many ways to make a positive difference in the world, finding how to make impact and discovering the diverse passions which drive all of us as people can be tough, especially with so many other pressures in life. This workshop introduces attendees to Simon Senek’s “Golden Circle” framework which challenges people to start with their “why” when it comes to navigating things like professional interests, while sharing some insights and exercises in an interactive workshop to explore the many ways that one can make impact. An ideal workshop for those still figuring out ways to connect their careers to their passions!

Presenter:

Shitangshu Roy serves as Program Director of the Youth Impact Challenge (YIC), a non−profit dedicated to helping youth turn their #ideas2action through supporting impact−making projects. He self−identifies as a young person himself still finding their own path to impact & takes pride in this journey in having cofounded three non−profits & two social enterprises (not all successful) that have gone on to reach 12K+ people in areas such as sport, the environment, student engagement & the broader community development.

Shitangshu has won multiple awards for his work, including being named a 30 Under 30 innovator by Atlantic Business Magazine & starting a non−profit that recently received the 2023 Canada SDG Youth Award for Environmental & Climate Action. LinkedIn here!

Sukhmeet Singh Sachal is an award-winning social entrepreneur, speaker, author, and public health activist. As a medical student in Canada, he serves as the Health and Wellness Ambassador for the Canadian Medical Association.

He is also the co-founder of Break The Divide Foundation, an international organization that connects youth globally with one another to discuss climate change and mental health and drive local solutions to global problems. Sukhmeet is the founder of the Sikh Health Foundation, which aims to improve public health interventions in South Asian communities across Canada. During the pandemic, this charity made waves globally for creating awareness about COVID-19 in a culturally effective manner.

Through his advocacy, he received $175,000 in funding to help bring an end to COVID-19 and inform policy changes at the national level. Sukhmeet has been named as one of Canada’s Emerging Leaders and was recently invited by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to speak at Goalkeepers 2030 in New York.