A wave of pride washed over Prairie Fusion Arts and Entertainment yesterday afternoon as Red River College Polytech (RRC Polytech) honoured its 2025 graduates from the Portage Campus during a vibrant spring convocation ceremony.
The event, described as the college's largest ever, saw graduates cross the stage to the cheers of family and friends, marking the culmination of significant dedication and effort.
The celebration drew strong support from community leaders and dignitaries, such as RRC Polytech President and CEO Fred Meier, Portage Campus Regional Campus Manager Guy Moffat, Portage la Prairie MLA Jeff Bereza, City Councillor Faron Nicholl, a liaison representing Portage-Lisgar MP Branden Leslie, and former alumni of the campus.
Pride in student achievement
For college leadership, the day represented the pinnacle of the academic year and a testament to the hard work invested by both students and staff. Fred Meier emphasized the significance of the milestone for graduates who balanced numerous commitments.
"This is really the culmination of the work that the students put in, that our staff and our instructors put in," he says, "Really is the highlight of the year for us and that's our convocation, spring convocation, our largest one we've ever had in our history," Meier stated. "We know there's a lot of sacrifice. People are balancing a lot of things to come here and pursue their education. Today is really a celebration for them."
Portage Campus Manager Guy Moffat radiated pride in the graduates, highlighting the close-knit nature of the campus community.
"The day for me just it means pride. I've got a tremendous amount of pride for the accomplishments of the students," Moffat shared. "We get to know each and every one of these students from the day they come into our campus, right to the time that they graduate. We see what they go through and the work that they put in, and the amount of effort. A lot of these students have conquered much more than just gaining their certificate or diploma."
Embracing new graduates
The presence of multiple levels of government underscored the local importance of the graduates' skills. City Councillor Faron Nicholl expressed enthusiasm for the graduates' potential contributions to Portage la Prairie.
"It's truly amazing, and those folks who graduated - we need them. We need our community. There are such good, good diplomas that we could solidly use in our community," Nicholl said, reflecting on the supportive community surrounding the graduates.
He adds that he encourages the graduates to "Enjoy your community. Community will bring you along through life, and we're ready for them. Their next steps are hoping to be right here in our community if that's at all possible. I'm very excited for them."
Moffat also acknowledged the broader support and the efforts behind the scenes. "There's a tremendous amount of effort that goes into this hour that happened. The staff at the Portage campus do an outstanding job of creating everything behind the scenes for this day to happen."
A foundation for the future
Looking ahead, Moffat framed the graduation as a launchpad. His message to the graduates focused on their future impact.
"My message to the graduates is that all the hard work they put in really has paid off for them. This is a foundation and now the rest is for them to put the work in and show business and industry everything that they're capable of," Moffat conveys, "I'm so excited for the future of our province because of the quality of graduates that are coming from the Portage campus."
President Meier offered simple, heartfelt congratulations to the Class of 2025, recognizing their achievement and potential. "Congratulations. A lot of hard work went in today, and your future is bright."
The winners of the student leadership awards were:
- Mackenzie McFadden
- Ami Murrell
- Brittany Brown
- Kacey Kell
- Rose Abdul Wahed
The winner of the Southport Endowment Fund award was:
- Kabiru Bamigbola
The names of the graduating students are (asterisk indicates honours):
Business and Management
Administrative Assistant (Certificate)
Abdul Wahed, Rose*
Business, Accounting and Management (Certificate)
Adesanya, Kanyinsola* Akinola, Emmanuel* Akorede, Olukemi* Devi, Mafi*
Hopkins, Kalya* Kaur, Komalpreet Kaur, Navdeep* Kaur, Tarandeep Kell, Kasey* Kushwaha, Aayushi* Minhas, Sahil
Randhawa, Samdeesh Sidhu, Manjinder Kaur Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan
Singh, Sukhmanjot Vats, Lovish
Business Administration (Diploma)
Bamigbola, Kabiru Bohpa, Pam McKay, Lauren Roberts, Samantha
Community Services
Early Childhood Education (Diploma)
Alinsod, Maria* Bertholet, Alexandra
Brown, Brandy* Brown, Brittany* Glover, Reanne* Johnson, Alexis*
Okhalina, Mariya* Oleschak, Hayley* Pronteau, Sadie* Tower, Juliette*
Health Sciences
Health Care Aide (Certificate)
Anderson, Nina Bartlett, Soihban* Deneka, Kloie Elegado, Emi* Farcombe, Lane Hunter, Loewen Jones, Joshua*
Klassen-Sokolosky, Ava MacMillan-Beaulieu, Chloe Maderazo, Haelie Montgomery, Addison McFadden, Kenzie
Murrell, Ami Natividad, Rihanna
Parker, Kenna Ross, Nolan Roulette, Denaya Roulette, Jerrett Sandney, Kerri Spence, Jay-Lena Tripoli, Liz Ugboma, Sandra* Ugboma, William* Woods, Autumn
Zinck, Brendan