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Loyalist College celebrates 50 years

 

 

Justin Bulman, former graduate of the TVNM program.

 

By Demii Niles [1]

BELLEVILLE– As Loyalist College gets set to mark its 50th anniversary, some of its graduates are remembering their time here.

The college opened in 1967. At the time, it had 172 students and it was located at Centennial Secondary School. It moved to its current location the next year.

Alex Short, a culinary student, who graduated from Loyalist College last year says his experience at Loyalist college was great.

“I loved the teachers the facilities and pub were sweet, there was always something extra going on too.”

Timothy Garrett graduated from the welding program last year.

“I had a lot of fun. I learned a few good things that helped me in my field. I knew the majority of people at the school which was cool,” said Garrett.

Tim Durkin says Loyalist College is not an experience to waste.

“Remember that it is a very short time that you’re going to be here, and maybe going down to the Shark Tank for pub night, or going to residents to party seems like a good idea. It’s nice to get out and let loose. But you’re paying sometimes hundreds of dollars an hour to go to college, to go to school. That in two years is going to be gone or three years depending on the program, make sure you make the most of it because you’re paying to be here and this is the biggest opportunity you could afford,” said Durkin, who graduated from the broadcast journalism program and is now employed at Quinte Broadcasting. 

Belleville City Counsellor, Egerton Boyce retweeted this in response to the anniversary.

Proud to say that I’m a graduate of Loyalist https://t.co/8Rj4aWHtbv

— Egerton Boyce (@CouncillorEge) January 12, 2017

TVNM graduate, Justin Bulman says, “I was a mature student. After nearly a decade of working jobs in different fields and trying various programs and courses at other schools/institutions on a part-time basis, I decided to go to Loyalist full-time and focus on getting a good post-secondary education.”

Bulman says initially it was tough being there with mostly post-secondary students.

“But we all adapted and were welcomed into the community and it went well.” Bulman says Loyalist has taught him to work with personalities and characters from different walks of life. When asked if he would recommend anyone to Loyalist College he said, ” Definitely, people who want a good foundation of skills and hands-on experience for the real world should consider the programs at Loyalist.”

There are more than 40,000 individuals who have graduated from Loyalist College since the college started. There will be events to mark the anniversary later this year. QNet News will have more details on that in the days to come.