Seneca College RED 2020 - 20

While I've dealt with other stressful situations
before, this is a different level of stress.

which provides affordable housing for people with mental health
and addiction issues.
" The majority of the residents are vulnerable people who do not
understand what is happening around them, " she says. " It is very
difficult to manage them as they can't comprehend social distancing.
Even though we try and explain to them that they should not go
out, they still do and when they return, we have no idea where they
had been, increasing the risk of infection. "
For Neil Hetherington (Building Construction Regulations Administration, 1995), CEO of the Daily Bread Food Bank, the challenge
was to keep operating as people were suddenly out of work and
demand spiked. In the spring, he says there was an unprecedented
53 per cent increase in the need for assistance.
" While I've dealt with other stressful situations before, this is a
different level of stress, " he says. " If our operation ceases, tens of
thousands of people don't eat in Toronto. These are the people who
are the most vulnerable sector and we've got to be that stable force
for them. "
In April, both Jack Proctor (Aviation and Flight Technology, 1983)
and his daughter Victoria (Honours Bachelor of Aviation Technology, 2012) crewed separate flights aboard a converted Air Canada
Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft to Shanghai to obtain needed personal
protective equipment (PPE) for health-care workers.
" When we were asked to step up and do this important work, I
felt that it was a privilege to do it, " Mr. Proctor says, who is also a
Seneca aviation professor.
And when there were shortages of hand sanitizer, Eric Dornan
(Business Administration - Entrepreneurship & Small Business,
2010), sacrificed $50,000 of whiskey to change the production at
his All or Nothing Brewhouse from spirits to sanitizer.
" We realized early on that this isn't going to be just one week of
staying home, " Mr. Dornan says. " We have been watching this
situation unfold for a while, and we were amazed at the demand
for hand sanitizer. "
Shortly after the product switch, he was contacted by hundreds
of organizations from as far away as British Columbia and California.
In addition to supplying nursing homes and hospitals, they also
provided sanitizer for Toronto Pearson Airport.
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2020

Among the concerns about the virus and its spread, some were
able to mix in a bit of levity while lending a hand. Fashion professor
Philip Sparks (Fashion Arts, 2003) and Craig Renaud (Fashion Arts,
2013) created designer caps for front line workers at Barrie's Royal
Victoria Regional Health Centre to stylishly answer the need for PPE.
" People had fun when we came in as a group with our green
and white polka-dot caps, " says professor Tania Killian, School of
Health Sciences, a registered nurse in the health centre's emergency
room. " Otherwise, we are always in the same old blue gowns,
blue caps and yellow gloves. The polka-dot caps gave us a bit of
a personality. "
Seneca's true benefit to the community, our province and country
is best displayed by stories like these and many more, Mr. Agnew says.
" Our graduates have always been our calling card. When we say
Challenge Accepted, there is no better example than our alumni.
We are so proud of how they rose to the challenge in so many ways. "
As part of its planning for the future, Seneca launched the Au
Large project early in the year. This renewal initiative provided
an opportunity for Seneca-wide consultations to address questions
regarding equity, sustainability and the overall renewal of the
institution.
To learn more about the project, please visit senecacollege.ca/
aularge.

http://www.senecacollege.ca/

Seneca College RED 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Seneca College RED 2020