Landmark area resident is the new regional campus manager at RRC Polytech

Red River College Polytech – Steinbach Campus has a new regional campus manager.

Sheri Stoupe, from the Landmark area, has been with the college since 2006 when she worked in a part-time position, as that suited best for her young family.

Stoupe says she has enjoyed working with students and helping them attain their educational goals and now she’s come to realize that RRC Polytech is “a fantastic place to work and build a career.”

She adds, “So, I took a full-time position in admissions and never looked back. Now, 18 years later I’m in a new role, and I’m excited to see what the future holds for our Steinbach campus.”

As campus manager, Stoupe says she’s seen many students successfully graduate in their Business Administration program, which she says is their most popular course right now.

“Then we have our Early Childhood Education Workplace program, whose numbers are increasing as well due to the demand. And then we have our Educational Assistant program which this year is strictly online. We did that last year, and it worked really well, so we’ll do that again.”

Stoupe notes that their EA classes are low these days, graduating about 5 students a year. “So, we're working on making changes to that program. They're talking about maybe taking a look at the program and redoing it within the next year or so, making some changes.”

Another popular program at RRC Polytech is the Health Care Aid Certificate. “Our numbers are coming up. It's fabulous. We're happy to see that.”

When choosing which programs to offer in Steinbach, Stoupe says, “It's very much based on industry and the needs in our area and that is how we decide what we're going to offer.”

Stoupe says, local business and industry owners can best help their staff get better at their job is by connecting with RRC Polytech in Steinbach.

“I would encourage them to either stop by our campus and come and talk to me. I'm always willing to talk, and if I need to involve our Winnipeg campus, I'm happy to get them involved, especially if it's something we don't offer here. But yeah, let's have that conversation and get that started, absolutely.”

“Right now, we know there’s a need for Health Care Aids in the area, so we’re trying to figure out how to get the students in the door quicker.”

Stoupe continues, “We've held a couple of information sessions and found that that's been helpful, but just reaching out to the community to kind of see, where we can fill that need, and just trying to be more visible in the community.”

She says they are going to be part of a couple of community BBQ’s and charity BBQ’s this summer as they hope to offer the community the programs they need.

Stoupe notes, now with many graduates looking for post-secondary education options, there comes hesitation and overwhelm, but she encourages those students with, "Just talk to someone because you know what, once you talk to someone, it's not as scary and they can also help you put that goal just a little closer, a little more in reach, because yes, sometimes the application process is overwhelming, or the admission requirements are overwhelming. But if you come in and talk to someone, they can help you with that. It doesn't need to be as scary as sometimes it is, right?”

She says, “at RRC Polytech, we're all about the students here, making that human connection, so just pop by. I mean, even if you're interested in something at one of our other locations, we're happy to help.”

Stoupe adds their campus also has an International Cohort in their Business Accounting and Management Program.

“We have 12 students mainly from India right now, who will be graduating in August. We also work a lot with newcomers to Canada, who have been trained in their country, and we help them with that process, whether it's having their credentials assessed or just helping them navigate the admission requirements, or whatever is needed because we want them to be successful and we want them to get employed, right, because there is a need, especially when they come in and they say they want to be a Healthcare Aid, and we're like, yes, that's excellent, because it's good for us too. It's what the community needs right now, so, it's great.”

Stoupe says when thinking about the end of this session, “One of my favorite times of the year is coming up on June 27, our convocation. It is such a joy to see our students cross the stage. We have 63 students graduating this year.”

The location of the convocation is at the Pat Porter Active Living Centre in Steinbach.