Graduates from Conestoga's Bachelor of Applied Technology - Architecture - Project and Facility Management (APFM) program gathered at the college's Kitchener - Doon campus on October 21 for the fifth annual APFM alumni reunion event.
Program representatives inducted six new members into the APFM Hall of Fame in recognition of their impact. Top, L-R: Megan Bos, Ryan Meier, Scott Rivard. Bottom, L-R: Colin Leddy, Chris Pickard, Karen Cain.
Joined by APFM students, past and present faculty, college administrators, and industry partners, the afternoon focused on celebrating the impact of the program and its graduates over the last 20 years. The first cohort began their studies in 2003 among the college's first degree programs.
"More than 450 APFM alumni are making tremendous contributions to their workplaces and communities," said faculty member and event organizer Ron Bean. "As we celebrate 20 years of the program, we're excited to recognize our seventeenth cohort at convocation this fall and look forward to their impact."
The program boasts a nearly 90 per cent employment rate within six months of graduation, with graduates making a difference in their workplaces and communities in Ontario, across the country and around the world.
As part of the celebration, program representatives inducted six new members into the APFM Hall of Fame in recognition of their impact: 2009 graduates Megan Bos, Ryan Meier and Scott Rivard, 2012 graduate Colin Leddy, as well as retired faculty member Chris Pickard and past program chair Karen Cain. This year's inductees join 2007 APFM graduates Marisa Havens and Nick Heibein, 2012 graduate Luke Antonio, 2013 graduates Jillian Harvey, Yumna Nasir and Jehan Salim, as well as retired faculty members Colin McGugan, Jim Bechard and Raymond Chung, and retired School of Engineering & Technology executive dean Julia Beidermann who were instrumental in the program's design and launch.
Bos, who also holds a Master of Environmental Design from the University of Calgary, was an asset manager with the City of Calgary before joining the University of Calgary as director of campus planning.
Meier also holds a Master of Environmental Design from the University of Calgary and has worked for the City of Calgary for 12 years, currently as the manager of facility planning.
Rivard is a founding member of the APFM alumni committee and has taught project management at Conestoga in addition to teaching at St. Clair College. After many years in the industry, he recently started his own consulting firm in Windsor.
Leddy is project manager at Fillmore Construction in Edmonton and has worked with various construction firms in Alberta since graduation.
Conestoga's unique four-year APFM co-op degree program is the only in Canada to be regulated by the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) Foundation and the first Canadian program to be accredited by the Applied and Natural Sciences Accreditation Commission (ABET). The program focuses on the entire architectural process from the planning phase through to occupancy and the adaptive reuse of buildings. Students gain strong foundations in architecture, construction, basic engineering and business; insight into project and facility management; and have additional exposure to liberal arts disciplines and practical applications for the business enterprise.