Dear Colleagues,
When you think of a great co-worker, what characteristics come to mind? Integrity perhaps, or team focus? Humility, loyalty and honesty would be high on the list for many.
Research cited in the Harvard Business Review found that while all of these features do play a part, the greatest predictor of extraordinary performance is something called Contagious Positive Energy.
The authors of the research, Emma Seppala and Kim Cameron, emphasize this positive energy has nothing in common with facile affirmations that are more annoying than inspiring. Instead, it is about acting with transparency, honesty and clarity, about why we do, what we do.
“Positive energy, however, is not the superficial demonstration of false positivity, like trying to think happy thoughts or turning a blind eye to the very real stresses and pressures overloaded employees are experiencing. Rather, it is the active demonstration of values.”
The research found that employees and who display such values-based leadership inspire their colleagues to become more engaged. Organizations with high numbers of “Positive Energizers” have greater levels of innovation, productivity, and employee well-being.
At Seneca, I have the pleasure of working with many Positive Energizers every day. Some of them were involved in the latest production of Seneca Coalesce, the award-winning graduate showcase from the School of Creative Arts and Animation. Others are right now planning the upcoming Ontario College Marketing Competition that Seneca is hosting. And still others are working every day with creativity and dedication to help vulnerable students obtain the best education possible, leveraging technological innovation, empathy and cultural sensitivity.
The values they convey, the examples they set, and the positive energy they generate exemplify what the poet Maya Angelou referred to when she said:
“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Stay well and stay safe.
Kurt
Seneca's award-winning livestreamed graduate showcase took place earlier this month. It featured hundreds of new graduates from The School of Creative Arts and Animation, and celebrated their incredible work.
Live from Newnham campus, The Gathering featured performances by Seneca's music students, a multitude of new films, and dynamic projection mapping of student work at Seneca's CITE building. This year’s event was a four-hour live-streamed extravaganza hosted by Seneca Journalism students, and supported by the Event and Media Production program. It also had interactive virtual lounge spaces for attendees to mingle, see the full range of student work, watch films at their own pace, and more.
More than 200 students, faculty and alumni attended Make It Happen, Career Fuel for Next-Gen Marketers, on April 26, 2022. This half-day virtual event was organized and produced by students in Seneca's Sports, Entertainment, & Event Marketing program. The 4th annual Make It Happen event provided marketing students with practical career advice from alumni and other industry professionals. All attendees gained unique insights on emerging trends in marketing.
Mathew Sweezey, Director Market Strategy Salesforce (U.S.A), and a top marketing futurist, provided an exceptional outlook on Web 3.0 and its Effect on the Future of Marketing.
Mathew joined Jamie Michaels, Head of Brand Strategy, Twitter, and Martin Waxman, Seneca Professor & LinkedIn Instructor, in an engaging discussion on Marketing Careers in the Metaverse.
Other event highlights included:
- Discussion on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion with Sharifa Khan, President & CEO Balmoral Multicultural Marketing, AMA Marketing Hall of Legends, and Mark Harrison, Founder Black Talent Initiative, CEO T1 Agency
- Branding Yourself & Breaking Through with the American Marketing Association
- Career Sessions on Advertising, Digital Marketing & Analytics, Brand Managements, Marketing & Sales and Sports, Entertainment & Event Marketing from 16 Seneca School of Marketing Alumni.
A special thank you to Environics Analytics for making it possible to award five attendee winners a one-year professional membership to the American Marketing Association.
Testimonials
Jamie Michaels of Twitter: “It was my pleasure (to participate) and I really enjoyed it. The whole panel was amazing. Let’s do it again next year!”
Darnya Penchenis, Social Specialist Publicist Media: “The event was fantastic. Students gave me a lot of great feedback. Thank you for all your wonderful work and organization of the event.”
Kathryn Faubert, Seneca Professor: “The event was spectacular. I am responding to so many emails – students are thrilled.”
For more information on this event, please contact Nancy Bodi, Program Coordinator, Sports, Entertainment & Event Marketing.
The planning for the Ontario Colleges' Marketing Competition, hosted by Seneca, is well underway. The multi-college event brings together hundreds of top-notch college marketing students to showcase their marketing knowledge, skills, and talent and will be held December 1-2 at the Sheraton Centre. The theme, Game Changers, celebrates companies, technology, ideas, actions, and people that have disrupted the status quo and introduced positive changes to business and society. The planning committee comprised of Scott Campbell, Theresa Seto, Nancy Bodi, Stefan Kanitz, Jason Dojc, and Tim Abbott are pleased to announce we have secured our title sponsor, Scotiabank, to bring this event to students. Other sponsors include Pearson, Cengage, Canadian Marketing Association, and many others. If you know any organizations that would like to support this event please contact Scott Campbell or Nancy Bodi. We are looking forward to hosting this incredible event!
Over 400 HyFlex enthusiasts, experts, and novices from 22 Ontario Colleges gathered on Monday, May 2, 2022 for From Foundations to the Future: The Ontario College Symposium on HyFlex Teaching and Learning. (Flex is what Seneca calls HyFlex courses). The symposium launched with a keynote presentation from Dr. Brian Beatty, a pioneer of HyFlex course design. He spoke about engaging students across all three modes of HyFlex delivery. Dr. Beatty returned later in the symposium for a fireside chat where he answered more specific questions.
Another highlight from the symposium was the panel discussion. Mel Young from Cambrian College, Dr. Cathy Littlefield from Pierce College, and Dr. Kevin Kelly from San Francisco State University provided their insights and experiences around assessment and feedback in HyFlex. The panel was moderated by Linda Facchini, a professor in Seneca’s Teaching & Learning Centre.
The symposium also included opportunities for attendees to choose between a variety of breakout sessions. Topics for these sessions included accessibility and inclusion in HyFlex, building high-quality HyFlex courses, faculty success stories and lessons learned in HyFlex, HyFlex lesson plans, and a virtual fieldtrip to a HyFlex classroom at Seneca.
The Ontario College Symposium on HyFlex Teaching and Learning was hosted by Seneca’s Teaching & Learning Centre.
In partnership with Leadership and Employee Development (LED), the Faculty of Communication, Art & Design is offering SafeTALK training to support the mental health literacy of employees. The goal is to create supportive and inclusive conditions for our students and reduce the stigma associated with mental health issues. SafeTALK will be offered FREE and in-person at the Seneca@York campus.
SafeTALK is a four-hour training session designed to ensure that people with thoughts of suicide are connected to helpers who are prepared to provide first-aid interventions. You'll learn how to support students in crisis by recognizing signs, engaging someone, and connecting them to an intervention resource for further support. To get more information about this course, check LivingWorks safeTALK.
If you are interested in participating in this training, please fill out the form linked below. More details will be provided in the coming weeks.
A customized app for the Seneca OneCard is now available and can be downloaded to your Apple or Android device.
The new Seneca OneCard app is replacing the GotMyCard app, currently used to access the virtual Seneca OneCard.
Students and employees who have downloaded their OneCard using the GotMyCard app must delete this app and install the Seneca OneCard app by Thursday, June 30. The GotMyCard app will not be supported as of Friday, July 1, 2022.
Any funds and/or information stored on your current virtual OneCard will be automatically transferred to the new Seneca OneCard once you install the Seneca OneCard app.
Along with operating The Boutique online store from May 30th to June 19th , the School of Fashion's campus store will re-open for in person shopping for limited dates in June!
The team of Fashion Business (FAB)/ Fashion Business Management (FBM) students are very excited to welcome you back in-person. They have planned some fantastic promotions at phenomenal prices to clear out remaining inventory to make way for a renovation planned for this summer. A fresh and modern Boutique store will re-open for the Fall 2022 semester.
Visit The Boutique in room B2024 for in person shopping from noon - 4:00pm on:
- Thursday June 2nd
- Thursday June 9th
- Thursday June 16th
We are also offering buy-online-pick-up in store. Pick up is only available on Thursdays from noon - 4pm at The Boutique. Select the FREE pick up at The Boutique option at checkout.
Independent Music Production Professor Alfio Annabalini and Andy Curran (who is on Seneca's music PAC) just released a new album with Alex Lifeson from Rush and Maiah Wynne. They were featured on The Strombo Show on Apple Music.
The record has charted in Canada, the US, UK and entered the Billboard emerging artist chart at number 5.
"Andy Curran and I did the Strombo interview, and because I've spent the majority of my career behind the scenes, I didn't know what to expect. He asked great questions about the Envy Of None project, album and the Rush connection with Alex Lifeson. Overall it was a great experience, and we were honoured to be on his show." - Alfio
Congratulations to the winning team of the annual Fashion Industry Exchange and Leadership Development (FIELD) project! Fashion Business Management (FBM) students showcased their talents and developed innovative and strategic solutions for the designer brand, Tonia DeBellis.
Tonia DeBellis is a Canadian womenswear brand that is well-known for its “wear-anywhere-active-wear” collection. The brand focuses on design details and fit to create looks that are feminine and edgy for everyday living.
Fashion Business Management grad Daniella Quagliara's patented product, Nail Diva, was recently featured in a fun segment on Breakfast Television.
Nail Diva is designed to solve a problem all nail polish users face when painting their nails - mistakes! Nail Diva eliminates the stress of messing up your manicure or pedicure, giving you salon quality nails at home every time.
Cosmetic Techniques and Management graduate, Ilekkiya Suppiah was featured in an article by Refinery29, where she speaks about her journey with cosmetics, and addresses the issue of inclusion in the industry.
Excerpt
"I knew a lot of people have experienced colourism — prejudice against those with darker skin tones — but I didn’t realize just how prevalent it is. And it's because of colourism (and by extension, Eurocentric beauty standards) that there's a stigma of being less attractive or less beautiful if you have darker skin."
“Jack is just a regular high school student dealing with some very irregular things. Feeling Weird is a graphic novel that explores mental health.”
Broadcasting - Television screenwriting professor Christopher Sweeney has a new graphic novel out, Feeling Weird, which deals with youth mental health by way of an engaging story and amazing art. Co-written with Sean Donaghey and with illustrations by Dave Shephard, Feeling Weird also contains helpful notes, strategies, and links to online mental health resources.
“We were inspired to write Feeling Weird because we saw a need for a book that youth would enjoy reading, featuring empathetic characters going through real struggles, but not painting them as victims or minimizing the issues,” explains Sweeney. “The youth we spoke to wanted characters who were the heroes of their own stories and that there was hope for them. Our book acts as a starting point for young people to share with educators, parents, or health professionals the “weird” feelings they have.”
Feeling Weird is published by Rubicon Press and with support from Crazy About Mental Health and MindYourMind. The book is now available for purchase through the publisher and is recommended for use in schools, health facilities, and social work settings or for anyone interested in a good story.
“Feeling Weird is a compelling story about mental health and the complexities of teenage life. Edgy illustrations bring the story to life.” Dr. Kimberly Harris, Clinical Psychologist.
“It is a sensitive presentation of mental health problems commonly experienced by youth… woven through its entertaining presentation.” Dr. Ben Loveday, FRCPC, Psychiatry
“The repeated message that ‘it’s normal to feel weird’ was very meaningful. The book helps young readers identify ways in which friendship, family members, and professional adult supports can play a role in helping youth.” Dr. Joyce Radford, C. Psych.
Christopher Sweeney has written five other graphic novels, in addition to podcasts, stage shows, and a variety of scripts, which have placed highly in international screenwriting contests. His comedy TV series, Parental Advisory, was a Finalist in the NSI Totally TV program with a related bravoFACT short film produced. He has co-created and written several comedy web series and has written for true crime TV.
Four brand-new toons premiered at the 2D Animation Cartoon Premiere on May 22nd. The cartoons were livestreamed at the premiere and also kicked off Coalesce 2022.
Alex Lacroix was featured in Food & Beverage Magazine, where he describes the unique journey that led him to start his own craft tequila company along with his partner Monica. Both Alex and Monica are Creative Advertising graduates who met while studying together.
EXCERPT
Siempre Tequila was created in 2015 by Alex Lacroix and Monica Sanita. Their love for each other is shown through the hard work and dedication it took to start the company together.
Alex’s unlikely story is a testament to what determination and commitment can do in order to rise from the trenches of a less than ideal lifestyle of his past. Several years ago, Alex Lacroix was faced with a felony and potentially many years behind bars. He knew that this wasn’t the path he needed to take and began to take steps to turn his life around.
Alex had an infant daughter and wanted to spend time with her, not cellmates. The future entrepreneur enrolled in Seneca College in Toronto and majored in their creative advertising program. Eventually, Alex’s criminal case went to trial and he was given one year of house arrest. During this time, Alex met his life partner, Monica Santita. This meeting was the beginning of a journey that would change both of their lives.
Teaching and Learning
Online nutshells, including Science of Learning and Neuromyths and Degree Level Teaching, are now available
Read the new Teaching & Learning Centre Spark Plug — Online Discussion Boards: Five Things to Keep in Mind
Learn about resources available to support teaching in degree programs
COVID-19 Updates
For all COVID-19 updates, with resources for faculty and students including those to support online learning, please refer to Seneca’s COVID-19 website for information and FAQ. This is the official channel for COVID-19 related updates.
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