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THE MAGAZINE FOR SAIT ALUMNI Spring 2020 16 MANUFACTURING CREATIVITY SAIT’s first Maker in Residence 28 RISKY BUSINESS Cybersecurity and the new normal 48 ESSENTIAL ALUMNI Stories from the pandemic frontlines SAIT IN THE TIME OF COVID RESILIENCE, COMMUNITY AND CHANGE Not all surprises are good ones. Especially the ones that could cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars– like a sprained knee, a medical emergency abroad or even a broken tooth. That’s why there’s Alumni Health & Dental Insurance. It can help protect you against the cost of routine and unexpected medical expenses not covered by your government plan*. Coverage options include dental care, prescription drugs, massage therapy, travel emergency medical and more. The icing on the cake is that it helps you keep more money in your pocket. And who doesn’t want that? Get a quote today. 1-866-842-5757or Manulife.co m / sait Underwritt en by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company. Manulife and the Block Design are trademarks of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company and are used by it, and by its aff iliates under licence. ©20 20 The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company. All rights reserved. Manulife, PO Box 670, Stn Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2J 4B8. *Conditions, Limitations, Exclusions may apply. See policy for full details. Accessible formats and communication supports are available upon request. Visit Manulife.com/accessibility for more information. AlumniWELCOME 01 THROUGHOUT OUR INSTITUTION’S 104-year history of adapting to and addressing change head-on, student success has remained our priority. The vast majority of students in SAIT’s winter 2020 term completed their programs on time, despite having classes suspended and then converted entirely to online delivery due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As this issue of LINK arrives in your mailbox, know that — should you need it — SAIT’s Career Advancement Services remain available to all alumni. No matter how long ago you graduated, you have access to its job board, employment workshops and personalized consultations — just go to My Career Hub on sait.ca. The urgency and the importance of the digital technology transformation that was underway pre-pandemic has only been heightened by COVID-19 (see page 18). Our city’s recovery will depend on a pipeline of digitally literate work- ers who are curious about what is possible. SAIT’s response to this need is the opening of the School for Advanced PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Digital Technology in downtown Calgary this fall and a new Centre for Continuing Education and Professional Studies in the coming weeks. We are ready — for our students, for our alumni and our partners — supporting lifelong learning, career development, business solutions, and reinventions from small to transformational. I want to recognize the more than 4,000 SAIT graduates who are receiving LINK for the first time. Thank you for your adaptabil- ity and resilience though these challenging times. Welcome to the alumni family! Your alma mater was created during the First World War, and two years later it was impacted by the global Spanish Flu pandemic. During the Great Depression and the Second World War, this institute found innovative ways to stay the course. Amid the devastation of the 2013 floods, our alumni stepped up to help. Our history provides a powerful guidepost for our future. I wish good health to you and your families. Stay safe. DR. DAVID ROSS // PRESIDENT AND CEO, SAIT REBECCA MIDDLEBROOK PHOTO DR. DAVID ROSS PHOTO 05/29/2020 13:39:51 A MESSAGE FROM SAIT’S PRESIDENT 02 LINK seaspan.com/careers THE SHIP’S NAME IS ON THE BOW. THEIR NAMES ARE ON EVERYTHING ELSE.WELCOME 03 IN EARLY MARCH, this issue of LINK was buttoned up — almost. Forty-eight pages of stories had been written, edited and proof-read; graphic design was well underway and we were in the midst of multiple photo shoots. Then we, like everyone across the globe, were blind- sided by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our editorial team had a decision to make: print a magazine that was falling out of date by the hour, or pivot and try to capture this historic moment. Ironically, our overarching theme for the issue — digital culture — began to feel more timely and more relevant by the minute as — over the span of three days — some 1,340 SAIT staff transitioned to work- ing from home, and students in more than 650 SAIT courses began learning entirely through digital plat- forms. Microsoft Teams, Brightspace, YouTube and Zoom became essential tools. And specific LINK sto- ries began to feel slightly out of step. We realized we had written about a digital future that, in many re- spects, has already arrived. Our first step: to call LINK’s Vancouver-based printer (“We hope you are all doing well — and can we delay printing by one month?”) and our WELCOME JAGER & KOKEMOR PHOTO A PIVOT FOR LINK AT A PIVOTAL TIME DOCUMENTING SAIT EXPERIENCES OF THIS MOMENT IN HISTORY Calgary-based graphic designers (ditto). Then we began the process of rewriting and redesigning the maga- zine. We wanted to capture the moment (page 36) and to tell the story of SAIT during COVID-19. We wanted to document the pandemic’s impact on the SAIT com- munity (page 10), reflect the impact SAIT alumni are making on our wider community (page 48), and highlight emerging challenges, like the increasing importance of cybersecurity as a result of society’s mass move to telecommut- ing and remote workspaces (page 28). But along the way, we also wanted to stay true to LINK’s focus on innovation (page 16), the importance of human connection (page 32), and inspiration (page 42). When we look back — because we will come through this pandemic — I like to think the spring LINK may serve as an early COVID-19 time capsule, from my photo taken over the internet (above), to our feature stories illustrated using a mix of self-portraits and photos taken safely from within household bubbles, to essential stories of SAIT graduates making a difference on the frontlines. But this issue also shows SAIT moving resolutely forward, working to create a new kind of school dedicated to advancing digital technologies. It’s a story we look forward to bringing you in LINK’s fall issue — watch for it in November. In times like these, we are reminded of who our friends are. Through the epic changes we’re facing and the daunting challenges we’re sure to face tomorrow, we hope you’ll count SAIT as a friend — and we’ll certainly count you among ours. Be safe and be well. BRIAN BOWMAN // DIRECTOR, ALUMNI AND DEVELOPMENT04 LINK QUICK START PRESIDENT’S AWARDS HONOUR STUDENTS Announcing the recipients of SAIT’s 2020 President’s Awards. 08 MOVING UP THE RANKS The School of Hospitality and Tourism holds a unique status on two international hospitality school rankings. 09 ALL SAIT, ALL THE TIME 2020 saw the launch of spring intake for 19 programs, making SAIT a year-round school. 09 CONTENTS EXPERTISE & INSIGHT HANDS ON Eight first-year Instrumentation Engineering Technology student volunteers gain industrial-scale experience. 14 INNOVATION MANUFACTURING CREATIVITY Students working with SAIT’s Maker in Residence, Paul Brandt, demonstrate the importance of creativity in a digital world. 16 ON THE COVER: When Alberta Health Services (AHS) opened drive-thru COVID-19 assessment centres, Leah Hennel (JA ’98) captured this image of a nurse poised to take a test swab through an open car window. (Photo courtesy AHS) 42 32 “SAFETY FIRST” BRINGS A CONVOCATION FIRST SAIT celebrates its newest alumni with a virtual ceremony that’s anything but traditional. 09 COMING TOGETHER TO SUPPORT STUDENTS How SAIT’s community has helped more than 100 students in need. 09 SAIT IN THE TIME OF COVID The voices of alumni, faculty, students and staff capture the uncertainty, resilience and strength of the SAIT community in unprecedented times. 10 14SPRING 2020 SPRING 2020 CONTENTS 05 Editor-in-Chief: Brian Bowman Supervising Editor: Astrid Gagnier Managing Editor and Online Editor: Alison O’Connor Editor: Nancy Cope Digital Content Specialists: Ashley Naud (JA ’10), Nicole Brandt CONTRIBUTORS: Muneer Allawi (MET ’20), Alyssa Athanasopoulos (RTBN ’09), Michelle Atkinson (NMPD ’03), Leslie Bissett, Rachel Boekel, Taylor Boos (IT ’18), Jess Braun, Rich Castillo (NMPD ’04), Penny Chase, Nancy Cope, Bill Currie, Nathan Denette (JA ’03), Darryl Dyck (JA ’98), Global News Calgary, Talia Hanson, HarderLee Photography, Leah Hennel (JA ’98), Jager & Kokemor, Sean Kilpatrick (JA ’84), Rebecca Kimber, Rebecca Middlebrook (GCPT ’13), Lubica Muravska, Ashley Naud (JA ’10), Alison O’Connor, Gwendolyn Richards, Zachary Robertson, Eric Rosenbaum, Dr. David Ross, Cassandra Schwindt, Julie Sengl, Suncor, Jonathan Taylor Sweet, Halle Szautner, Union Illustration Co., Carl Wiens Graphic Designer: Rebecca Middlebrook (GCPT ’13) Copy Editor: Cathi Bishop Advertising Sales: Josh Naud Printing: BP Media Inc. LINK is published twice a year by SAIT Alumni and Development as a service to Southern Alberta Institute of Technology alumni, donors, students, partners, faculty and staff. LINK invites your comments and letters to the editor. Please direct them to alumni@sait.ca. SAIT Alumni and Development 1301 – 16 Avenue NW Calgary, AB T2M 0L4 Phone: 403.284.7040 Address updates: 403.284.8279 For all other inquiries: Fax: 403.284.8394 Email: alumni@sait.ca sait.ca/alumni Publications Mail Agreement No.40064317 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Circulation Department 1301 – 16 Avenue NW Calgary, AB T2M 0L4 LINK is made possible through affinity programs with SAIT’s partner companies: Using the group buying power of SAIT’s 250,000+ alumni, these partners offer preferred insurance rates and comprehensive coverage. When you choose their products and services, you get low group rates and help support SAIT alumni programs and events. FEATURES THE FUTURE DIDN’T WAIT And, just like that, COVID-19 changed everything. Consider this: the first draft of this story was called The Future Won’t Wait. LINK talks with six thought leaders about a digital future that has already arrived. 18 THE NEW NORMAL As our lives remain online to combat COVID-19, LINK traces the growth of another kind of virus and asks, “Are we taking cybersecurity seriously enough?” 28 USING MY BRAIN AGAIN For people with young-onset dementia, isolation can be a daily reality. YouQuest offers a sense of community. 32 CAPTURING COVID At a turning point in world history, four SAIT alumni photojournalists are documenting the myriad stories of the COVID-19 pandemic across Canada. 36 IN THE LOOP PROFILE Steve Warren (AWEP ’14, APM ’17, TTT ’17) 42 CLASS NOTES 43 LOOKING BACK 47 ON THE JOB Meet four alumni providing essential services on pandemic frontlines. 48 18 16 4706 LINK SPRING 2020 ONLINE CONTENTS CHECK OUT WEB-EXCLUSIVE VIDEO, IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS AND HOT-OFF-THE-PRESS SAIT NEWS BY READING LINK ONLINE! FIND OUR EXPANDED, FULLY INTERACTIVE WEBSITE AT SAIT.CA/LINK. STAY CONNECTED WITH YOUR ALUMNI COMMUNITY, DISCOVER WAYS TO GET INVOLVED, SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS. TELL US WHAT YOU LOVE — OR DON’T LOVE — ABOUT LINK AT SAIT.CA/LINK See behind-the-scenes photos and detailed drawings of the Airstream trailer that SAIT students are remodelling with Paul Brandt, renowned country artist and SAIT Maker in Residence. Meet alumnus Doug Braden in a web-exclusive story on sait.ca/link. Braden and his partners turned on a dime to transform their busi- ness in response to COVID-19. Today the company is producing tens of thousands of its Canadian Shield masks for front-line workers. Read about the SAIT alumni, employees and students who rushed to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. They offered helping hands, raised spirits and brought forward innovative ideas to adapt to our new normal. Visit sait.ca/better-together. Thank you to the more than 1,000 alumni who responded to our recent LOVE LINK campaign. If you missed it, don’t worry — you can always tell us how you’d like to read LINK: either in print, or online — or both! Update your reading preferences at any time by visiting sait.ca/link and clicking on Contact. JESS BRAUN PHOTO RICH CASTILLO PHOTO ONLINE CONTENTS 07 SHARED ON SOCIAL Look who shared SAIT news on social media: PREFER TO READ LINK ONLINE? Go to sait.ca/LINK, click on Contact and look for Choose Your LINK. SIX WAYS TO STAY CONNECTED WITH SAIT @ Update your contact information by visiting sait.ca/alumni and clicking on Stay Connected. @SAITAlumni @SAITAlumni Southern Alberta Institute of Technology @saitalumni Send us a Class Note! Visit us online at sait.ca/alumni and click on Stay Connected. Next >