Cancer survivor rises to challenge

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This article was published 14/06/2013 (4604 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For some, graduation is a day for reflection and celebration. But for Michele Sleshinski, it was about completing something she never thought she’d have the chance to do.

The 39-year-old Assiniboine Community College horticultural production grad previously earned her health-care aide certificate in 2000.

<t$>After working as a nursing assistant for nearly seven years, her body went through what she says was a “stressful period.” Stress and family genetics caused her to develop cysts all over her body that

were diagnosed as cancerous in 2004.<t0>

She has been in remission for two years now and decided to take full advantage of it by starting something new.

“I had to go back and get a different career, so instead of going back as a nurse’s aide, I thought about horticulture,” she said.

The horticultural production course at ACC gave Sleshinski a chance to explore an area of study she always found interesting.

“Working in the greenhouse and I love getting dirty and I love planting plants, it’s such good therapy and just to be outside in that kind of atmosphere, in a natural nature kind of atmosphere,” she said.

Sleshinski and three other horticultural production grads were also the first students to use the college’s $1.3-million greenhouse that officially opened its doors in March.

Sleshinski and her classmates were already working in the facility busily growing herbs and produce for the college’s Grey Owl Restaurant and other special events in January.

“It was amazing because we got to set up everything and put it the way we want and get to use the instruments brand new and get to show it off when they had the grand opening,” Sleshinski said.

“It’s amazing growing things in the greenhouse because as a student you start things by seeds, you start production by seeds, and you get to watch it grow and it’s just amazing.”

The best part was being there from the beginning and getting all that hands-on experience, she said.

“I feel lucky, it was a great privilege to do that and get it all ready for the new students. We’ll look back on this 10 years from now and maybe we’ll have a little reunion and be able to say that we set up that greenhouse.”

Horticultural production is a one-year program that allows students to get their hands dirty while getting full exposure to greenhouse and field production. The primary focus is on production horticulture, which includes fruits and vegetables, greenhouse, nursery, parks and landscapes, with emphasis on food safety and security.

Learning about different types of soil, equipment used for gardening, landscaping and interior scaping were also big parts of the program, Sleshinski said.

“It basically just taught you everything about right from how to build a greenhouse and what you need to build a greenhouse and how to be successful with your own greenhouse,” she said.

Thursday marked the end of a long journey for Sleshinski , who plans to study landscaping through a distance education program offered by Red River College. She also hopes to eventually move and open her very own greenhouse.

“Some day I’d like to build my own greenhouse in Kamloops because they need one out there.”

Also among the 704 graduates from 38 distinct programs and 176 apprenticeship grads from eight programs at Thursday’s convocation at Westman Place was

20-year-old communications engineering technology graduate Zachary Czarnecki.

Czarnecki was awarded the W. Garfield Weston scholarship, which is worth up to $25,000 and distributed to 25 students entering their first year of college in Canada each year. Every award comprises of a tuition waiver from a consortium college for one or two additional years, an $8,000 stipend renewable for one or two additional years, access to summer program funding up to $3,500 and mentorship.

After several phone and in-person interviews in Toronto, Czarnecki got the news he’d been waiting for.

“I was the only one in Manitoba,” he said. “It’s the most well-known and biggest scholarship in Canada. It’s not just based on marks and being smart like some scholarships are … this is more based on who you are as a person and how you talk to people and your life experiences, which is what I think is really cool.”

But he won’t have too much time to celebrate all he’s accomplished so far. Czarnecki plans to build upon his engineering education at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay.

“I start July 1 and I basically have no summer because I’ve been working with MTS … then I have two months of summer courses, so that I can get a feel for the course, and then I’ll be entering my third year of electrical engineering,” he said. “With engineering it’s evolving so quick … it’s different every year so for me, my future, I can go wherever I want.”

ACC president Mark Frison addressed grads Thursday afternoon, telling them that he hopes their education and experience will act as a passport to a higher quality of life.

“Graduation day provides an opportunity for our students to reflect on their time at ACC and to celebrate their achievements.”

Frison also presented Dave Baxter, president and CEO of Westman Communications Group, with an honorary diploma.

“I am honoured to receive this recognition. Westman and ACC have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship, which has been a win for ACC and its students, as well as for Westman and our customers. ACC plays an important role in our success as a vital source of locally trained staff,” Baxter said.

Every year, the province awards two Lieutenant Governor’s Silver Medals to ACC graduating students. Students are nominated by their classmates and instructors and must have excelled academically while contributing positively to the college and community. This year’s recipients are Lyndsey Friesen, an agribusiness program graduate, and Fei Lewis, a business administration grad.

» lenns@brandonsun.com