Monthly Archives: July 2012

Hospitality Student Represents Canada at Epcot in Disney World

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If you’re going to spend a year fulfilling your work placement obligations, you might as well do so at the Most Magical Place on Earth.

Just ask RRC student Eileen McDonald (Hospitality and Tourism Management), who’ll spend 365 days working as a Canadian Cultural Representative at the Canadian Pavilion in Disney World’s Epcot theme park.

McDonald applied for the year-long contract position — offered as part of Disney’s Cultural Representative Program — to fill the last of her co-op placement requirements. Following a Disney-themed farewell party (planned as a surprise by her friends in Winnipeg), she arrived in Orlando, Florida, last month.

Since then, she’s met new friends, toured the parks, and learned what will be expected of her as a greeter, seater and restaurant stocker at Epcot’s Le Cellier Steakhouse.

McDonald is documenting her experiences — including the application process she underwent to land the position — via weekly updates on her blog. (Check the site in coming weeks to learn more about how she “earned her ears!”)

For more information on Disney’s Cultural Representative Program, contact RRC Hospitality & Tourism Management at 204-632-2572.

Globetrotting RRC Grad Embarks on Cross-Continental Adventure

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For much of the last decade, he’s sailed the high seas. But this summer, Red River College alum Cameron Dueck is hitting the highway in search of his latest adventure.

Earlier this month, Dueck embarked on a 25,000-km motorcycle tour from Manitoba to South America, during which he’ll explore the state of modern Mennonite culture. He’s already been commissioned to write a book on the topic; in the interim, he’s documenting his travels on Facebook.

A 1996 graduate of RRC’s Creative Communications program, Dueck got his first taste of the globetrotter’s life while working as a financial reporter stationed in Chicago, New York, Singapore and Hong Kong.

He’s since taken a series of extended hiatuses to indulge his passion for the sailor’s life, touring through Asia and the Middle East, dodging pirates off the coast of Yemen, and sailing through sand storms in the Red Sea before crossing the Atlantic Ocean via St Helena.

Dueck’s recently-released book and film, The New Northwest Passage, details his voyage through Canada’s Arctic — marrying a story of grand adventure with reportage on climate change, and on the political and economic challenges faced by members of the region’s Inuit communities.

Click here to learn more about Dueck, and here to learn more about his travels through the Northwest Passage.