AEF CAMPAIGN CONNECTION
A Reimagined APEGA Education Foundation — the Executive Director Takes Stock BY ROD GAROSSINO Executive Director APEGA Education Foundation
so I can’t resist a sports analogy. Every one of those athletes was successful at the local, regional, or even national level. At some point, however, every one of them decided to reach higher and to strive to be the best in the world. Success is a process that begins with imagining a different future, deciding to go for it, and then doing the work and gathering the support required to get you there. Last year, the AEF Board of Directors began reimagining what the foundation could be. It set out to find ways to • make the organization grow • have a more meaningful impact • make a bigger difference • make the foundation sustainable in the long term It will be a lengthy process, but we’ve had good success in the early stages. We have a new strategic plan and progress has been made on the strategic imperatives in that plan. We’ve begun focusing AEF’s investment on heightened impact, increased diversity, and increased understanding and appreciation of the professions. The foundation has made grants to support a number of great initiatives this year. They include: • University of Lethbridge Summer Learning Quest Camps » Maker Girl camps to support girls in identifying themselves as capable young women who can succeed in pursuing STEM classes and careers » engineering and robotics camps to foster children’s interest in robotics and engineering • Calgary Youth Science Fair » awards for engineering and Earth sciences (elementary and secondary) • Red Deer College Summer Science Camps (21 of them over seven weeks) » focus on Aboriginal youth » engage, inspire, and ignite youth through discovery and hands-on learning » connect with community mentors
Editor’s Note: Usually in this space, we publish features about students who’ve benefited from the donations you provide to the APEGA Education Foundation. This time, in keeping with the Success theme of this edition, we turn it over to the Executive Director of the foundation, so he can give you his perspective on how things are going after his first year on the job.
This being the Success edition of the magazine, I’ve been thinking a lot about what success looks like for AEF. One very basic definition of success is simply meeting or exceeding one’s own expectations or objectives. But before I expand on that that, let me remind you of what the APEGA Education Foundation is and what it is we do. The foundation contributes to building stronger and more diverse engineering and geoscience professions in Alberta. Our goal is to inspire and enable young professionals to lead the development of innovative solutions to our most critical challenges. We promote and celebrate Professional Engineering and Professional Geoscience. We foster interest among young people in science, technology, engineering, and math by supporting educational outreach programs. And we invest in student success by providing scholarships and bursaries. Our donors are Members and Permit Holders of APEGA — people and organizations that love what they do and want to give back to their professions. It was not that long ago, in the spring edition, that The PEG introduced me. Let’s have a look at how the foundation is doing under my stewardship. AEF has succeeded in meeting its objectives of providing scholarships and bursaries to support engineering and geoscience students, as well as funding outreach programs in science education — programs that inspire young students to consider careers in engineering and geoscience. Many of you have helped us do that, and we thank you for that support. However, success is not just an outcome — it is a process. As I write this, Canadian athletes are competing in the Rio Olympics,
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