Dayna Graham is an Adult Learning Facilitator primarily at the Exchange District campus. Dayna’s education degree, EAL certificate, and 15 years in the field of education, combined with a lifetime commitment to sport, has driven her to seek out practices which elevate students’ learning and academic performance. Dayna has a hand in administering several student supports at the ASC, including academic coaching, tutoring, student success workshops, group review workshops, support for incoming students, and partnerships with various programs across Red River College Polytechnic.
Marc joined the Academic Success Centre as a math/skilled trades Tutor and Academic Coach in 2018 and is happy to be here! He spent most of the last decade teaching and tutoring math to apprentices and students just entering the trades. He enjoys teaching, and loves watching his students succeed.
“My most fulfilling moments as a tutor have come from helping individual students who have been struggling to break through. I look forward to helping students make their time at the College as manageable, rewarding, and successful as possible.”
Lena Bender joined the Academic Success Centre as a Nursing/Science tutor and Academic Coach in 2018 and is thrilled to be here!
With a BA and a background in Kinesiology, Lena has over 13 years of experience in Medical Education and private tutoring, in both French and English. She supports students in Nursing and Applied Health/ Sciences programs. Her special interest is Human Anatomy and Physiology.
Lena loves teaching, and enjoys watching her students succeed. She recognizes that each student has their own unique learning style, and works to create an environment tailored to each student’s strengths and interests.
Hi! My name is Meg Loewen and I have been working at the Academic Success Centre since 2017 as an EAL Tutor, Academic Coach and Diversity Trainer.
Since receiving my Bachelors of Education in 2009, I have worked in education both in Manitoba and abroad. I taught in Manitoba’s public school system for six years and spent time volunteering in educational settings on five different continents.
I have a Master’s degree in Cross-Cultural Education and the Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA).
I am deeply committed to teaching and excited about working with individuals from diverse backgrounds. Individual learning styles, goals, motivations, and stories shape us as learners, and I aim to support my students’ learning in the way that best suits them.
Working primarily at the Exchange District Campus, Kyle has made the campus his home and can be found in the PSC Library (P214) tutoring students, leading workshops, or working on projects that seek to improve the delivery of services by the ASC to improve the success of the students at Red River College Polytechnic.
Kyle has experience teaching business related courses for over 10 years and has expanded his knowledge in such programs as Business Administration, Applied Accounting, and Commerce Industry Sales & Marketing. His ability to not only teach, but allow the learner the space to learn at their own pace and provide foundational skills applicable to all their courses, is what each student takes away from a meeting with Kyle. He models successful learning to students, and expects them to also put in the energy with their time together, as each student has control over their own progress and should feel pride in their achievements as they move from a new student to graduation. If there was only one piece of advice Kyle would give a student, it would be about reading questions from textbooks or on exams; “Read it again. Read it again! READ IT AGAIN!” He really believes that students do not allow themselves enough forgiveness in their own abilities, and cannot stress how important it is to read a question more than once. Kyle will be the first one to say he reads a question three times before he really understands it!
Hello! My name is Emilie Jackson and I am an Academic Support Specialist in the Writing & English Language Support Centre of the ASC. My work includes English language tutoring, writing tutoring, and academic coaching.
After completing a BA Honours degree and ESLTCP at the University of Winnipeg, I began working as a Language Instructor at Red River College Polytechnic’s Language Training Centre, where I enjoyed teaching students academic language and college readiness skills. I joined the ASC team in January 2021.
I am looking forward to working with you to support your writing, language, and academic skills development!
As the Academic Student Success Coach at the Portage la Prairie Red River Campus, Maryanna Arendse supports students throughout their academic career. She understands expectations put on students and how stress can sneak up while going to school and living everyday life. She works with students to set goals and supports their efforts to reach them and helps clarify assignments, aids with finding supplementary study material and coordinates peer tutoring on campus.
As well as doing one-on-one work with students, she also shares academic skills based on research through group Lunch and Learn sessions. These sessions cover topics such as study skills, test taking strategies, time management, stress reduction, and the use of social media in a job search.
Hi all, I am the Academic Success Coach at the Winkler Regional Campus. I have been in this coach position since 2017, but with the College since 2005. In addition to Academic Success Coach, I am also an Instructor in the Early Childhood Education Diploma Program. I believe in a strength based approach with students; the GROW model followed by the Academic Success Centre is a very good fit for me professionally and personally. I recognize that each student is an individual with their own strengths and challenges and as such, each coaching session looks a little different for everyone that comes to see me. We work with what's going right and build on those successes - GROW!
My background is in Early Childhood Education (Diploma and Post Diploma) and a General Studies Degree with a Psychology / Science focus. I also have my Certificate in Adult Education and a Certificate in Recognition of Prior Learning.
Syd Shukla-Bergen BSc, is a Master of Science in Entomology student at the University of Manitoba, studying landscapes effects on pollinator diversity and abundance. For the past several years, she has been working on several pollinator focused projects, all highlighting pollinators roles in the environment, the need for their conservation, and highlighting the alarming decrease in pollinator abundance and diversity in Manitoba. This year she joined Red River College Polytech as an Academic Student Success Coach at the Steinbach Regional Campus since student advocacy and support are her passion. With many years as a student herself, she brings a fresh and relatable perspective to student issues providing current research-based approaches to maximize student success. Having tried many of the learning techniques she recommends, she provides students with realistic goals, support, and direction.
Greetings! I'm passionate about helping students excel in their programs through tailored writing and academic skills tutoring, workshops, and coaching. With a PhD from the University of Manitoba, a MA and BA from University of Pretoria, and an AA from Houston Community College, I bring a wealth of international student academic experience to my role. Previously, I served as an Academic Learning Instructor at the University of Manitoba and supported students and faculty across diverse programs. I'm excited to support you on your path to success!
