August 25, 2009 – What do Vanier College city kids know about agriculture?  Probably not much, but Office Systems Technology student, Amanda Evangelista, learned enough to create the winning poster at Vanier College in the Agriculture at the Top poster contest funded by CDAQ, le Conseil pour le développement de l’agriculture du Québec, a contest centred on Québec agricultural issues. Amanda’s poster centered on Genetically Modified Organisms.

“I had to research a lot to do the poster.  At first, I was against GMOs but research showed me the pluses and minuses.  So it’s not cut and dry,” says Amanda, whose first place earned her a $2000 prize.  Second place went to fellow Office Systems Technology student Kevin Wood, who won $1500 for his poster on Urbanization.

“This is the first time we held the contest here at Vanier, a contest that is conducted at numerous other Cégeps, ITAS, and universities as well,” says Chelsea McVetty of Student Services, who coordinated the contest at Vanier.  “The objective of the Agriculture at the Top program is to increase the awareness of the province’s students on the increasingly complex current and future issues faced by the Québec agricultural sector.”

Chelsea explains that from February until May 2009, Vanier students were invited to participate in this competition. They were instructed to combine visual appeal with thoughtful, intelligent information in their posters, all of which were accompanied by a one-page written document elucidating and/or expanding upon their research.

Part of the preparation for creating the posters involved a lecture by Pascal Thériault from Macdonald College Campus and a visit to their agricultural facilities where students learned about cows and milk production.  Students also viewed films on various aspects of agriculture, and wrote research papers before designing their posters.

16 final entries qualified.  The judges were Mr. Pascal Thériault, a professor in the Farm Management and Technology Program at the Macdonald Campus of McGill University, Mr. Bruce Norton, a teacher in Vanier College’s Micromedia department, and Mr. Guy Quinn, a teacher in Vanier College’s Physical Education department who is widely known for his active interest in environmental affairs.

“Student Services is proud to have organized the contest here at Vanier this year and hopes to continue running it in the future,” indicates Chelsea McVetty. “We will be displaying all 16 entries, including the 2 winning ones, in the Carrefour display case in the A09 semester for all returning students to enjoy at the beginning of the school year.”