‘That was a powerful moment for me’ says Sault College graduate (7 photos)

Dave Mornix, a Sault College graduate and highly involved community member, told an audience gathered Friday for Sault College’s 50th anniversary celebrations he cried at his graduation from the school’s Graphic Design program in 2012.

“That was a powerful moment for me,” said Mornix, a native of the Caribbean’s St. Vincent and the Grenadines, who came to Canada in 1996.

After living in Toronto, Mornix moved to Sault Ste. Marie with his wife in 2002.

“Growing up in my community (in the Caribbean), education was not an option, it was all about survival and what you’re going to eat the next day, so my journey through education was not easy being a First Generation student,” Mornix told SooToday.

“I questioned if I was good enough.”

Mornix entered Sault College’s Graphic Design program in 2009 and graduated in 2012.

“It was a great experience,” said Mornix, who got the urge to study graphic design after discovering he had a knack for drawing.

Eventually, Mornix returned to postsecondary study, graduating from Algoma University with a sociology degree in 2016, and now works as a sales consultant at Superior Nissan.

“I love people, and I get the opportunity every day to interact with them.”

“Sault College, for me, gave me unbelievable support from every department. It was a massive, transformative experience. I studied at George Brown College (in Toronto), and I didn’t feel that vibe there.”

“It’s an absolutely personal touch here.”

“Studying graphic design here really instilled a certainty and a confidence in myself to pursue a university education. It changed my life, absolutely,” said Mornix, 46.

Another keynote speaker Friday was Patrick Hunter, a Toronto-based artist/designer, another Sault College Graphic Design graduate, who studied from 2008 to 2011.

Hunter, 29, is an Indigenous artist who hails from Red Lake, Ontario, north of Thunder Bay.

Hunter made the jump from the more structured, commercial graphic design realm to the fine art world, his work now seen in paintings and on clothing.

“Once I went back to Toronto I found it to be a real rat race in graphic design, so I kept painting and did part-time jobs in retail and restaurants.”

“I quit that to do what I really wanted to do, and that’s painting. I found once I went all in, opportunities came my way.”

“You become more tenacious. You’re out there and saying ‘where’s the work, what kind of painting do you like?’”

“After that, I thought it would be cool to see people wearing my work, so I started a T-shirt line, and product development like coffee mugs and wine glasses…it’s really cool to see people enjoying your work in that way.”

“I was also in student government at Sault College, so I think one of  the most important gifts it gave me was a better ability to talk to people, from the president to the janitor, the faculty, the staff…the whole environment allowed me to communicate and network and problem solve.” 

Friday’s gathering in the college’s Health and Wellness Centre included the unveiling of one of Hunter’s new works, entitled ‘Forward.’

The painting is a combination of a Canadian flag with an Indigenous theme.

What advice do Mornix and Hunter have for other students as they enter Sault College’s doors?

“My message I have for everyone is no matter what your life challenges, conditions or circumstances are, you never lose the power to choose, so start making healthy choices that lead your life in the direction of your dreams,” Mornix said.

“I would say don’t be afraid to give things a try, your life is only so long and what’s the point of doing something you don’t like?” Hunter said.

Mornix is also recognized for his involvement with ACCANO (the Sault-based African Caribbean Canadian Association of Northern Ontario) as the group’s vice president, being a founding member of the Sault Ste. Marie Cricket Club, and for his work with the Local Immigration Partnership (LIP) and Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA).

“I’m always engaged because I believe that you have a responsibility, when you live in a community, to give something back to it because it’s always giving to you.”

Keynote speakers Mornix and Hunter, along with Ron Common, Sault College president, elected officials including Sault MP Terry Sheehan, Sault MPP Ross Romano and Acting Mayor and Ward 2 Councillor Susan Myers, Corey Meunier (Sault College Technology and Skilled Trades chair and long-serving college employee), along with Master of Ceremonies Jonathan Boyer, delivered speeches to students past and present, staff and faculty in the college’s Health and Wellness Centre Friday. 

Originally known as the Sault campus of Sudbury’s Cambrian College, Sault College gained its independence as a stand-alone post-secondary institution in 1973.

College officials plan to bury a time capsule, to be opened in 2067. 

The time capsule, which will include Sault College photographs (including an aerial photo of the former Cambrian College Sault campus from 1967), newsletters, documents and sports memorabilia, will be encased in a yet-to-be-determined location within the new Institute of Environment, Education and Entrepreneurship (the iE3, currently under construction).

A plaque will be placed above the spot where the capsule will be buried.  

Another component of Friday’s activities was the presence of the 50th Anniversary Campus Tour bus, currently touring Ontario and celebrating the establishment of Ontario’s community college system in the 1960s.

Interactive displays are included on the bus, one of which commends each of the province’s 24 community colleges for a specific feature or initiative.

On board the bus, a display gives Sault College kudos for its plan to build an energy efficient Waterfront Centre (on the site of the old RYTAC facility), an extension of its new Institute of Environment, Education and Entrepreneurship wing.

Solar panels and geothermal systems will be a part of the Waterfront Centre’s design. 

It will be used by students in the school’s Natural Environment and Adventure Recreation programs, and also, it is anticipated, home to community waterfront and tennis activities. 

Another of the bus displays salutes one notable grad from each college.

For Sault College, the nod went to Brenda Combs, the grand-daughter of residential school survivor Fanny Nolan, who is recognized as a champion for Aboriginal women.

Other activities planned for Friday included a social with live music, hors d’oeuvres and cash bar and a varsity vs. alumni basketball game.