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County funding will help keep college students in the region

'The number of students from Simcoe County who choose to stay here to receive a post-secondary education is fantastic. It shows that good things are happening in our region,' says warden

Georgian College’s newest wing continues to receive funding that not only brings students to Barrie from out of town, but also keeps local students happy to be educated in the region.

The County of Simcoe presented a $500,000 cheque to the Peter B. Moore Advanced Technology Centre today as part of their $5-million commitment to the building and its students.

Simcoe County Warden George Cornell told BarrieToday he's always impressed by the college's innovation and how Georgian continues to keep many students from leaving the region for higher learning.

“It has been extremely impressive to see the evolution of the college and all the new programs they have brought to our community,” said Cornell.

“The number of students from Simcoe County who choose to stay here to receive a post-secondary education is fantastic," he added. "It shows that good things are happening in our region.”

Approximately 44 per cent of Georgian’s enrolment comes from Simcoe County, while nearly 65 per cent of graduates end up staying here for work.

The funding committed Tuesday will help in the advanced technology centre to create more space and provide more technology for students to learn from, giving them a great chance for career opportunities in the future.

Third-year mechanical engineering technology student Jared Bergsma says his course will give him ample opportunity in the filed he has chosen.

“Where this course will take me is very vast,” he said. “I call mechanical engineering the jack of all trades in the technologist world, because you can really do so much with it.

"I’m aiming to go towards development and design because it interests me the most," Bergsma added. 

Growing up in Barrie, Bergsma says he's happy that his local college provided him an opportunity to stay in the area he loves and he plans on working here once schooling is completed.

“Lots of students like being in the south, the big cities,” Bergsma said. “I plan on going a little north, maybe Gravenhurst, but even Orillia. The opportunities are plentiful with the college and education being local as well.”


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Shawn Gibson

About the Author: Shawn Gibson

Shawn Gibson is a staff writer based in Barrie
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