Glenn Crombie Centre celebrates 30 years of helping students – October 14

SUDBURY, ON – From a single office space to a huge footprint on campus, Cambrian College’s Glenn Crombie Centre for Accessibility, Counselling, and Wellness (GCC) is celebrating its 30^th anniversary this year.

The GCC provides specialized accessibility services, including access to bursaries, adaptive technologies, psycho-educational assessments, and learning strategies for students with disabilities. It also offers counselling services and wellness resources and activities to support student mental health and well-being.

Cambrian first began offering these services in 1986, through its Special Needs Resource Centre.

At the time, it was a single office space within Cambrian’s Barry Downe campus.

The need for services grew, and in the early 1990s, Cambrian launched a $3 million capital campaign for a new 3650-square-metre facility. The Glenn Crombie Centre officially opened in June of 1996.

It is named in honour of Glenn Crombie, who was Cambrian’s president during the GCC capital campaign and construction.

“From its modest beginnings to a big footprint on our campus, the Glenn Crombie Centre has helped generations of students by giving them the extra help they need to be successful at Cambrian,” says Alison De Luisa, Cambrian’s Vice-President of Human Resources, Student Services, and International. “The GCC embodies who we are and what we value at Cambrian, which is to provide an inclusive, supportive environment so that our students can thrive.”

The Glenn Crombie Centre is a fully accessible space that includes a computer lab equipped with assistive technologies, testing rooms, fully accessible washrooms, personal care spaces, private accessibility and counselling offices, and a wellness cove where students can come to de-stress and connect.

“The Glenn Crombie Centre is much more than a place for students to receive accommodations and counselling; it is a culture,” says Ernest Boeswald, an accessibility consultant in the Glenn Crombie Centre. “It is a place where beliefs and values are shared by staff and students. It is a safe place, a welcoming place, a comforting place. It’s like home.”

The Glenn Crombie Centre serves approximately 900 students every year.

“The Glenn Crombie Centre reassured me that post-secondary school is a possibility for me,” says Cambrian student Joseph Roy. “It’s possible for students who have their learning impacted in some way to have a chance to succeed, despite the barriers. Despite my challenges, I can still learn. If it weren’t for the accessibility, counseling, and wellness supports, I’m not entirely sure I’d making it through my fourth year of post-secondary school right now. The services have provided me with confidence to succeed not only academically, but professionally. For that, I am beyond grateful for the Glenn Crombie Centre.”

The Glenn Crombie Centre also works in partnership with the Northern Ontario Assessment and Resource Centre (NOARC). Housed on the second floor of the Glenn Crombie Centre, NOARC provides psycho-educational assessments to students with learning disabilities, to help them identify learning strengths and barriers, recommend learning strategies, and access the services offered by the GCC.

At the GCC’s 30^th anniversary celebration, Cambrian College also celebrated this year’s launch of its new Career Pathways program. It is a part-time, one-year, three-semester program for students with developmental, intellectual or learning challenges.

It is the first college program of its kind in Northern Ontario.

Students in Career Pathways gain practical skills in workplace professionalism, resumé development, safety, and career exploration, to help them transition to employment or further education. During their studies, the students are partnered with students in Cambrian’s existing Developmental Services Worker (DSW) program, who provide support and mentorship.

Sudbury’s Alysha Leblanc is a member of the inaugural class of students in the Career Pathways program.

“My goal of coming to Cambrian to take this program is to have the chance to be a Cambrian student and graduate just like both of my parents,” says Sudbury’s Leblanc.  “I want to use my experience here to become a small business owner and have the opportunity to take over my father’s business. I have ideas to share that are from my heart about people and inclusion. I also have opportunities for new friendships with classmates and students in the DSW program.”

For more information about the Glenn Crombie Centre, visit https://cambriancollege.ca/supports-services/accessibility-services.

For more information about Cambrian’s new Career Pathways program, visit https://cambriancollege.ca/careerpathways.