Ten with Ken (Video)
Join Ken Steele for a romp through the best moments from more than 100 higher ed holiday greeting videos from around the world, selected from almost 500 collected so far this month! Previous years' Holiday Special roundups appear in this Ten with Ken playlist: Check out the full versions of these videos in the 2024 Holiday Special Shortlist: Check out the full collection of 2024 videos in this even longer playlist:
info_outlineTen with Ken (Video)
Marketing and communications professionals working in higher education are more conscious than most that they serve incredibly diverse audiences and stakeholders, and of the vital importance of equity and inclusion. (Today’s students can quickly become outspoken protestors in the face of what they perceive as injustice.) This week, Ken Steele sits down with Matthew Tsang, co-founder of inclusive communications agency AndHumanity, to discuss what he calls “JEDI” principles of Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. “Justice is at the forefront for us,” Matthew explains. His agency,...
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In this episode of Ten with Ken, host Ken Steele sits down with Dorita Pentesco, Director of Marketing & Recruitment at Niagara College, and Carmen Serravalle, Vice-President Creative at , to discuss the “refresh” launched this month of the 15-year-old Niagara College brand. NC’s circular “blue button” logo was originally introduced in 2009, and was immediately embraced by staff and students – who suddenly started buying and wearing branded clothing. The unique shape lent itself to external signage, buttons, and even application to the butt end of beer kegs at the campus...
info_outlineTen with Ken (Video)
“Ten with Ken” returns for its 8th season with a special double episode distilling the best moments from literally hours of welcome back, orientation, move-in and kick-off videos, from more than 100 colleges and universities. Students overcome their anxieties and homesickness by celebrating, dancing, screaming and clinging to their stuffed animals and favourite comfort foods. They’re distracted by concerts, midway rides, marching bands, fireworks, confetti cannons, and so much more. Some schools play games too, staging their own versions of “Cash Cab,” “Undercover Boss,” or...
info_outlineTen with Ken (Video)
Once again, Ken Steele scoured the interwebs and collected more than 240 higher education holiday greeting videos (released as of December 21 2023). Setting aside the sermons, concerts, animated cards and talking heads, he shortlisted the best and presented them to a jury of marketing professionals in a 2-hour livestream on Eduvation Circles. A series of episodes will bring you all the fun of Ken’s annual collection of higher ed holiday greeting videos - It’s the next best thing to being there! In part 5, Ken looks at the best of 2023’s higher ed “Musical Performances,” from string...
info_outlineTen with Ken (Video)
Once again, Ken Steele scoured the interwebs and collected more than 240 higher education holiday greeting videos (released as of December 21 2023). Setting aside the sermons, concerts, animated cards and talking heads, he shortlisted the best and presented them to a jury of marketing professionals in a 2-hour livestream on Eduvation Circles. A series of episodes will bring you all the fun of Ken’s annual collection of higher ed holiday greeting videos - It’s the next best thing to being there! In part 4, Ken looks at the best of 2023’s higher ed “Acts of Goodwill,” and other vids...
info_outlineTen with Ken (Video)
Once again, Ken Steele scoured the interwebs and collected more than 240 higher education holiday greeting videos (released as of December 21 2023). Setting aside the sermons, concerts, animated cards and talking heads, he shortlisted the best and presented them to a jury of marketing professionals in a 2-hour livestream on Eduvation Circles. A series of episodes will bring you all the fun of Ken’s annual collection of higher ed holiday greeting videos - It’s the next best thing to being there! In part 3, Ken looks at the best of 2023’s higher ed “Holiday Parodies,” including plenty...
info_outlineTen with Ken (Video)
Once again, Ken Steele scoured the interwebs and collected more than 240 higher education holiday greeting videos (released as of December 21 2023). Setting aside the sermons, concerts, animated cards and talking heads, he shortlisted the best and presented them to a jury of marketing professionals in a 2-hour livestream on Eduvation Circles. A series of episodes will bring you all the fun of Ken’s annual collection of higher ed holiday greeting videos - It’s the next best thing to being there! In part 2, Ken looks at the best of 2023’s “Holiday Shout-Outs,” “Holiday Hand-Offs,”...
info_outlineTen with Ken (Video)
Once again, Ken Steele scoured the interwebs and collected more than 240 higher education holiday greeting videos (released as of December 21 2023). Setting aside the sermons, concerts, animated cards and talking heads, he shortlisted the best and presented them to a jury of marketing professionals in a 2-hour livestream on Eduvation Circles. A series of episodes will bring you all the fun of Ken’s annual collection of higher ed holiday greeting videos - It’s the next best thing to being there! In part 1, Ken looks at a sprinkling of "Festive & Bright" campus events and tree lighting...
info_outlineTen with Ken (Video)
Our 5-part series on Forward-Looking Facilities concludes with a look at the informal communal spaces on campus, in-between faculty offices and labs, or student dorms and classrooms. These so-called "Third Spaces" are home to some of the most valuable interactions between students, staff and faculty alike... In Part 5, "Third Spaces," Ken describes the gradual evolution of higher ed campuses from "introverted" retreats to more extroverted "collision spaces," where informal and serendipitous interactions can spark revolutionary ideas and unexpected illumination. These learning commons and...
info_outlineIn pre-pandemic times, Ken Steele sits down on the Carleton University "Friendship Bench" with president and vice-chancellor (and neuropsychologist) Benoit-Antoine Bacon to talk frankly about his own journey to mental health, and his advice for students.
Mental health has been a significant concern on higher ed campuses for a decade or more. Anxiety and depression have been rising. In Fall 2019, the National College Health Assessment found 39% of students in moderate or serious psychological distress, 49% experiencing loneliness, and 27% reporting consistently high levels of stress for the preceding year. The COVID19 pandemic has exacerbated those feelings of loneliness, stress and distress.
But President Bacon emphasizes that mental health issues are not a new problem, although there’s a growing realization in our society of their prevalence and impact. “It’s really the new generation… that are leading the way. In many ways, we’re following their lead… because the young people are showing courage.”
He has been quite open about his own mental health journey, even at his presidential installation ceremony in 2018 ( https://youtu.be/zI_XuTexdPo ). His father was abusive, and Benoit himself spent 20 years in and out of depression. “I thought it was important to lead from a position of honesty… Talking openly and honestly about mental health issues, their symptoms and their causes, is the first step towards addressing them, both as an individual and as society.” Certainly students at Carleton appreciate their president’s willingness to speak openly about mental wellness.
“You don’t have to be bound by your past… The journey of healing is always continuing, it’s never ever done.” The worst scenario is to be someone who believes they don’t deserve to seek help or speak openly about the healing they need. “A live lived in trauma, by yourself, is a desperate life that you don’t want to live.”
Mental illness has multiple causes, genetic and epigenetic, and it doesn’t matter what form of trauma a person experiences, the issue is the self-perceptions and habits of thought that hold them back. “If you’re raised in a way that you’re worthless and that the world is dangerous, you’ll never have a fun day, ever!” People need to retrain their minds to perceive reality differently: “The world is both beautiful AND dangerous… We have more control than we think about whether the world is perceived as beautiful or dangerous.”
This part 1 of a series on mental health at Carleton. We’ll be back soon with:
- Suzanne Blanchard, VP Students & Enrolment, on Carleton’s holistic approach to mental wellness
- Rebecca Drodge, a recent graduate, on Carleton’s peer wellness programs
- Shannon Noonan, Special Projects Officer for Student Mental Health Engagement and Pet Therapy, about Carleton’s impressive therapy dog programs
Stay tuned! Or to be sure you don’t miss them, take a moment to subscribe, here or by email at http://eduvation.ca/subscribe/
A special thank-you again to Benoit, Suzanne, Rebecca, Shannon, and the Carleton University videographers who made this possible!