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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, April 24, 2015 | 4 Sheridan's Celebrating Success with the Oakville Beaver by John Bkila Oakville Beaver Staff Pictured from left, Oakville Beaver Advertising Director Daniel Baird and Sheridan College professional advertising sales practices Professor Maureen Garbutt, who teamed up to produce the 2015 Celebrating Success project. The program is a joint initiative between Sheridan College and the Oakville Beaver and aims to put a spotlight on the stories of graduating students entering the workforce. Top right, Sheridan journalism students, like Chris Coutts (centre), interview the selected graduating students for each annual spring issue of the Celebrating Success project. Below, Sheridan photography student Katie Doyle puts the finishing touches on a photograph of a graduating student featured in the publication. All played a crucial role in this year's Celebrating Success to be distributed within today's Oakville Beaver to select areas. | photos by Eric Riehl ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) The Oakville Beaver is helping local advertising sales students escape their textbooks and gain real world experience. For the last four years, the Beaver has helped Sheridan College produce its Celebrating Success project, which highlights the unique stories of graduating students entering the workforce. The insert -- the brainchild of Maureen Garbutt, professor of Sheridan's professional advertising sales practices course, and Daniel Baird, the Beaver's director of advertising -- is delivered inside one of the spring editions of the local newspaper, annually. "The insert basically focuses on star students across all our campuses and they're chosen by various faculty members," said Garbutt. Typically, 20 students from the college's postgraduate advertising account management program, five journalism students and five photography students collaborate on the special feature. In addition, the production team includes: Garbutt, Nathan Mallett, journalism program coordinator, and Rafael Goldchain, photography co-ordinator, from Sheridan; Baird, Janice Jacobs, sales co-ordinator; and Sonia Holder, production co-ordinator, from the Beaver . "Nathan has his students write articles about these star students, photography students take pictures, and Daniel Baird and his team help my students sell the advertising," said Garbutt. Baird explained when working on the insert, Garbutt's advertising class is divided into groups and partnered with Beaver sales representatives who then work with the students hands-on and go through the whole advertising process with them. "I can't say enough about the Oakville Beaver. Daniel Baird and his team, (Editor in Chief) Jill Davis... they just come to the table and work with whatever we want or need, or want to experience," said Garbutt. "Metroland (Media) as a whole, Neil Oliver and Ian Oliver have been so supportive, not just on this level, but across all our courses. I've had guest speakers in from Metroland, but certainly the Oakville Beaver is the most hands-on because they provide so many resources, their reps, their tools, their clients. I can't say enough." Baird said it's a partnership the Beaver is happy to be involved in, too. "It gives us a chance as major media in the marketplace to partner with the local community college and involve their marketing class, their journalism class, photography class, and give us the opportunity to give back to young people trying to get established in the media," he said. Garbutt notes the partnership with the Beaver is extremely beneficial to her students, stating the Celebrating Success project brings to light the reality and excitement of the industry, more than any textbook ever could. "When we start out, we're making the mistakes in the real world as we progress and learn through our various positions in our careers," she said. "Whereas with this project, (the students) are creating something real that's industry relevant and it's industry current and it's actually going out for distribution. "So, the students are able to make some mistakes, know what it feels like to make a cold call, what it's like to work with journalism and photography students together with each other's needs." For Garbutt's students, particularly, she said they gain the experience they need to enter the workforce with some on-the-job learning already under their belt. Her students are exposed to business etiquette, cold-calling, how to deal with clients, present, and sell, among other skills. "They've gained some confidence. I think they've learned how much fun this business is... that competitive drive," said Garbutt. "I think they've learned about the industry, things about themselves, but also hard skills that will be needed." Baird said when those students get into a sales role and are on the job, their next sales call won't be their first. "That's got to be an advantage," he added. The Celebrating Success project is not only important to the students involved in producing it, but also to the students featured in it, according to Garbutt. She said because it is a competitive world, it's important for the students' stories to be highlighted. "They all have unique stories... and it's an interesting one for the community to read. These folks are going out to get a job in the community and they have this exposure that I really think is beneficial to them," Garbutt said. "It also shows they're appreciated... all their work is acknowledged. Because it's a competitive world, I think it's important for people to be appreciated." A digital version of Celebrating Success is also being developed by Sheridan's journalism students and is expected to be released in the coming weeks. Celebrating Success is distributed within today's edition of the Oakville Beaver to select areas. View a special video created by Halton photographer Eric Riehl on insidehalton.com.