Hamilton-Niagara's Top Employers (2025) Magazine - Flipbook - Page 20
20
SPONSOR CONTENT
HAMILTON-NIAGARA’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2025)
Niagara College helps employees discover their passions
S
tudents aren’t the only
ones at Niagara College
learning and exploring
what they’re passionate
about.
Nimisha Sumathi, a cocurricular engagement coordinator, is also an alumna who loved
being a Niagara College student.
In the months before she graduated, Sumathi did a co-op program
that allowed her to work with
college employees on the student
engagement team. That experience encouraged her to apply for a
part-time position in 2016 – which
in turn has helped create a kind of
virtuous circle.
“Once I started working here, I
was like, Wow, this is an amazing
place where I can continue to
learn and grow,” Sumathi says.
“Being a staff member helped me
discover what my passions were.
It really helped me realize how
much I enjoy helping people and
helping them discover their passions and skills, and giving them
the confidence to feel like they can
be a great employee someday too.”
Niagara College offers its
employees multiple ways to learn
new skills. The College’s Centre
for Organizational Excellence
offers sessions for staff and faculty
at all levels of the college on a
wide range of topics. The college
– which has campuses in both
Welland and nearby Niagara-onthe-Lake – also provides tuition
assistance to support employees
who want to pursue advanced
degrees, professional designations
and credentials.
Sumathi, who was active in
volunteerism and charitable
work as a student, now continues that tradition on behalf of
her employer. Niagara partners
with organizations including
United Way and holds several
fundraisers throughout the year.
In addition to her involvement in
those campaigns, Sumathi helps
host a volunteer fair twice a year
where organizations are invited on
campus to find students who may
want to volunteer with them.
“So it’s not directly us volunteering with them, but it is us
connecting our students with the
community,” Sumathi says. “I just
enjoy being able to be a part of
something that helps other people
and really be able to give back to
the community.”
We have a lot of employees,
but it really feels like
we’re a small, tight-knit
community.
— Nimisha Sumathi
Co-curricular Engagement
Co-ordinator
Nimisha Sumathi, co-curricular engagement coordinator at Niagara College, presents the NC Engage app on
stage during Niagara Day.
Pam Skinner, senior vicepresident, college operations, says
Niagara College places considerable attention on articulating and
maintaining its culture, which is
defined by four core intertwining
attributes: “We’re passionate,
trailblazing, student-focused and
welcoming.”
Skinner says college employees
promote those attributes through
multiple events held throughout
the year. One of the big annual
all-staff meetings is “Day of
Reflection,” where staff look
at what the college has accomplished, and what it wants to
achieve next. The meetings focus
on important forward-looking topics such as improving its sustainability efforts or strategic planning
