Yesterday was the big day for some Red River College Students in Portage la Prairie.

RRC held their Portage Campus Graduation, which was their largest in the campus' history. President and CEO Paul Vogt speaks to the demand of the programs offered in Portage.

"Oh yeah, in fact we have a lot of demand. The other thing people should know is that 95% of the graduating students have jobs already. As soon as they get close to graduation we have employers calling asking who's available. So there's a demand for it, and at the other end for the students who complete the programs. Obviously it is a ticket directly into a career."

Business Admin Diploma Graduate and Class Speaker Crystal Malcolm from Sandy Bay First Nation says it wasn't easy.

Malcolm giving her speech at the graduation ceremony

"It's a relief it's finally over because we spent a lot of evenings in our books, and it just seemed like sometimes we were neglecting family. But we're here, and I'm just so proud of everybody. It's just an overwhelming feeling."

Vogt adds the high number of graduates just added to an amazing day.

"This is fantastic. This is what it a culminates in, and there's a lot of different programs. This is the first time we did both years of Business Admin Program here on the Portage Campus, it used to be split between here and Winnipeg. We have the usual Nurse's Aides, Teacher's Aides, there's quite a variety of people who graduate from this program, and they're able to do that either in -- or very close to -- their home community.

Business Admin Diploma Graduate and Class Speaker Crystal Malcolm from Sandy Bay First Nation says it's a relief to finally be done. She says it wasn't easy, as there were times where it felt like she was neglecting her family.

Here's a list of graduates...

Administrative Assistant Certificate
Christine Boyd *
Rose-Anna Fiddler
Bonnie Gabriel
Kimberly Gee *
Shirley Haines
Caitlyn Houle *
Crystal Peters*


Health Unit Clerk Certificate
Jazmyn Devloo *
Hazel Kabestra *

Business Administration Diploma
Christine Cook
Adrienne Gabriel
Deidra Hordeski
Crystal Malcolm *
Debra Waldner *

Health Care Aide Certificate
Rhiannon Alcock
Kerstin Dinkheller
Christopher Du
Shyla Du
Glenda Ducharme
Ana Lisa Fajardo
Stephanie French
Jessica Galarneau
Denise Green
Bethany Isaac
Ashley Lesage
Jackie Letkeman
Hollie MacAulay
Katlyn Mutcher
Hailey Rex
Katarenia Riley
Brandie Roe
Christopher Roulette
Tessa Shaw
Brittany Solvason
Bridget Young

* - Honours