Dale Ritchie
Mckenzie College President

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Dale’s interest in owning and operating his own business began early in life, with novel ways to generate funds with his twin brother. Coming from an entrepreneurial family, he had the benefit of advice and support in starting new enterprises. At 12 he and his brother and father started a Christmas tree growing business and a campground in the summer to help pay for University. This was the start of his love of being self-sufficient and self-supporting.

He worked a full-time job in High School and three part-time jobs in University to pay tuition and expenses. He attributes his work ethic to his parent’s encouragement and his early training as a competitive swimmer and lifeguard.

Dale attended St. Mary’s University and received a Bachelor of Commerce, where he also served on the Board of Governors and was the Commerce Representative on Student Council. He had multiple job offers upon graduation and decided to work for a Major Oil Company and then a Regional firm, to gain experience before venturing out on his own.

After marrying his High School sweetheart, he worked in four major Atlantic Canadian cities staying in the area he loved. He worked in the evenings on his MBA, majoring in Finance and Computer Science, while working fulltime and raising three beautiful children; two boys and a girl.

He started his first of six Tim Horton franchises in New Brunswick, growing in the early days of Canada’s most successful and recognizable business. He has always been community minded, serving on Boards of Universities and leading service clubs and organizations.

He later sold his stores to seek new creative interests and purchased McKenzie College, a private Art and Design school where students “Do What They Love”.

Dale has said, “Of all the things I’ve done, this has been the most rewarding and enjoyable work. I love to see the students grow and develop their confidence and follow their dreams”.

After being encouraged to increase the International student mix at the College, he identified the need for quality English language training in the Moncton Area. With his background in Private Education and the skill set and experience of Jackie McMaster, the English Language Center at McKenzie College was formed.

Dale has travelled extensively throughout North America, the Caribbean, Europe and enjoyed Poi in Hawaii. His love of authentic Asian food has been appreciated with his sons’ Chinese partners, and family outings for Dim Sum in New York.

Dale is into fitness, loves to ski in the winter and sail in the summer, paints and draws when he can and plays violin in a church band.

 

Jacqueline McMaster
Academic Manager and Director of Studies

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Jackie's love of travel, passion for people and fascination with different cultures guided her way into a rewarding and fulfilling teaching career. After completing her Bachelor of Arts Degree, a TESL Certificate and some adventures through Central America, Jackie spent 14 months in Japan, working in a small private school teaching university academic courses, Business English, adult conversational English, high school preparatory classes and summer camp programs to children. After leaving Japan, she worked in Sabah, Malaysia and taught in summer camp programs to children, and then in Taiwan where she taught at a study camp for the Taiwanese Navy. These experiences propelled her to make language teaching a passionate career.

In 2003, Jackie moved to Brisbane, Australia to do a Master's degree in TESOL and spent 7 years teaching and teacher training in some of the top language schools and training organizations in the country.

When she started teacher training, she had the opportunity to work in Singapore and design training programs for new teachers as well as grammar courses and workshops for both Singaporean and English teachers. Some of these courses are still being trained today.

Working in one of Australia's top teacher training organizations allowed her to travel to every major city in Australia and New Zealand as well as Hanoi, Vietnam. In Vietnam she was given the opportunity to write and deliver professional development and training workshops for some of the local Vietnamese teachers and to work with some of the most gifted trainers in the industry.

Now returning to Moncton and to her roots, she is excited to be able to keep her passion alive and help bring more cultures to this beautiful area of the world. As the Academic Manager of McKenzie College, she is dedicated to ensure the delivery of quality courses and provide all students a premium educational experience.

"I want to provide an enriching experience for all students – to share the beauties of Moncton, to develop a positive learning environment and to facilitate quality training for students and teachers."

 

Allyson Teed
Study Tour Guide

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Ally is a friendly, fun-loving person who has a love for the arts, travel, adventure and literature. She was born in Saint John, New Brunswick and raised in Moncton, New Brunswick. To attend Dalhousie University, she relocated to Halifax, Nova Scotia where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Sociology and Social Anthropology. After graduation, Allyson moved to Vancouver, British Columbia to pursue her passion for acting. She attended the Vancouver Film School completing both the Acting Essentials and the Acting for Film & Television programs. While at VFS, she developed life-long friendships, a theoretical and practical understanding of performance and the joy of filmmaking.

Ally spent the next three years auditioning in both the Vancouver and the Toronto film/production industries. While working as a professional actor, Ally worked as an administrative assistant at a law firm in Vancouver and in two government ministries in the provincial government of Ontario: including the Ministry of Tourism and Culture and the Office of International Relations and Protocol. Through working for the Ministry of Tourism, Allyson was able to realize a dream of attending a world film premiere at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) this past year with Nicole Kidman! Always looking for new and exciting cultural experiences, she volunteered for Her Royal Highness, the Queen of England’s Royal Visit in Toronto and worked at the MuchMusic Video Awards show this past year.

While she loves traveling, working in new environments, she has chosen to return to the Maritimes to enjoy the natural beauty, warmth of community and spend time with her family and friends. Upon completion of the Celta TESL approved teacher training, Ally will focus her efforts on admissions counseling, and recruiting / instructing new students at the college. Her main focus will be as the “Adventure Study Tour Guide”, where she looks forward to showing the students all the exciting wonders of Moncton and the surrounding areas! There are so many wonderful attractions and educational adventures to explore together!

 

Cathy Cormier
Campus Administrator

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Cathy is the campus administrator at McKenzie College, and a Business
graduate of the Academy of Learning. Her knowledge of the college system
has helped many students from application to graduation. Cathy will always
greet students by name and with a friendly smile, and will help students
with any advice they need.