Following months of repairs and remediation, Keyano College officially reopened the Syncrude Sport and Wellness Centre (SSWC).
The cost to repair damages to the facility caused by the 2020 Spring Flood amounted to $10-million.
Speaking at the ribbon cutting was Sosthène Ngokila, the Ambassador of Gabon to Canada.
Ambassador Ngokila was at the school to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU).
He said he hopes it will lead to fostering opportunities for students from the central African nation to attend International Studies classes at Keyano.
“I would just like to thank Keyano College for welcoming me. Gabon is a French-speaking country, but I wish to pass along my country’s hope that this visit will be the start of a partnership for international learning with Keyano.”
Dale Mountain, Interim President and CEO of Keyano College, echoed those attitudes for International Studies.
“Keyano is proud of its International Studies and looks forward to developing and fostering a relationship that is good for the students of Gabon and the College.”
Also on hand for the ribbon-cutting and tour of the campus was Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche MLA Laila Goodridge.
Mountain took Ambassador Ngokila, MLA Goodridge, members of the Multicultural Association of Wood Buffalo, and a contingent from the Arctic Winter Games on a tour of the campus.
Keyano’s Vice-President of Academics, Fred Russell reflected on the reopening.
“I had chills this morning walking up to the building and seeing people utilizing the high-performance room at 5 a.m. SSWC will have a staggered approach to opening with some pieces still to go but all facilities should be open later in the fall. As a thank you, the first week will be free of charge to our customers.”
The group also surveyed Keyano Theatre and the Oil Sands Power and Processing Engineering Lab.
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Following the tour, Keyano College held other partnership discussions with Ambassador Ngokila.
