The World of Sustainability

“The universe puts you where you are meant to be,” and for Darcy Curran ’13, it has placed her in the CPG industry, where she ensures sustainable business development and packaging solutions that will support our world’s longevity.  

When Darcy began her post-secondary education at Queen’s University in the Science program, she freely admits that she “struggled with chemistry and physics in the first year” and worked to find her way in third year when she discovered ecology courses such as macro and micro-evolution. In these areas, she “found her groove” and passion for environmental stewardship. She graduated on the Deans list and with an Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. She then achieved her Master of Science in Environmental Resource Management at University College Dublin. From there, she began her work in conservation research and analysis with the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA). This pathway led to her work as a sustainability analyst with Wonderbrands Canada and now an environmental sustainability manager with FGF Brands.

Darcy speaks passionately about the initiatives she is overseeing at FGF. She designs policies and procedures within the areas of waste, water, carbon, packaging ingredients, and makes certain our food products are sustainably sourced and processed. For example, she has helped the company to responsibly source palm oil from vendors that comply with the RSPO Roundtable’s implementation of global standards. Within this framework, Darcy makes certain that consumers can trust vendors and the merchandise they are purchasing. Another area of FGF in which Darcy has been instrumental is optimization, sanitation operations and waste management procedures. She has investigated how to reduce the amount of water used and disposed in the manufacturing of products and how reduce the amount of waste sent to incineration, working to find a recycling stream for every piece of waste on site.. In Darcy’s profession, she is “everyday learning something new,” and she is excited to be part of “a company that is making a difference and bringing to the table ways to improve sales, marketing, baking and engineering of food products.”

Darcy credits Villanova College for her want to make the world a better place. She was appreciative of the focus of grade 12 World Issues and the social outreach she did with the family sponsorship at Christmas and Sandwich Patrol, “It gave me the opportunity to witness the disadvantaged and to be grateful for the life we live.”

Darcy appreciated her experience in Grade 12 leaders and thoroughly enjoyed competing in sports for all three seasons. Most memorable time at VC was the Senior Girls’ Soccer OFSAA win in her graduating year.

Darcy’s current pastimes include playing in women’s volleyball league with Ms. Amanda Figliano and VC classmate, Samantha Jones. She has regular meet ups with several members of her graduating year. She  spends time hiking, and most recently, she went to Denver and explored Rocky Mountain National Park.

As for what the future holds, Darcy says, “I never could imagine doing something in life that I did not enjoy.” We cannot wait and see in what direction the universe next points Darcy.

The World of Gaming

What do gamification and architecture have in common? This questions was top of mind when we chatted with Shane Thompson ’15, who has combined his Bachelor of Architecture from Laurentian University and his Diploma of Education in Game Development and Animation from Toronto Film school and channeled them into his professional career as a Level Designer/3D Modeler.

Shane is currently an intern at Resistr Interactive. He likens his current role to that of a film set designer who creates scenery. His work consists of two stages, modelling and animation, and he uses the 3D GC technology of Blender to produce a game’s visual and structural effects. When asked how his work in architectural studies is similar, Shane responds, “Both fields share the ability to understand how a human would navigate an environment.” He indicates that whether building a game or a condominium, the architect and the level designer must consider physical requirements, user experience and context/setting. In addition, he states, “Games, like real world structures, are procedurally generated and changes are based on what is happening in the particular universe.” Essentially, Shane is engineering an environment, and thus his architectural background serves him well.

Shane has met with early success in the gaming industry. While a student at the Toronto Film School, Shane won the TFS 2021-2022 award for Best Game, entitled “Rust Bucket.” Shane’s role in the project was art director, leading how the game looks and feels. Although the scope of this game design is small, its platform is like the Mario games. What Shane found most rewarding about the experience was the collaboration with coders, artists, voice actors and sound designers. He realized the many working parts that are required to build the games he so enjoyed playing as a teenager.

The community that Shane values in the creative process reinforces the fond memories he has for Villanova College. Shane says, “From the first week, I felt right at home.” Having come to VC in his grade 10 year, he speaks of the Class of 2015 as a group in which it was “easy to find friendships.” He credits the experiences of Kairos, the musical production of Once on This Island, French class with Mme. Petrescu, and ski club as indelible and formative, allowing him to “try new things” and “make life fun.”

In his spare time, Shane enjoys walking, reading sci-fi series such as James. S.A. Covey’s The Expanse and, of course, gaming, those that tell a story and have a compelling environment that “transfers me to another world.” When his dad pesters him about his preoccupations, Shane says these activities are “inspiration” to fuel his game designs and future.

We cannot wait to see what Shane will create next as he continues to blend his passions and embrace possibilities.

Digital Media Venturer

When Alumni Affairs met with Geoff Crain ’05 via Zoom in August, he had just been invited to join the Forbes Agency Council as a respected senior executive in the PR, media, creative and ad agencies industries. The council was created in partnership with Forbes.com and connects exceptional business owners and executives with people and resources to help them thrive. He recently participated on a panel of twelve experts to discuss “newsjacking,” a media strategy that has brands putting their own spin on current events or trends by expanding discussions or starting new ones. Geoff’s topic was how to reach specific audiences, and he certainly applies this tactic as Senior Director Sales and Marketing at Kingstar Media.

Geoff was an employee of Kingstar in its infancy as a grass-roots DRTV, media buying environment. Concurrently, he was a student at St. Francis Xavier University in the Business Administration program. He graduated in 2010 and began work as a digital strategist at McCann Media. He managed the Johnson & Johnson and Coca Cola accounts. He returned to Kingstar for a brief stint as a digital media manager before he moved to Mundo Media Ltd. as a senior media buyer, gaining experience and a reputation as a savvy specialist in purchasing digital ad inventory. In 2019, he returned once again to where his career started, this time as Senior Director, and he continues to excel as a leader in the business of digital media.

Geoff detailed the value of digital marketing for the 21^st century, “It is all consuming, always changing, and unpredictable. You can target specific demographics and create niche audiences.”

When Geoff is not strategizing for his clients, he can be found golfing in the summer, playing hockey in the winter, and vacationing with his family – all activities he enjoyed while he was a student at VC. Geoff’s most recent trip was to London with his brother, Nicholas ’08, his mother, Viveca, his stepfather, Dr. John Banducci, and his fiancée, Inez. After attending Wimbledon, Geoff and Inez traveled to Champagne, France where he proposed to her at sunset in a vineyard. They are planning a destination wedding in the Bahamas for April 2023.

Family is at the heart of Geoff’s accomplishments, and he fondly remembered the days with his VC family, “The community, the friendships, the connections with faculty and staff are what I always valued. The support I received in sports, in student council, and in academics were excellent.”

Geoff also enjoyed team sports in all three seasons at VC: football, basketball, and golf. And we loved to hear him as a regular broadcaster on the after-school announcements – a foreshadowing of his career in digital media, perhaps?

In November, Geoff will be attending the Digital & Affiliate Marketing International Expo 2022 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Alumni Affairs wishes Geoff continued success in his work and personal accomplishments.