Student Life

Perth Valedictorian Brings Heritage Carpentry & Joinery Skills to Fortress of Louisbourg

In the early days of May 2025, eight students from the Perth Campus’ Heritage Carpentry and Joinery (HCJ) program travelled to the Fortress of Louisbourg, an 18th-century French military base in Cape Breton Island, N.S., to provide important restoration work for the historic structures. 2025 Perth Valedictorian Isabelle Dudzinski

Isabelle Dudzinski, a second-year HCJ student and the 2025 Perth Campus valedictorian, said that the journey to Louisbourg and the subsequent work on the fortress served as a perfect culmination of her time in the program.

“Having that [Loisbourg] experience, where we have all the theory, where we have a bit of the knowledge and [are able] to engage with the theory in a practical way was really nice,” said Dudzinski. “Heritage work is very different in [a controlled] environment like a classroom; a lot of things really won’t go the way you want them to in a real-life setting, so it was really good experience.”

Dudzinski began her carpentry adventure after her family moved to a small farm roughly half an hour from Perth. The requirement to build structures like chicken coops and animal pens, as well as to have a better understanding of an old barn on the property, led Dudzinski to the HCJ program.

“Studying at the Perth Campus has been a really good experience,” said Dudzinski. “Though at first, I wasn’t really sure that I enjoyed carpentry. When I first started doing the shopwork I was so bad, it was frustrating to just try and do something and have it not work. But then as I got better and I learned the skills, I found I was able to complete projects and find accomplishment in them.”

Throughout her time in the program, Dudzinski became a common face among her fellow learners, staff and faculty at the Perth Campus. She organized end-of-year potlucks, developed the Perth Campus yearbook and was the driving force behind the Perth Campus soccer club, all experiences that let her get to know the people that walked the campus’ halls.

Dudzinski and her classmates first learned about the prospect of the Louisbourg trip in the fall of 2024, when their professors announced the students would be building historically accurate shutters for the fortress. By the time the students began building the shutters — made from white oak and white pine and using a combination of modern techniques and historical methods — there had been back and forth discussion between the College and Parks Canada to see if the students would actually be able to install the shutters themselves.

The HCJ students traveled to Louisbourg by plane and car and were given rooms within the fortress’ barracks for the duration of the trip, where they slept on hard wooden beds with mattresses made of straw. According to Dudzinski, the chance to stay in the fortress after hours and to effectively have the entire place to themselves was a highlight of the trip. They were given free rein to wander, and Dudzinski saw the fortress in the morning mists, the dead of night and the rising sun amid the days of work.

“The Louisbourg people, they did a really good job of organizing us, they had everything set up — all the shutters where they were supposed to go, the scaffolding up and four [Parks Canada] carpenters who went with us,” she said.

Dudzinski was one of three students to stay for the entire event, during which time she not only got the chance to install the shutters and add her own mark on the historic structures but also got the chance to work on a timber frame porch and a cedar roof. Beyond the work, Dudzinski and her classmates also had the opportunity to go on an archaeology tour and an off-hours tour of the Alexander Graham Bell Museum.

With the Louisbourg adventure now in her rearview mirror, Dudzinski is excited to begin looking to the future. On Thursday, June 5, she attended the Perth Campus 2025 Convocation ceremony as both a graduating learner and the campus’ valedictorian, where she gave a speech that highlighted her personal satisfaction with her experience at the College, how it has impacted her and the difference her classmates and teachers have made in her life.

“By choosing to go to Perth, we were all thrown together to spend a good chunk of these past two years together, eating lunch, hanging out, even rooming in the same apartment,” she said. “We were all our own individuals, pursuing our lives across Ontario, Canada, India, Africa and beyond, when our worlds all clashed because of the tiny Perth campus.”

More information on the spring graduation ceremonies can be found on the Algonquin College Convocation website.

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Meet this week’s AC friendly faces

For this week’s friendly faces of the AC Faces Series, we met up with some of the AC support and administrative staff from the Perth Campus and the Algonquin Students’ Association (SA).

First up, we met Kendra from the Perth Library! Kendra is the Library Technician in Perth and helps preserve and manage the comprehensive collection of local historical documents and relevant study materials in the Perth Library, including unique books, maps, periodicals, and other resources.

Find the Perth Library on your right when you go through the front doors of the Perth Campus. The library is located across from the administrative office as soon as you enter.

If you can’t make it to campus, not to worry! Take a virtual tour of the Perth Library on the Perth Campus website: https://www.algonquincollege.com/perth/current/library-learning-resource-centre-lrc-perth-campus/

Kendra, Perth Campus Library Technician, stands in front of the Perth Library check out desk with her arm resting on the counter. Kendra wears a black sparkly top and a grey cardigan.

Next, we took a trip across the hall to say hello to Louise at the Perth Campus’s Administrative Office!

Louise is a Program Support Officer at the College. If you’re a student taking a program on the Perth Campus who has questions about your class schedule, admissions, or registration, head to the Perth Campus Administrative Office to chat with a helpful support officer like Louise.

The Perth Administrative Office is located across the hall from the Perth Library. When you make your way through the Perth Campus’s front entrance, you’ll find the Administrative Office on your left.

Louise, Perth Campus Program Support Officer, stands in front of the AC "Stronger Together" mural on the Perth Campus. Louise wears a black top and black and white striped blazer.

Another friendly face from the Perth Campus Administrative Office coming your way — meet Ben!

Ben is an Enrollment and Financial Aid Officer at the Perth Campus. Are you a student who has questions about bursaries and scholarship or are you having trouble understanding your tuition fees and balance due? Head down to the Perth Campus Administrative Office to have your questions answered.

You can learn more about the student resources available in Perth by visiting the Algonquin College Perth Campus website: https://www.algonquincollege.com/perth/

Ben, Perth Campus Enrollment and Financial Aid Officer, stands next to the sign for the Registrar and Financial Aid Office. Ben wears a blue collared shirt.

For the final friendly faces of the week, we took a trip back to the Algonquin College Ottawa Campus to meet up with a couple very special people from the Algonquin SA.

Say hello to Bolu (left) and Nakeya (right)! Bolu is the proud President of the SA and Nakeya is the SA’s Diversity and Inclusivity Events Coordinator. This duo (along with the many other brilliant SA staff and students) is focused on making student life the best it can be here at the College.

The SA is a student-run, not-for-profit corporation that works for the College’s students! If you have questions about student life or are interested in getting involved in this awesome student-led community, visit the SA website: https://www.algonquinsa.com/

Bolu (left) and Nakeya (right), stand next to one another in front of the Algonquin Students' Association office. Both omen wear white tops.