As a confident, athletic six-year-old, Riley Windeler (HSW ’14) knew victory was close when he stepped to the starting line of his first-ever foot race alongside his friends. And then he came in last.

“I was halfway across the field, and they were already crossing the finish line,” said Windeler, who has hypochondroplasia, a form of dwarfism. “It was the first time I realized that something was different about me.”

For Windeler, that race represented one of his first encounters with limitations that can come with being a little person, but it didn’t dampen his spirit or his love of competition.

Alumni in the Lead

In this segment we feature alumni who were recently promoted to senior leadership positions or are celebrating other major accomplishments. Let us know if you or a classmate are celebrating by emailing alumni@tru.ca.

Jordie Sxoxomic Johnson

Bus Cert. '06 and SEM Dip. '09

Congratulations to Jordie, who was promoted to senior manager, destination development at Indigenous Tourism BC.

Jason Krause

Telecomm Tech Cert. '98

Congratulations to Jason, who is now regional sales manager, US West Enterprise Business & Data Center at Corning Incorporated.

Bhavish Malhotra

MBA '25

Congratulations to Bhavish, who started a new position as growth operations associate at Loop Financial.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to TRU alumni award winners at the Kamloops & District Chamber of Commerce 40th Business Excellence Awards!

Ashley Michel (BEd ’23)

4 Generations Creations

• Indigenous Business Excellence
• Retailer of the Year
• Small Business of the Year

Tatiana Sumina (PB Dip. '19)

Calibri Cleaning

• Young Entrepreneur of the Year

AlumNights 2026

Apply to the Fortis Fellowship

Applications are now open for the 2027 Fortis Fellowship.

The Fortis Fellowship is how new members join the Fortis Society. Fellows join a five-month fellowship where they'll build relationships with other fellows, be paired with a mentor and participate in professional learning workshops. The fellowship will end with two days of cohort programming in Medellín, Colombia, followed by the Fortis Summit in June 2027. After the Summit, fellows become members of the society for life.

Anyone from humble beginnings with the ambition to have a significant, positive impact can apply. No nomination or institutional endorsement is needed. Cohort programming and the Summit are funded for fellows.


Apply by Nov. 8.

Career Corner

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Last Month's Poll

Most respondents were spending Halloween as just a regular Saturday night.

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Thompson Rivers University | 805 TRU Way Kamloops, BC | Canada V2C 0C8

Thompson Rivers University campuses are on the ancestral lands of the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc (Kamloops campus) and the T’exelc (Williams Lake campus) within Secwépemc'ulucw, the traditional and unceded territory of the Secwépemc. The region TRU serves also extends into the territories of the St’át’imc, Nlaka’pamux, Nuxalk, Tŝilhqot'in, Dakelh, and Syilx peoples.