In 2017, Bob and Carollyne Collier established the Bob Collier Award at Olds College of Agriculture & Technology with a clear mission to drive student success by rewarding excellence in innovation, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit within the agriculture sector.
Years later, that vision has gifted almost $300,000 to students at Olds College.
The Colliers specifically designated it as an award, rather than a scholarship, to recognize the intensive labour behind the student projects. The Bob Collier Award is open to students campus-wide, regardless of their program of study, requiring applicants to pitch an original idea — or a significant improvement on an existing one — to benefit the Canadian agriculture industry.
Each year, a panel selects five winners from a pool of 10 finalists. The winners receive $6,000 and sit down with the Colliers to discuss their projects, backgrounds, student life and plans for the future. This year’s lunch took place on Friday, April 17. This annual tradition over the past ten years has allowed the Colliers to connect directly with the students — becoming a highlight of their involvement with Olds College.
This year, the award winners included Balikis Soliudeen (Agricultural Management Diploma), Everett Derksen (Bachelor of Applied Science Degree - Agribusiness), Hailey Ryan (Precision Agriculture Techgronomy Diploma), Kale Gillies (Business Management Diploma - Sports Management Major) and Zacharie Beauregard (Agricultural Management Diploma).
The 2026 winners were a great example of what the Colliers have aimed to achieve with their awards each year: to highlight and support students from all areas to think of the future and how creative ideas can drive it. All of their projects were innovative and showed a connection to their strengths and background.
Soliudeen is an international student from the Fulani Tribe in Nigeria that is known for nomadic livestock farming. She came to Canada to pursue an agricultural education and learn suitable ways to modernize her family farm. In her pursuit, she has discovered that to her surprise, Canadian livestock practices face similar challenges regarding internet connectivity keeping up with modern technology. Her project focused on implementing ways to digitally monitor and analyze livestock to allow swift responses to changing patterns, features and behaviours of the animals.
Derksen is a future cattle rancher coming from Manitoba. Although he didn’t grow up on a farm, he worked for various ranches across Manitoba and pursued an education at Olds College to ensure he’s equipped for a future in agriculture. His Augmented Reality Communication Platform focused on allowing farmers to show mechanics their equipment issues digitally before calling them out to minimize losing time on minor problems.
Ryan grew up in Calgary and came to Olds College to pursue a career as an Agronomist. She demonstrated incredible entrepreneurial aptitude with the concept of a machine that would reduce heating costs, reduce emissions and maximize operational efficiency.
Beauregard, a chicken farmer originally from Quebec but has made Alberta home, came to the College to gain the education needed to support his plans of a full chicken operation in the future. Thinking of his own experience with his chickens, he developed a product that monitored chickens' weight to prevent underfeeding and overfeeding to avoid the problems associated with both.
Gillies, a first-year business and sport management student, put his entrepreneurial spirit to the test to help farmers reduce waste and costs with the ultimate goal of higher profits. This was demonstrated by his design for a low cost soil monitoring system with the goal to help farmers make informed decisions.
The lunch held with the students and Colliers was a great example of the importance of collaboration as insightful conversation filled the room. They discussed their project learnings and were able to identify similar issues amongst projects and brainstorm solutions.
Carollyne Collier expressed how consistently impressed they are with the students.
“To see the efforts the students put into their projects, and the fact that they make time during the busy exam season to visit with us and expand more on their projects is really something,” said Collier. “We keep everything from the awards over the past nine years because we know how hard these students work. We just absolutely love seeing the work and the students behind it.”
The Colliers passion for supporting students was perfectly exemplified when at the end of the lunch, Daniel Stefner, Smart Farm Project Lead at Olds College, happened to be walking by and noticed the Colliers. He immediately went over to greet the couple who were delighted to see him. This chance reunion was especially fitting, as Stefner, a former Olds College student, won the Bob Collier Award twice during his time as a student here.
“He (Stefner) was such a superstar, he wanted to apply again after winning the first time so he personally reached out to us,” Collier explained. “Once we approved his application, he submitted an entirely separate project from the first time. We were blown away with his innovative ideas.”
The timing could not have been more perfect as Stefner was able to update the Colliers on not only his professional success after his time as an Olds College student, but his personal life (including a new baby) which the couple was just as overjoyed to hear about.
It was a true testament to the power of supporting students, and a full circle moment.
As the initial ten-year agreement nears the end, the impact of the $300,000 investment is clear. When asked how it feels to see a decade of results, Bob Collier — a man of few words — summed it up perfectly: “It’s unbelievable. Truly fantastic.”
While the original term has reached its milestone, the Colliers left with a hopeful promise of more to come, ensuring that the spirit of innovation at Olds College remains well-supported. Olds College is incredibly grateful to the generosity of donors such as the Colliers as they are essential to academic institutions and their students.