From Explorer to Ranch: Alum Enters His Bride for Giving Day | News

This isn't Dan Allard's first rodeo. He rides horses and grazes cattle, and knows the scenery of the village well. All part of education at Red Deer.

But a new challenge was proposed and quickly adopted.

Grinning, Allard, BComm'09, drops to his hands and knees. With a camera crew filming the event, he entered the 19,000-acre cow-calf operation, WA Ranches, UCalgary, to get a cow's eye view of inoculation day and, you know, enter the cattle pit.

For a friendly alum who is the face of UCalgary Issue date videos, the trick is no big deal. Catch him on all fours in a mud shed? It's just one part of a concert where he finds himself in unfamiliar situations, but also shines a light on university initiatives he's eager to support.

“I like to put myself in uncomfortable situations. “I like new experiences,” says Allard. “Someone said, 'Would you even consider taking a dip?' he asked. I said, “Absolutely. That would be funny, let's go inside. I live for things like this. It's very interesting for me.''

A camera crew captures Dan riding his horse around the UCalgary WA Ranches.

Scott Cruickshank, University of Calgary

A playful way to convey an important message

In the lighter segments, Allard always wants to help and always doesn't, reinforcing the message. Despite not being able to provide hands-on help, our hero knows that he can make a difference by making a gift, just like everyone else on Giving Day.

The annual fundraising blitz runs now through April 18 and offers donors the chance to double the impact once again, with eligible gifts up to $2,500, while funds last.

Allard was a very good sport while making the videos. Last year he used goalie pads and Dinos got a taste of the women's hockey team.

“I eat that stuff,” he says with a laugh.

Had to deal with Allard too Ratik Kapoor, BSc (Eng)'23, at the Schulich School of Engineeringand Dr. Pierre Billon, PhD, at the Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute.

“I never thought I would be Genome editing of cancer cells in a Petri dish — it's pretty wild,” Allard says. “Having others willing to show me around and passionately tell their stories was probably the best part of the experience.”

This time he is Dr. Ed went to Pajor, PhD, director of WA Ranches, a facility for training veterinary students and a complex of multidisciplinary initiatives such as wildlife and biological sciences research. Allard has heard of plans to expand the permanent structure for research, education and community outreach, promoting the ranch as a true center of excellence.

Dan too met Dr. Marcus Samuel, PhD, Director of the Biological Sciences Greenhouse on the top floor of the Science A Building. In addition to housing research on crops such as canola, the greenhouse produces fresh produce for the student food bank.

Then—Dr. Carolyn Emery, PhD, MSc'99, of Kinesiology, Chair of the Sports Injury Prevention Research Center, and Dr. Jonathan Smirl, PhD, Associate Professor and Principal Investigator of the Cerebrovascular Concussion Laboratory— Allard boarded the SHRed Mobile, a recreational vehicle customized to facilitate concussion research and injury prevention education. The program reaches out to local and rural communities so all children can benefit.

Dan tries to plant vegetables with center Marcus Samuel and graduate student Ginny Lee.

Scott Cruickshank, University of Calgary

Videos give donors a glimpse of UCalgary's initiatives

This kind of community impact resonates with donors, and gift matching during Giving Day makes it a great time to donate. Since its launch in 2017, Giving Day has raised more than $10 million.

Samuel welcomes the crowdfunding approach. “If you're looking at thousands of people giving $100 or $10, I think that's the way to go,” he says. “You post what we're going to do here, and then people contribute. All you have to do is make a small donation and we can do the job better.”

Whatever your passion, there's a way to make it through the day of giving. UCalgary is home to a wide range of impactful initiatives – research, student awards, experiential learning and more. – and the video series lets you highlight some of the unexpected.

“After every shoot, I tell people how funny my day was — 'Did you know there's a ranch in UCalgary?' So is the greenhouse and the concussion bus,” says Allard. “It lets people know that when they give money, these programs are going to happen. The university has more to offer than you might think.”

Creating video features, even one minute long, requires patience. There are multiple takes, quick fixes, lighting and continuity issues, intros and outros – and no scripts.

Allard's presence helped. The charismatic co-owner of Cold Garden Microbrewery, he's never afraid to get his mitts muddy.

“Some of the things we did?” That kind of attitude goes a long way to making it a fun experience,” says Peyor. “It's great that he's also a graduate and that he's engaged. This is very positive.

“He is a great messenger for the day of giving.”