I was incredibly honoured to be accepted to McGill University in 1962. There was a proud tradition of McGill graduates in my family: my grandfather who was a graduate of Dentistry, my mother and her two sisters in Arts, and her two brothers who both graduated from Medicine. I was one of 21 grandchildren and the first to go to university.
I was privileged to participate at McGill in opportunities available only there and at that stage of my life, including being a cheerleader, a dancer in the Red and White Revue and serving on the Red Feather campaign.
My studies in Fine Arts led to additional courses when my kids were babies and my grounding in English has led to a lifelong passion for reading. My career in fashion, which I embarked on a decade later, also began at McGill with courses for an MBA which I continued in Calgary at the university there.
McGill instilled in me in a lifelong passion for learning which continues to this day. Through my experience at McGill, I discovered that the world is a vast, diverse and cosmopolitan place with people from many other places with different values and points of view. It broadened my world.
When I moved out west, I discovered a sense of balance and perspective about Canada – east/west, French/English, culture/values/humour. Ours is a rich and diverse country but I have always felt rooted in Montreal and my learnings at McGill.
I was incredibly proud to have two of our three children choose to attend McGill – one who has gone on to become a doctor and the second a very successful businessman. And it is likely that our granddaughter will be going to McGill in the fall as part of the fifth generation!