Why did I choose McGill? To be honest, I think McGill chose me.
I’m from Montreal, so when I was young, living in a city that had a university of international stature equivalent to any Ivy League university in the States was impressive and it was always my intention to attend McGill.
After completing an undergraduate degree in geography and urban systems with a minor in environment studies, I went to see Dr. Avi Friedman in the School of Architecture because I was inspired by his work with Grow Home. He had helped develop an affordable housing type, which was amazing.
So I went to see him and said, I’m graduating from urban geography, and I’d like to study architecture under you. And he said, “but you don’t have an undergraduate architecture degree.” I told him my father was a general contractor and that I worked in construction every summer. “What else?” he asked me. “Well, my great grandfather was Moses, and he built the pyramids.” He laughed and together with the head of the department decided to take a chance on me.
Since then, the rules have changed, and you can now apply to a master’s in architecture without the undergraduate degree. Avi was a truly amazing professor. He opened my eyes to what good projects are. He encouraged me to never stop learning, never stop exploring, never stop questioning. To this day, my bookshelf is full of his books. And the lessons I learned in the department are the ones that guide me in every one of my projects. I learned what is good for a city and how to balance a private business venture while considering how you’re changing people’s lives.
Every time I walk through the hardwood door of the School of Architecture, I find my blood pressure just drops. I feel like I’m walking into a sanctuary. It’s like the feeling an artist gets when stepping out of the world. Like being in the Garden of Eden. Entering the gates or walking up McTavish, you get off the streetscape of hustle and bustle, and come into this quiet, protected environment.
All this time later, Avi still brings me into his architecture classes. I feel very connected to McGill, and I’ll forever be grateful to the School of Architecture.
My undergraduate degree was broad but my work in urban geography and environment science laid a foundation for everything I love in this world. I love traveling. Before I had kids, I was a backpacker, jumping on planes and hitchhiking around developing countries. In East Africa, I discovered my love of mountains and being outside, and meeting the people who are part of the geography.
I also enjoy cartography and drawing maps. I’m taking my kids to the Caribbean this December, sailing from island to island. I’ll be the one navigating and all of this comes from how geography opened a world of charts, and developed my taste to explore over 200 countries, some without running water or electricity.
Climbing mountains in these countries, meeting sherpas and all types of people, was a good experience. In the business world, where I work with different people on all kinds of projects, half my job is understanding people and the other half is technical and creating, and the business aspect. But the human side of things is really the 50% that makes a difference, so my background laid a good foundation for my next phase of life.
In our company, our motto is: We create places that transform urban spaces into meaningful places. It’s a holistic approach to real estate development. The projects must be profitable – that’s the starting point or no one will finance them – but profit doesn’t have to come at the expense of, or into conflict with, good form, design, and integration. I see it as a balancing act of magic and logic.
My life as a real estate developer and my life as an explorer have been shaped by McGill. When it comes to philanthropy, part of it was McGill and part of it is how I’m wired as a human being, having seen incredible poverty, especially in war zones. Living in North America, we have so much wealth, so much skill, so much ability to make change. I have a skill set and connections, so my wife and I started a grassroots initiative building schools and wells in Ethiopia, Rwanda and Uganda. I feel good about creating positive change in the world.