I grew up on a dairy farm in the Chateauguay Valley. If you were from a farm family in the Chateauguay Valley, you went to Macdonald College. It was – and is – a great faculty with lots of good students and people who were interested in agriculture. My brother, Murray McEwen (BSc(Agr)’53, DSc’93), also graduated from Macdonald College 14 years prior, which helped motivate me to apply.
My McGill education equipped me with an understanding of food service management and food science. That, along with my experience working at Green Giant [cannery at Ste Martine] for several years as a student, helped set me up for success and provided ample offers for employment.
When I graduated, I joined Ogilvie Flour Mills in Montreal as a product development technician and that gave me a solid grounding in the food business. This was in 1966. Six months after I started, Expo 67 opened. It was a three-minute walk from my office to the main gate of Expo 67 – it wasn’t what motivated my decision, but it turned out to be a lot of fun!
McGill prepared me well and I continue to stay in contact with a number of my former classmates, even now – 55 years later.
I’ve had great mentors over the years who taught me a lot and I’ve had a really tremendous and exciting career, so I'm happy to be involved with McGill and I’m very happy to support the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Macdonald College provided me with a diverse education and a lot of opportunities as a graduate – it was a good launch pad for me and several members of my family who all studied at Macdonald College. I am pleased for our family name to be associated with McGill [most recently, the Alton and Dianne McEwen and Family Internship Office and Programs] and fortunate to be able to do my small part for future graduates.