HSC Review 2024

HSCReview

A century ago, Strathallan School for girls opened in Hamilton. Eight years later, Joyce Young ’43 started classes there and would go on to become one of Hillfield Strathallan College’s most generous supporters. She died in 2023, and in this issue we celebrate her life and the storied life of her old school.

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100 Years of Herstory

The saga of Strathallan School is as inspiring and distinguished as that of one of its most prominent Old Girls, late Patron Joyce Young ’43, whose life and generosity were intertwined with the development of Strathallan and HSC.

The Puck Drops at the Equator

He was an international development expert, but Tim Colby ’82 has gained fame coaching the Kenya Ice Lions hockey team.

High Style at Street Level

Photographer Julia Spicer ’14 captures top fashionistas as they cross the pavement, all over the world.

The Idea Man

Entrepreneur Travis Schneider ’98 has had a lot of great ones, leading to a string of successful tech companies.

Saying No to Gun Violence

Physician Chethan Sathya ’03 has become a prominent voice in the U.S. in the struggle to prevent the tragic toll caused by firearms.

Campus master plan

See our plan for a more purposeful and sustainable indoor and outdoor learning environment tailored to the individual and evolving needs of HSC's learners. hsc.on.ca/cmp

hsc.on.ca/cmp

For more information please contact the HSC Advancement Office at advancement@hsc.on.ca

Cherishing a Century

It's a special moment: marking Strathallan's milestone and the lasting memory of Joyce Young '43

THIS ISSUE OF HSCREVIEW is a particularly special and historical one as we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of Strathallan School and celebrate the life of one of Strathallan’s proudest alumni, HSC Patron Joyce Young ’43.

Joyce and her late husband, Bill Young ’35, were passionate supporters of the city of Hamilton and also of their beloved Hillfield Strathallan College. It was an honour of mine to get to know Bill and Joyce over my time at HSC and they are both so greatly missed.

When my family and I moved to Ancaster from B.C. in 2010, Bill and Joyce were quick to welcome us to HSC and into their beautiful home in Ancaster. They would often invite us over when our kids were younger and Joyce would fill them up with ginger snaps and send them out to explore their amazing property while the four of us had tea. It was such a joy to listen to their stories of family, their connection to the city and their long family history with Hillfield, Strathallan and HSC.

It is well known that Bill and Joyce were incredibly generous to both the Hamilton Community Foundation and HSC while keeping their generosity quiet, befitting their humility. One of the passion projects that we worked on together was the creation of Memorial Way and the Memorial Garden. Over the course of about a year, we made plans to refurbish the existing memorial plaques from the predecessor schools and create a new and lasting memorial to the Fallen Alumni.

Bill and Joyce were regular attendees at HSC’s Remembrance Day service and on Remembrance Day in 2015 we were able to officially open the Memorial Garden, which is a daily reminder of the sacrifice of the 47 Fallen in the World Wars. When Bill passed away a few years ago, Joyce helped write a memorial plaque to honour Bill’s service as he was too humble ever to allow us to honour him while he was with us.

To say Joyce Young was one of my favourite people would be a gross understatement. She was so kind to my family and me, so gracious and so humble. She had such an amazing sense of humour and an absolutely

By Marc Ayotte Head of College

“Bill and Joyce were incredibly generous to both the Hamilton Community Foundation and HSC while keeping their generosity quiet.”

unforgettable laugh. If you asked about Joyce in her last couple of years when her health was in decline, her son, Bill, would always say that Joyce never, ever lost that sense of humour or that laugh.

HSC is a lesser place without Joyce Young, but her memory will live on with us forever. Please enjoy this issue of HSC Review and the special tribute to a great “Strath Girl.”

Photo by Arran Svadjian

Our Enduring Spirit

There’s something for everyone as we celebrate the achievements within our alumni community

AS THE PRESIDENT of the Hillfield Strathallan College Alumni Association, it is both an honour and a privilege for me to extend warm greetings to every one of our graduates. This vibrant community continues to be a bold testament to the enduring spirit of HSC, where friendships have been cemented, knowledge acquired and cherished memories created, shaping the diverse paths our alumni have chosen. Regardless of your own personal journey, we, as alumni, share a unique bond that transcends time and distance.

This past year, our Alumni Awards program recognized distinguished individuals such as Dr. Sunjay Sharma ’98 and Hall of Excellence recipients Jennifer Dent-Haddon ’82, Brooke Guzar ’03 and Carly Hourigan ’07, who exemplify the remarkable achievements within our community. These honours not only highlight individual accomplishments but also contribute to the collective success of this institution.

In the spirit of fostering connections, I invite you to engage with our expanding network of alumni through HSC Connect, our co-operative mentorship program. This initiative not only benefits students navigating their educational journey but also offers mentors an enriching experience, underscoring the reciprocal value of co-operative programming. I also encourage you to stay connected with fellow alumni during events like Remembrance Day, Carol Service, our Alumni Hockey Tournament or the Alumni Golf Classic, where you can witness first-hand the incredible enhancements made to the campus and reconnect with fellow alumni.

As we celebrate achievements and milestones within our community, let us also acknowledge the longevity of HSC, as exemplified through this issue's feature story on Strathallan’s centennial year. It is the contributions from our alumni, whether through mentorship, participation in events or simply storytelling, that continue to shape the success of our beloved College.

There’s something for everyone! Let’s celebrate our shared history, embrace the present, and look forward to the exciting chapters that lie ahead for our students, alumni and beloved College.

By Rob Alexander ’89 President, HSC Alumni Association

“It is the contributions from our alumni that continue to shape the success of our beloved college.”

Photo by Arran Svadjian

Grade 10 students gather mid-hike for a photo while at Montague Harbour Provincial Park in British Colombia.

E-Week gives students often-dramatic experiences that strengthen their social and emotional skills and help them learn

Stories by Alex Berry

ASK ANY HSC STUDENT WHAT THE “E” IN E-WEEK stands for and you’ll hear anything from education and experience to exploration and excursion. For Sheryl Murray, HSC’s chair of experiential learning and the director of E-Week, the variety in answers is a good thing. “The E can stand for many different things because the purpose of the program is for students to take what they need out of the adventure in order to better their sense of self and build confidence.”

A staple in HSC’s academic calendar, E-Week provides students of every age an adventure outside the classroom designed to strengthen interpersonal skills and foster social and emotional learning through personal connections and active participation. Once referred to as “soft skills,” the ability to communicate and connect with others is increasingly important in a digital world. The E-Week program is strategically scheduled in the first month back from summer break as a way to connect or re-connect students with one another. It also aligns closely with HSC’s larger approach of experiential education by engaging the whole student through a cycle of direct experience, reflection, analysis and experimentation.

For a six-year-old, this can look like a day spent exploring HSC’s outdoor campus with an Indigenous Elder learning about native plant species and the agricultural history of the region. Or, for older Montessori and Junior students, it could mean a day trip to the Royal Botanical Gardens where a botanist meets with them to spend the day exploring the wetlands of Cootes Paradise by canoe. Programming for Middle School students will often take them out of their comfort zone with their first overnight camping experience to challenge qualities of courage, self-awareness and personal growth among students.

College Life Beyond Books

Photos submitted by Senior School

With each year that passes in Senior School, students have more choice in their E-Week programming. Grade 9 students spend the week at Camp Onondaga, just north of the Kawartha Lakes, where they rotate through a number of outdoor activities meant to spur self-reflection about their character strengths and nurture camaraderie and collaboration. One student shared their gratitude for the experience despite initial fears leading into it.

“I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried things I wouldn’t have done back home, which made me feel fulfilled.”

Starting in Grade 10, students can choose from expeditions organized under a local, national and international framework. E-Week expands in the Senior School to allow greater choice and customization depending on a student’s resources and interests. Sheryl is not naive to the realities of teenage social pressures and acknowledges that peer group dynamics can often influence a student’s choice of program. “We intentionally put a limit on the number of students per trip to allow for mixing among peer groups with the goal that students will expand beyond the comforts of their social circle,” she explains.

To an outsider, it may seem like E-Week

Right

is an extended extra-curricular trip, but Sheryl dismisses that misconception. “A trip is passive, it’s what you do on holiday, whereas E-Week offers active, intentional learning guided by experts from the area.” Every E-Week activity prioritizes a connection to the people, identities and environment in which the students are placed. Take, for example, the 2023 trip to Iceland in which Grade 11 and 12 students visited a geothermal plant to see first-hand how the plant produces green, sustainable energy. For Grade 12 student Alia Wahban, it was an eye-opening experience and solidified her interest in science and sustainability. “I was blown away by the landscape and the culture—it was powerful to learn about the people and their connection to the land.”

Reading through student reflections from 2023 E-Week paints a clear picture of the power of experience-based learning. That moment when a student discovers their resilience after setting up camp in the rain or when they realize how much their perceptions of a place and its people can change after being immersed in their culture is not something that can be gained from a textbook.

As Sheryl sees it, these carefully curated excursions are essential to student success in the classroom. “E-Week gives students experiences that challenge their worldviews and help them develop their character so when they come back to campus, they can be confident in who they are and what they can achieve.”

Above Grade 11 and 12 students take in views of the Brooklyn Bridge and the New York City skyline while on the arts and business expedition to the Big Apple.

Grade 12 camp counsellors lead Grade 9 students in a team building activity at Camp Onondaga.

In Good Taste

Under the leadership of Narelle Smith, HSC’s nutrition program offers a balanced and mouth-watering menu with something for everyone

ON ANY GIVEN SCHOOL DAY, members of HSC’s culinary team can be found arriving on campus before the break of dawn to set to work preparing meals for more than 1,400 students, staff and faculty. “Everything is prepped and ready to go for lunch service by 10 a.m. every day,” explains Narelle Smith, HSC’s manager of food services. For Narelle and her team of 22, the smiles on students’ faces during lunch service make those early mornings easy.

Prior to joining HSC in January 2020, Narelle oversaw food programs for numerous independent schools across the country as a district manager at Dana Hospitality. One of the schools she consulted for happened to be HSC. “When the opportunity came up to work on the inside, I jumped on it,” she says. The move to HSC brought her closer to her roots as a chef and provided an opportunity to apply her expertise in health, food safety and nutritional programming in an academic setting. “I like to think of Lawson Hall as an extension of the classroom, where we create a safe setting for students to experiment and grow their understanding of food in positive ways,” she says.

Many alumni will remember the days of communal lunches, where students sat down to a preselected meal served family style at each table. Not unlike the evolution of learning at HSC, today’s students are given voice and choice in what they eat, with food served from meal stations. The serving line starts with a fresh soup that changes daily and can feature options from pho or chicken tortilla soup to Moroccan lentil and kale or Italian wedding soup. This is also the station where students with allergies or special dietary needs come for their entrées.

Next to soup is the vegetarian entrée station, a stop that has grown in popularity over the years not just for its delicious flavours but for the dietary and sustainability benefits of eating a meatless meal. As Narelle explains, “Our team intentionally designs daily menus

Narelle Smith brings enthusiasm and creativity to her role as the manager of HSC's food services.

Photos by Arran Svadjian

to reflect culinary trends while also appealing to the age and stage of our students.”

As any parent can attest, a toddler’s palate can come with unique challenges. Meals offered to the youngest learners will often have the elements plated separately but Narelle gives students the opportunity to try the more “adventurous” dishes. “Kids are creatures of habit, but if you can catch them when they’re young and expose them to a variety of flavours and textures, they’ll be more likely to expand their palate.”

And the proof is literally in the pudding. Narelle has seen more and more of the early learners skipping past the plain pasta option to grab the main entree with all the fixings.

Continuing past the main entrée station is the pizza station, the gourmet sandwich or creative bowl station and finally the salad bar where there is an assortment of freshly prepared grab-and-go meals ranging from green goddess salads and charcuterie boxes to soy butter sandwiches and chicken salad wraps. This is also where students can choose a dessert, a feature that Narelle views as important to developing students’ healthy relationship with food. “Some people will question why we offer dessert every day, and we believe by giving them a steady option, they’re less likely to view it as a forbidden fruit,

“I like to think of Lawson Hall as an extension of the classroom, where we create a safe setting for students to experiment and grow their understanding of food in positive ways.”

Top

A selection of fresh options fill the salad bar daily and include toppings like quinoa, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds and more.

Left Students say a tearful goodbye to Josie Duckett who retired after 24 years with the College.

empowering them to make balanced choices.” The majority of options are fresh fruit, and among the sweet treats, the homemade puddings, Jello and occasional cakes are served in small portions.

Narelle and her team try to make as much as possible from scratch. From soup stock to salad dressings, the goal is to reduce preservatives as well as waste, and everyone in the kitchen is encouraged to bring new ideas to the table. The puzzle work of meal planning is one the most rewarding parts of the job for Narelle. “The running joke in the kitchen is that I can’t be left alone in my office because I’ll come up with too many extravagant meal ideas.” She also puts careful consideration into sourcing ingredients and ensures balance between prioritizing local suppliers while ensuring quality and safety in the products.

It’s no secret that good nutrition supports cognitive function, concentration and memory—all key components that drive positive learning outcomes. At the end of the day, after the lunch rush is over and preparations for the next day are complete, Lawson Hall’s kitchen crew can walk away knowing they’ve made a powerful contribution to HSC’s mission of joyful and engaged students.

Right Tammy Thorogood helps a young student at the condiment station.

Jobs Well Done

The Montessori method puts experiential learning to work in the classroom

EVERY MONTESSORI STUDENT AT HSC HAS A JOB. As Principal Danielle Hourigan ’82 explains, “we refer to learning activities as jobs because it reinforces the principle of purposeful, interactive work with real-world application.”

Because Montessori education places a strong emphasis on child-directed learning, students self-select their jobs based on their individual interests and needs, giving students autonomy over their learning and helping to remove any negative associations with the concept of a job or work. If the goal of early childhood education is to help students form the foundational pieces for a happy, healthy and successful life, why not expose them to real-life experiences from the start?

Experiential learning is built into everyday life in Montessori. From as young as 18 months, the Montessori method incorporates practical life activities that mimic real-world experiences. Jobs such as pouring liquids, buttoning clothes or planting a garden not only enhance fine motor skills but also connect learning to everyday life. These reallife experiences provide a context for learning and make the education process more meaningful. “Our students are not passive learners; they are actively involved in their development to the extent that they teach themselves,” Danielle says.

In the mixed-age Montessori classrooms, you will often find HSC’s Montessori teachers acting as guides in supporting and facilitating learning. Students are able to independently

follow up on lessons that are tailored to their unique development and skill level. Danielle explains how the materials in the classroom are designed to provide feedback to learners. “Students often work independently or with peers using materials that feature a corrective element so that they can reflect, problemsolve and self-assess their own learning.”

Montessori also has the concept of “going out” in the elementary level where students are encouraged to leave the classroom to explore the world around them based on individual or small group interests. On the HSC campus alone, there are a variety of places for students to expand their learning. Whether researching dinosaurs in the Living Room, 3D-printing in the MakerSpace or baking muffins in the Senior School culinary arts kitchen, Montessori students have a safe ecosystem of experiential learning opportunities at their fingertips.

Because there is no ceiling on the Montessori curriculum, students are not confined by their age or stage of learning. “Our students are given the freedom to go as far as they want with a subject,” Danielle says, and adds that this boundless learning experience fuels a child’s confidence to take on concepts that they find more challenging. In embracing the Montessori method’s philosophy of experiential learning, students are not merely learners but active contributors in their own development. Though they are given a job to do, it’s clear that learning is not a chore for HSC’s Montessori students.

Photos by Arran Svadjian

Montessori students at work.

Stars within REACH

The Junior School’s character development program is more important than ever

ON A BRIGHT JANUARY AFTERNOON, 10 Grade 4 students opted out of their recess to brainstorm ways they would teach the character trait of attitude to younger students. It was the first REACHers meeting of the new year and the ideas were flowing, including this plan from one eager student: “Maybe we could film ourselves doing a skit where we show an example of bravery in the classroom.” While not every pitch comes to fruition, it’s clear these students are keen to promote the values ingrained in the Junior School’s REACH for the Stars program.

Launched in September 2016, the REACH framework sought to enhance the existing curriculum by ensuring students understood the value of key character traits. The guiding principles of Respect, Effort, Attitude, Control of self, and Honesty have become the basis for the program. Kathleen Collins, a Grade 4 teacher and curriculum co-ordinator for the Junior School, was one of the leads on the initiative. “We were auditing our report card format at the time and realized that to provide valuable and credible feedback on success skills like perseverance and passion, we needed to teach students about these kinds of character traits explicitly.” After extensively reviewing and evaluating existing character programs, the committee came to the conclusion that none fit the HSC bill.

Developing a unique character framework for the school was a collaborative effort and required building a list of assets identified by faculty, including lesson plan ideas, resource lists with games and picture books related to each of the traits as well as a poster campaign to ensure understanding not only between students and teachers, but also with parents. Postcards are sent home for parents to display on their fridges which, Principal Shailau Spivak says, helps boost the shared discourse of REACH. “For the program to work, it’s important

“Coming out of the pandemic, there was a lot missed when it came to social and emotional growth.”

that the language and approach between home and school is the same.”

Inside the classroom, resources for each of the REACH traits often capitalize on crosscurricular learning. For example, Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughter is an engaging picture book that teaches Grade 4s about honesty while also complementing their year-long study of Africa. Last year, Shailau decided to expand REACH to include a student leadership element. Grade 4 REACHers now help communicate the traits throughout the school by reading picture books or showing videos and completing follow-up lessons and activities during visits to classrooms. As one REACHer said, “Doing this makes me feel like a role model and it’s really fun getting to read to the little kids.”

To Shailau, the program is more important now than ever. “Coming out of the pandemic, when students were asked to learn independent of one another, there was a lot missed when it came to social and emotional growth.” The Junior School tapped into HSC counsellor Gina Ranger’s expertise this year to support them in applying the REACH framework to a model that parents could use for social and emotional learning at home. Both in and out of the classroom, the program is reaching its goals of instilling in students a strong understanding of healthy relationships and respectful behaviours.

HSC's Grade 4 REACHers share lessons on the five character traits embedded throughout the Junior School curriculum.

Photo by Arran Svadjian

Small Actions, Big Impact

A Middle School program puts ideal behaviours in the spotlight

THE MIDDLE SCHOOL YEARS can be a period of rapid development for students, often marked by their increased independence and an exploration of their place in the world. Recognizing the unique position of her students, Principal Kim Kniaz wanted a way to applaud good behaviour. “It’s only natural that as students navigate their newfound freedom, they’ll make mistakes and so we want to find ways of balancing corrective conversations with moments that celebrate when they get it right.”

Enter the Ideals Certificate program. Once a month, Middle School faculty and staff are asked to nominate students who, through their actions, have shown the characteristics of an HSC ideal—integrity, determination, community, respect and individuality. Born out of the College’s strategic plan in 2015, the ideals were developed in consultation with students as a way of defining the values, attitudes and behaviours of the community. Today, these five attributes serve as the foundation for social and emotional learning across the College.

One objective of the certificate program is to reinforce the idea that everybody’s individual contributions matter. “It’s as important to recognize a student who is kind and caring as it is to celebrate the ones that get top marks in math,” says Kim. Past certificate recipients include a student who routinely stays back at the end of class to help stack music chairs and another who was overheard in the hallway reminding her peers not to switch locks with one another. Those daily, small actions can often have more of an

impact on the culture and community of a school than a student winning an award for high academics.

The number of certificates given out in a month can vary anywhere from five to 10, with some ideals being easier to laud than others. As Kim notes, “there can be social vulnerability in highlighting certain behaviours.” Take integrity, which is defined as standing up for what you believe in and being honest. A student may not want their peers to know that they’ve gone to their teacher to take responsibility for their actions. Vice Principal Martin Birthelmer recalls an interaction with one student who sat with a younger student at lunch to cheer them up. “When I commended them afterwards, I could tell they were slightly uncomfortable about being applauded, so we’re mindful to only call attention to a student when we know it will be welcomed.”

On the flip side, discussions about behaviours that are not aligned with expectations are also anchored to the ideals. Concrete “we” action statements contained within each ideal (such as, “We are courteous and compassionate”) serve as examples of how a student can make better decisions. “Whether supporting conversations about academic expectations, uniform guidelines or behaviour at recess, the same language is part of the discussion,” Kim says.

While there is no quantifiable measure of success for the ideals program, Kim and her colleagues have seen a shift in the shared understanding of what is acceptable behaviour and what is not. There is also the pride on students’ faces when they arrive in Kim’s office to pick up their certificates. “I can see that they feel seen and valued for the contributions they’re making, which. for me, is as good a measure as any,” says Kim.

And the benefits are mutual. Martin points out that the program has had a surprisingly positive impact on faculty too. “It’s trained us to make note of those small but lovely moments, reminding us daily of just how special these kids are.”

Photo by Alex Berry

Proud recipients of the Middle School's Ideals Certificates.

Lifting the Load

Senior School service group Elev8 brings hope and hot meals to downtown Hamilton

ON SATURDAY MORNINGS, HSC’s service prefect and Grade 12 student Eddie Zhang can be found hanging with friends in downtown Hamilton. “I am so grateful to have this community and it’s something I look forward to every week,” he says. That community is the ecosystem of Gore Park Outreach, an entirely volunteerbased collaborative and inclusive outreach that provides food to people in need. From behind a serving station, Eddie is one of nearly 50 volunteers who help distribute hot meals and grocery items to upwards of 900 people every Saturday between 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. “I’ve developed genuine friendships with a lot of the people I serve,” he says. Despite the camaraderie, Eddie knows it would be better if he didn’t see the same faces every week.

Eddie and fellow members of HSC’s student-led service committee Elev8 have been focused on supporting Gore Park Outreach since just after its inception in February 2021. Through various initiatives on campus, the students spread awareness and raise funds to help Gore Park Outreach and its founder Jeffrey Ng feed a wide range of people in the downtown core. Currently, 80 per cent of the people served are seniors, people with disabilities, families with children, refugees and post-secondary students, while the other 20 per cent are people living in shelters and those experiencing homelessness.

“This club and the work that we do has a direct impact on HSC’s neighbours,” says Grade 12 student Ariana Ralhan, Elev8’s co-president alongside classmate Priya Popuri, who expands on Ariana’s comment. “It’s imperative that we do what we can to address the gap between us and people living just down the hill from our campus.” Among its many fundraisers, Elev8 raised enough money in 2023 to purchase a large tent where the hot food station now goes. Rain, shine or winter storm, Gore Park Outreach is there for people. “It’s incredibly rewarding to see the evolution of our efforts from an idea to the moment I see the smile it brings to people at the park,” says Eddie.

Grade 12 student Mika Radisic Hoang is the cross-College coordinator for Elev8 and has expanded the group’s support for Gore Park Outreach with help from Middle School students. “There are a handful of younger students who make lip balms and loomed hats that we take down every Saturday and give out to people waiting for food,” says Mika. In the fall, Elev8 event co-ordinators Tala Qadoumi and Simi Akinpelu collaborated with HSC’s Parents’ Guild to bake and sell 200 apple crumble pies, which they sold for $15 each just in time for Thanksgiving. Leftover pies were brought down to give out at the park.

HSC’s director of technology integration and innovation, Linda Watson, is a faculty supervisor for Elev8 and has been blown away by the students’ dedication to the program at Gore Park. “It’s inspiring to see them taking the initiative to address a difficult and critical issue like food insecurity,” she says. Linda joins many other HSC faculty and staff, including Senior School administrator June Jenkins, to regularly volunteer alongside the students most Saturdays. “Anyone who is open to pitching in should, because it is such a fulfilling experience," says Linda. "The atmosphere is truly special and, despite what you might think, there is a lot of joy and laughter.” It becomes clear that the warmth they share in that park is not just from the hot food but from the hearts of those who believe in making a difference, one meal at a time.

Photos by Arran Svadjian

Above HSC students and community members serve up food and smiles at the Gore Park Outreach every Saturday.

Right Grade 12 students Eddie Zhang and Tyler Thompson greet guests as they line up for food.

The saga of Strathallan School is as inspiring and distinguished as that of one of its most prominent Old Girls, late Patron Joyce Young ’43, whose life and generosity were intertwined with the development of Strathallan and HSC

By

Above: Strathallan's opening term staff and students on the front steps of 15 Robinson in October 1923.

Alex Berry

Illustrations by Joel Kimmel

ON SEPTEMBER 19, 2023, nearly 100 years to the day after Strathallan School for girls opened its doors on Robinson Street in Hamilton, Joyce Young (née Ferrie) ’43 passed away at age 97. An ardent Strathallan Old Girl and subsequent HSC Patron, Joyce and her life offer a mirror to the centennial of Strathallan. As detailed in its enrolment brochure from the 1950s, Strathallan was a school that emphasized the “building of character” plus “self reliance, independence of thought, consideration of others [and] the appreciation of real values in life” – qualities that Joyce, and her fellow Old Girls, lived, learned and loved by.

Strathallan came to life one fall day in 1923 and its story stretches out like the roots of a ginkgo tree—a prominent landmark at 15 Robinson. Cathy Philips ’70, the daughter of Joyce Young, recalls the network of relationships that blossomed from within the school. “It was a place where everyone seemed somehow linked through family ties and friendships,” she says. The seedlings would have been Strathallan’s founders, Janet Virtue and Eileen Fitzgerald, who established the school with encouragement from some of Hamilton’s most prominent families, including the Hendries, Gibsons and Collinsons. Arriving in Hamilton by way of St. Alban’s School in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, the two founders came at an opportune time, with the only other girls’ school in the city recently closed.

School records show that Miss Virtue and Miss Fitzgerald purchased the house on

“They taught naturally, exuberantly and with deep common-sense. Miss Virtue and Miss Fitzgerald could not have been less alike in their outward appearances or more compatible in their inner priorities. They dovetailed in temperament and imagination, and shared a chastity of purpose that is rare today, but was not unique yesterday.”

Mary

Ker Earnshaw '41, writing in Strathallan Remembered: 1923-1948 (1983)

Robinson Street for $17,000, with $4,000 of their own money, $3,000 from friends and a $10,000 mortgage. During those first few years, with help from patrons, new rooms were added and trees were cut down to make room for a basketball court and play areas. Edith Grinstead, who joined the teaching staff in 1923 and would spend 43 years with the school taking on various teaching and administrative positions, including a six-month stint as headmistress, shared her memories of the founders from those early days. “While Miss Fitzgerald’s interest was drama and seeing that the house was properly kept, Miss Virtue concerned herself with standards of academic work and conduct,” recalled Edith in The Hill-Strath Review from 1973, a special edition celebrating the 50 year anniversary of Strathallan. “The two personalities blended well to make an effective team, even though their characters seemed contradictory.”

Descriptions of the two founders are few and far between, with most shared in Strathallan Remembered: 1923-1948, a collection of memories from Mary Ker Earnshaw ’41. Miss Fitzgerald, though described as having “prodigious creative energies,” was “a woman of great personal reserve” whose stern disposition could easily be melted to reveal a tender heart. By comparison, Mary recalls how beneath Miss Virtue’s more flamboyant personality was the “picture of propriety” and the school’s disciplinarian. Though they “dovetailed in temperament and imagination,” the two founders shared a “chastity of purpose.”

By all accounts, (STORY CONTINUES ON PAGE 18)

Joyce's HSC Patron portrait

Honouring the Legacy

Judith King-Siganski ’62 is a premier guardian of Strathallan tradition

AMONG THE MANY NOTEWORTHY alumni of Strathallan School, Judith King-Siganski ’62 stands out as its greatest cheerleader. “I am among the last of the Old Girls to graduate from the original school on Robinson Street and I take great pride in maintaining that tie to HSC’s origins,” says Judith, who some like to joke bleeds purple. For her, the history and traditions of Strathallan are the lifeblood of HSC and vital to the success of today’s students. “It’s valuable for students to learn and understand the traditions of the College because it gives them a perspective on the legacy of excellence that precedes them.”

Not only has she given greatly of her time and resources to the College, having served on numerous committees and boards as well as being a Builder and Patron, Judith considers herself a custodian of the Strathallan legacy. “I never expected any recognition. My involvement has always been driven by a love for the students and a responsibility to pass along my knowledge and history of Strathallan so they understand what an honour it is to receive an HSC education.”

Sharing memories from her days learning in the attic of the Senior School at 25 Robinson, Judith paints a picture of Strathallan as a tight ship where both the quality of education and expectations of its pupils were extremely high. “I often think that HSC students today are so lucky, but then I realize that I too was privileged with the gift of a Strathallan education.” There was as much to be learned outside the classroom as there was within it. She recounts entering the cloakroom at the back of the school house so as not to dirty the front entrance and receiving a daily kilt length and bloomer check. Or wearing white gloves to attend Mrs. Rankin’s dancing classes on Friday nights at the Royal Connaught Hotel alongside the Hillfield boys. “We were responsible for maintaining a certain level of decorum that taught us respect, integrity and responsibility,” says Judith. Those

values are written into HSC’s core ideals today.

Judith also notes parallels between the level of academic rigour then and now. “When Strathallan and Hillfield amalgamated, the faculty worked really hard to maintain the exceptional standards of learning we were accustomed to in our smaller classes,” she says. An accomplished educator herself, Judith graduated from St. Joseph’s Hospital School of Nursing in 1964 and went on to complete her nursing education degree at the University of Ottawa before earning a master’s in education from Brock University. A teacher for 31 years, Judith played a lead role on the curriculum-building team when Mohawk College and McMaster University collaborated to produce the bachelor of science in nursing program.

It’s no secret that Judith’s contributions over the years have had a huge impact on the College. She’s helped expand learning opportunities by transforming HSC’s facilities through her generosity. But lesser known is the gift that Judith and her fellow Old Girls give to HSC every day by sharing the anecdotes, intricacies and traditions from their days spent learning at Strathallan School. Memories of trips to the YWCA for gym class or field day events at Hillfield build bridges between past and present and reinforce the strong sense of identity, belonging and shared values that puts HSC in a class of its own. “I know as students create new traditions, they’ll be curious to know about the ones that came before,” says Judith. Luckily, she and the rest of Strathallan’s Old Girls can help with that.

Judith at her home in Hamilton dressed in the Strathallan colour.

Miss Virtue was the more forward facing of the two headmistresses, giving the end of year Speech Day report as well as hosting the Old Girls’ Tea every spring. True to her name, she led the school with high moral standards in the hopes that the girls of Strathallan would emulate her. She was not, according to Mary’s recollection, without her flaws, and was known to show preference to some students over others. “Although she did not play favourites, she quite definitely had favourites: girls who interested her in themselves, who showed special academic promise or were in some way connected with her own roster of memories.”

That description resonates with Cathy Phillips. “Virtue sought out curious, open minds and celebrated that in certain pupils. I think Mom was definitely one of her favourites,” says Cathy, describing the special bond that Joyce, even years after graduating from Strathallan, had with Miss Virtue. “There was an ease in their relationship.” In an interview for a past HSC Review, Joyce recalled being terrified of Miss Virtue at first, but came to admire her. “She had a merry laugh, was very fair, and basically very friendly.” As a student herself, Cathy would often accompany her mother on visits to Miss Virtue’s residence, “the Sheiling” as it was known, which was conveniently located across the street from the old school. Perhaps it was their love of laughter or their shared Scottish heritage that brought them together over cups of tea.

Joyce was born on February 9, 1926, just months after her mother, Frances Ferrie (née Scott), won the Canadian Open Women’s Golf Championship in 1925. Joyce’s father, Gordon Campbell Ferrie, was an accountant and the great-grandson of Colin Ferrie, Hamilton’s first mayor. “Our family has a long, strong connection to Hamilton,” says Doug Young ’67, the eldest of Joyce’s three children. His brother, Bill Young ’72, also talks about the deep ties that both their parents had to the area. “The house we were raised in was built on the same property that my father grew up on, so he lived in the same place for 94 years.”

Both the Young and Ferrie families emigrated from Scotland around 1830 and, as the Hamilton Spectator described them in 2000, were “major players in shaping the

“Engaging, kind, warm, thoughtprovoking and wonderfully funny, Joyce welcomed us with open arms and made us feel at home from the very beginning.”

Former Headmaster Tom Matthews and his wife Sheena

economic history of Hamilton.” Joyce’s husband, William (Bill) Holton Young ’35, was also an HSC Patron and served as chairman of the College during the amalgamation of Hillfield and Strathallan in the 1960s. His family’s business, the Hamilton Cotton Company, dates back to 1880 and was one of Hamilton’s largest employers in the ’60s when Bill worked there.

Given the influence of the Young and Ferrie families, it’s no wonder that the marriage of Joyce and Bill on May 4, 1946 at Central Presbyterian Church was described in the Spectator as a “wedding of exceptional interest” in which “admiring crowds lined the streets adjacent to the church to see the lovely bride and her gallant husband come smilingly out after the ceremony.”

Their connection was evident from the start, says Cathy. “I don’t know of any other marriage as strong and as wonderful as theirs was.” Her parents met at a dance in Toronto shortly after Bill returned from overseas. “After spending six years in the war, my father, who was seven years older than Mom, was ready to settle down and start a family.” At the time, Joyce was in her second year at the University of Toronto’s Trinity College, and withdrew to become a full-time homemaker.

“I think, having been through the war years, prioritizing a family meant more to her at that time,” says Cathy of her mother’s decision to leave university. “She never regretted it, ever.” An accomplished student at Strathallan, Joyce was Head Girl in her final year of 1942–1943, the middle

A photo from the gardens at Hendrie's Holmstead, the setting for many Strathallan plays.

years of the Second World War, and pitched in to the war effort by helping make four patch blankets for the Merchant Marine as well as working the summer of '42 on a farm in Winona alongside four other classmates, Joan Peat ’44, Jeannie Henderson ’43, Mary Crerar ’43 and Martha Gillies ’43. This duty to serve carried through into her adult life, and she got involved with many local community organizations while raising a family, first working as a volunteer in the ’50s at Hamilton General Hospital and at Chedoke Hospital (in the Brow Building), then serving as president of the Hamilton Chapter of the Victorian Order of Nurses.

By that time, Misses Virtue and Fitzgerald had long since passed ownership of the school over to a board of governors. That came in 1947, a year before they retired as headmistresses. In retirement, both women maintained close ties to Strathallan and its Old Girls. Miss Fitzgerald passed away in 1958 while Miss Virtue was able to see Strathallan into its new era on the mountain, sharing a newly acquired property with Hillfield, before passing in 1965. According to Strathallan Remembered, upon hearing the news of the school’s transition toward amalgamation with Hillfield, Miss Virtue was pleased and said, “Now the girls will have the same opportunities as the boys.”

“I can remember people being surprised that my parents would pay to send me to school,” says Marjorie Denton ’68. “It was a big deal at that time that our parents invested in our

Believe It or Not!

Fun facts about Strathallan School

1938

Strathallan’s Miss Virtue and Hillcrest’s Mr. Heaven made it into Ripley’s Believe It or Not! for an unlikely-named school head combination.

In her last Speech Day Report on June 14, 1948, Miss Virtue noted that it was in the home of prominent Hamiltonian Mrs. Mary Murray Hendrie that the first list of probable Strathallan pupils was drawn up.

25 ROBINSON

The house purchased to expand Strathallan School once belonged to the grandmother of Joyce Young ’43.

Senior Hillfield boys came down to use Strathallan’s science lab once a week before Hillfield got its own lab in 1943.

Before Hillcrest or Hillfield offered kindergarten, parents were able to send boys to Strathallan until they were old enough for Grade 1.

Before the addition of a senioryear matriculation course in 1949, Strathallan students would often move on to Havergal College in Toronto to complete the senior matriculation requirements for certain postsecondary studies.

EXCELSIOR

Strathallan’s motto was Excelsior, which translates to “Ever Higher.” It is combined with Hillfield’s motto of Velle Est Posse, often translated as “Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” to make HSC’s current motto.

The school colours of green and mauve are inspired by the prairie crocus, discovered by the founders, Miss Virtue and Miss Fitzgerald, during their time at St. Alban’s girls school in Saskatchewan.

The earliest Pibroch yearbook dates from 1929, one year after the first Strathallan graduating class.

Miss Virtue and Miss Fitzgerald lived across from the school in what was known as The Sheiling, a building attached to the back side of the Amisfield Estate—the design of which is often attributed to Frederick James Rastick, the architect of the original Highfield school building.

education as girls.” Marjorie is among the team of volunteer Strathallan Old Girls who can be found on campus most Thursdays organizing and maintaining HSC’s archives. Working alongside Marjorie is Trudi Down ’68, Leslie Hunt ’68 and Trish Harrison ’67. Trish also serves as a committee member on the Alumni Association and leads the archives with support from Learning Commons Coordinator Kim Ayotte and Alumni Relations Officer Bianca Barton ’03. Together, the women bring a wealth of experience to the task, having made careers in museums, libraries and schools.

Trish can remember being at an Alumni Association meeting in 2016 when the topic of an archive came up. “While there had been attempts over the years to catalogue the College’s history, there was no dedicated team until we started in 2018,” she says. Along with yearbooks and class lists kept by the College, Trish and her team were gifted with file folders full of research, letters, photos and newspaper clippings used by Headmaster Emeritus Barry Wansbrough in the creation of Echoes that Remain, a comprehensive history of HSC up to 2001. As word continues to spread of the archive, more mementos and keepsakes arrive at their doorstep on the second floor of the Strathallan building. Overseeing so much history brings many of the schools’ traditions to the forefront of their minds. As Trish notes, “the daily rituals, like Chapel, the communal lunch tables and the House events helped anchor us.” When the merger with Hillfield happened, those traditions were fortified by a larger student body and combined

school histories. For many, it took some getting used to. Trish recalls the dismay of her Strathallan classmates at the addition of boys in their classrooms. “None of us spoke up in class for the first four months because suddenly our boyfriends were sitting next to us.”

Though Strathallan and Hillfield shared an address for many years, classrooms weren’t integrated right from the start and it wasn’t until 1969 that the board approved an integrated administration for one College under Headmaster John Page with Audrey Southam as Headmistress. According to Echoes That Remain, Strathallan and its girls carried on their identity and ideals in the new partnership and slowly the hesitation to speak up melted away. The new arrangement made way for expanded access to extracurricular activities, including the addition of the annual musical production in 1971, as well as more athletic teams for the girls. Echoing the words of Miss Virtue, Head Girl Mary Isbister ’72 wrote about the benefits of amalgamation, with extracurriculars “now offered to the girls…as wide and varied as the boys.”

In 1962–1963, the first year after Strathallan bid farewell to Robinson Street, Joyce served as the president of the Strathallan Old Girls’ Association. With all three of her children enrolled at HSC and her husband as chairman of the board, Joyce was once again offering her support to the College. “She would fully immerse herself in whatever she was doing and was always attuned to the needs of people around her,” says Cathy of her mother’s generous nature. “Whether it was with her time or her money, she quietly helped a lot of people.”

When Joyce was growing up, her home on Bay Street was known to double as a soup kitchen during the Depression, and Joyce carried on that tradition of giving back throughout her life. As well as volunteering for numerous local charities, she and her husband were major donors to local organizations. In the spring of 2000, Joyce made a $40 million donation in stock to the Hamilton Community Foundation after successfully investing in the tech company her nephew Bob Young ’72 co-founded, Red Hat. The donation was one of the largest made by an individual in Canadian history.

The Strathallan basketball team from the 1948-1949 school year.

The Strathallan School lunch hall.

“Joyce had such a great sense of humour and was so gracious to me and my family when we arrived at HSC. She was always so proud to be a Strathallan girl and had a major hand in the campaign to rename the Artsplex after the founders, Miss Virtue and Miss Fitzgerald.”

– Head of College Marc Ayotte

Bill Jr. can remember his mother’s staunch opposition to any publicity about her philanthropy. “She would hate the idea of being profiled as generous. For her, that was just what you would do if you had the means.” It took a lot of convincing by the Hamilton Community Foundation to attach the Young name to the donation in the hopes that it would inspire others who reap financial windfalls to also make gifts. Joyce and Bill kept their philanthropy quiet as much as possible, including at HSC.

In 2006, as the College was leaning into a major campaign to build a new Senior School, Tom Matthews, then Headmaster, met with the Youngs to discuss their support. It didn’t take much convincing to get both moral and financial support, because, as Cathy recalls, her mother was “impressed by the College’s commitment to supporting different ways of learning.” Joyce’s only stipulation was that she would have no public speaking responsibilities. And on April 29, 2008, Joyce was inducted as a Patron of the College at the Builders’ Dinner, joining her husband Bill in attaining the highest honour bestowed by the board on HSC’s supporters. The involvement of the Youngs would become critical to Michael G. DeGroote’s decision the following year to give an anchor donation of $10.5 million, later totalling $19.5 million, to build the new Senior School.

Though she shied away from the public spotlight, Joyce’s home in Ancaster was often a hub of activity. “Mom and Dad were the consummate hosts and their house was like a second home to many,” recalls Bill Jr. Cathy fondly describes her mother’s childlike pleasure in mischief, often at family gatherings. “She had a zest for life that was wonderfully contagious and she loved to prank her friends, family or even neighbours if given the opportunity.” Despite losing her

A photo featured in the Hamilton Spectator, June 22, 1942 with the caption: STRATHALLAN FARMERETTES

– With schools out for the summer, dozens of Hamilton girls are leaving for the country to spend their holidays working on the farms in the surrounding district. Here is a group of Strathallan school girls who left for Winona yesterday afternoon. From left to right, they are: Joan Peat, Jeannie Henderson, Mary Crerar, Martha Gillies and Joyce Ferrie.

husband of 71 years in 2017 and being isolated due to COVID-19, Joyce never lost her spirit in her final years. “Even as we saw less of the mom we knew, her essence was always still there—you could always get a belly laugh from her and she always radiated love and warmth.” It no doubt sparked a twinkle in her eye at the celebration of life for Bill Sr. when her family handed out his martini recipe.

Joyce’s spirit of unconditional love, support and service is part of Strathallan lore. These are the same values that Strathallan girls carried with them around the world as leaders in their communities. They are also the values that live on in the ideals of today’s HSC students. From its initial 70 students, Strathallan’s legacy expanded with the school, and its history remains alive in the generations of families it has educated and the lifelong friendships it has sparked. In the words of Miss Virtue, taken from her final Speech Day report in 1948, “the Ship is bigger than the Crew, and bigger than any of its members.”

Do you have a school artifact?

HSC's Archives have been revitalized thanks to our team of volunteer Strathallan Old Girls. Do you have a piece of important HSC history you'd like to donate? Whether it's an old yearbook or uniform from Highfield, Hillcrest, Hillfield or Strathallan, we'd love to add it to our collection. Contact us at ALUMNI@HSC.ON.CA

THE PUCK DR PS AT THE EQUATOR

He was an international development expert, but Tim Colby ’82 has gained fame coaching the Kenya Ice Lions hockey team

By

Brian Bethune

Photography by Eduardo Soteras Jalil

IT IS NOT ALL THAT WINDING A ROAD, SAYS TIM COLBY ’82 about the path that brought him from childhood in Burlington through a career in international development to a mountainside retirement in Nairobi, Kenya. And from hours of basketball in the HSC gym to becoming coach of the Ice Lions, Kenya’s national hockey team. Almost a straight line, actually, if you take note of HSC’s pivotal place as a fork in the road.

Colby was born in Montreal in 1963, son of an International Harvester executive, and moved around southern Ontario until his family settled in Burlington in time for him to arrive at HSC for Grade 9. “From that time on, 45 years or more,” says Colby, “I have had a core group of friends from Grade 9 at HSC. We live across the world now, from Calgary, Toronto and Halifax to Norway and, well, Kenya, and we still see each other pretty much once a year.”

Friendship and sports may have been the HSC opportunities that Colby, who wryly recalls he wasn’t exactly a role-model student—“I was in the headmaster’s office as often as I was anywhere”—embraced most enthusiastically in his early high school years. But it was a Grade 13 opportunity that set him on his career path.

“HSC had these wonderful annual trips you could opt into, to places like France or Italy,” Colby recalls. “In my year it was a trip to the Soviet Union. What an eye-opener that was for a 19-year-old kid, being thrown him into something like Russia and Ukraine, the reality of which we knew nothing. It was a foundational step for me going international later on, simply being aware there’s a wider world out there, and embracing it.”

It provided the most diverse environment Colby had ever experienced, with fellow students from around the world, and proved to be the final stage in what he calls the “hook, line and sinker” of what set him on his career path. Returning to Canada, Colby completed an MA in international development and public administration at Carleton University, and opened a consultancy.

That awareness accompanied Colby to the University of Guelph, where he took international affairs courses, and on his backpacking expeditions through Asia and Europe. His HSC days came into play again when Colby learned of a one-year post-graduate diploma course in international development at the University of Oslo. “One of those lifelong friends, also class of ’82, is Erik Means, whose mother is Norwegian,” Colby explains. “He had moved to Norway and was working there. I took it as an opportunity not only to visit him, but to do this program at the University of Oslo.”

For clients that included the Canadian Human Rights Commission and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Colby provided strategic advice on varied programs and projects, and travelled extensively through Asia. After 2002, with his consultancy wrapped up, Colby was a fulltime CIDA staffer working exclusively on Africa projects.

He was also a husband and father, married to KenyanCanadian dual citizen Charity, whom he met when both were working with the Parliamentary Centre, a Canadian nongovernmental organization that works with legislatures around the world to strengthen democratic governance institutions. Based in Ottawa, Colby continued his international development work through the first decade of the century,

“I urged just playing for fun. But the Kenyans didn’t want just fun, they wanted serious hockey.”

visiting Africa several times a year.

But the push of the grinding commute and the pull of Charity’s family led Colby to look for an African home base. In 2010 he moved to Nairobi as first secretary (development) at the Canadian High Commission; four years later he became a chief technical advisor for the UN in Kenya, remaining at that post until his retirement at the end of 2022.

Not that he was expecting a life of leisure to follow. Development work may have ended, but hockey endured. In 2010, Colby had begun regularly joining with other hockey nation expats in casual games at the only ice rink in East Africa, part of Nairobi’s Panari Hotel complex. “It’s a small rink with square corners and good ice, so we play three on three, no icing, very fast game,” says Colby, “and at 1,500 metres above sea level, it makes for a good workout.” Square corners, he adds dryly, “do lead to a lot of physical contact.”

Hockey was never a youthful fixation for Colby, who trained his sports focus on basketball, but he was pleased to replicate—on the equator, no less—the pick-up games of his childhood. And he was intrigued by the enthusiastic Kenyans he met at the rink. “They were mostly guys who also played roller hockey,” he says. “On weekends, when they went back to their roller hockey games, they would tell teammates about the ice hockey. And bit by bit, more roller hockey guys, who are still one of our main player pools, would come out and try it on ice.”

The number of regular participants, male and female, Kenyan and expat, kept growing, as did the need for equipment and coaching. When it became known that Colby, like many a Canadian dad, had a decade of experience as a kids’ hockey coach, he was asked to take on an official role. “At first I said no—hockey is too complex, requires too much money and too much organization,” Colby recalls. “I urged just playing for fun. But the Kenyans didn’t want just fun, they wanted serious hockey.

They kept pushing and I finally agreed, began running practices and arranging for more ice time. And then Alibaba did their thing.”

Alibaba, the Chinese Internet giant and a major Olympic sponsor, was looking for offbeat stories to promote the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea, and the Ice Lions certainly fit that bill. The Alibaba video of the Ice Lions at play sparked widespread interest, most notably within Tim Hortons’ Oakville, Ontario, headquarters, Colby says.

“They flew the guys to Canada and put them on the ice with Sidney Crosby and Nate McKinnon. And their promo video went viral, absolutely viral. After that there was an interview every day, with media from all over the world,” says Colby, who went overnight from retired diplomat and international development expert to in-demand national coach of the Kenya Ice Lions.

Everything snowballed for a while— more media, more funding, more donated equipment and, most important, more interested young Kenyans showing up at the rink. The world’s attention and the financial momentum have cooled since, but not Colby’s dedication.

He’s still playing, coaching and raising money through a GoFundMe page (search “gofundme kenya ice lions”); still one of the few Canadians to automatically put “ice” in front of “hockey,” a necessity in a land where

Top Members of the Kenya Ice Lions carry their gear into the rink at Nairobi’s Panari Hotel complex.

Upper right Colby explaining the next practice drill to players.

Right A member of Kenya's ice hockey team during a practice session.

Below The team runs drills and learns new

Below Right Tim represents the Lions at the peak

field hockey is huge; and still maintaining old friendships with HSC pals.

“My friend Bruce Simpson—yes, class of ’82, one of those friendships formed over years of basketball at HSC—just came over to spend a month,” Colby relates. “We climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest freestanding mountain in the world. One night in our tent, I turned to him and said, ‘Long way from the old gym at HSC, isn’t it?’”

A long road, but an unbroken one, in Colby’s thoughts. His 15-year-old daughter attends a Nairobi school that reminds him of HSC in its curriculum and approach to learning. He has confidence in the school because “I see the benefits instilled in me by that approach,” says Colby. “HSC is a touchstone for me.”

Left

Tim uses the skate sharpener at the rink— one of the only machines of its kind in the country.

plays during practice.

of Kilimanjaro.

HIGH AT STREET LEVEL

Photographer Julia Spicer ’14 captures top fashionistas as they cross the pavement, all over the world

Photo by

By Luisa Trisi

Photography by Julia Spicer

STYLE STREET

IT’S A FAMILIAR NARRATIVE: small town youth travels to the big city and discovers her true calling. But for Julia Spicer ’14, this is no cliché. A native of Copetown, Ontario, a rural community about halfway between Brantford and Hamilton, Julia is in demand as a street style and backstage photographer who regularly covers Fashion Week events in New York, Paris, Milan, London, and Copenhagen.

Photo by

Left Cynthia Erivo at the Louis Vuitton Show, Paris, February 2021

This page Marika Sila wearing Lesley Hampton, Milan, February 2023

Though a pivotal trip to Manhattan launched her dream, Julia’s initial interest in photography began in Middle School. An old Nikon film camera gifted by a family friend prompted her to enrol in a summer photography camp at HSC led by former science teacher Paul Levy, who taught her basic camera functions and darkroom skills.

Speaking via video from Brooklyn, Julia is poised and relaxed. Her clothing is understated yet elegant and her hair is drawn back into a simple ponytail. Despite the chic trappings of her industry, she is grounded and extremely modest about her accomplishments. Her “gift for capturing the magical, fleeting celebrity street style portrait” landed her on the website Who What Wear’s list of top street style photographers. The London, U.K.-based photographer Moeez Ali has rhapsodized about her work via Instagram, saying, “I think you’re probably top three in the street style photography game right now, so consistently good.”

The catalyst for Julia’s career was a spur-of-the-moment solo trip to New York City in 2018. She was in her final year at McGill University pursuing an undergrad degree in economics—a specialization she chose because it seemed practical. Scrolling through Instagram during a particularly stressful study period, she was mesmerized by images posted by street style photographers covering New York Fashion Week. On impulse, she decided to pack a bag and drive to Manhattan to test the waters. “I had no idea what I was doing and had never been to New York. I had no idea where the Fashion Week events were, so I cold-messaged a few people.”

Julia eventually found the event headquarters, where she camped out daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., waiting for photo opportunities. “I was so scared. When I felt like no one was looking at me, I would take a photo. I wasn’t

super skilled technically at the time, but it was so exciting.”

As people liked and commented on Julia’s New York photos, her confidence grew. “I felt empowered. I was doing something different, something creative over something more practical. That trip really opened my eyes because I saw so many creative people successfully pursuing what they wanted to do.”

Returning to Montreal, Julia offered up her photography services at the McGill Tribune student newspaper. In early 2019, she was accepted into a master’s program in photography and urban culture at Goldsmiths at the University of London. Arriving in London that fall, she was intrigued by the program’s focus on the intersection between photography and urban culture, and the cosmopolitan energy of the city inspired her.

“There’s just so much going on in London, so much culture,” she says. “You could go to a different museum every single day if you wanted to.”

And thanks to London’s proximity to fashion capitals like Paris and Milan, Julia was able to develop her street style chops as VIPs gathered at shows for brands including Prada, Fendi and Louis Vuitton.

In the years since that impromptu New York trip, Julia has captured an astonishing number of A-list celebrities, influencers and style icons. What’s happening outside the official shows can be as eye-catching as what designers are sending down the runway, and a scan of her Instagram feed reveals that she has photographed the crème de la crème— from Diane Keaton, Anna Wintour, Claire Foy, Caitriona Balfe and Naomi Campbell to a younger but equally influential generation of stars and trend-setters including Vanessa Hudgens, Jenna Ortega, Anya Taylor-Joy, Barbara Palvin and Maisie Williams–many of whom repost Julia’s photos on their own feeds. Despite her proximity to fame, Julia is less interested in the celebrity status of her subjects than she is in capturing a vibe or a specific moment in time. “For me, it’s not necessarily about the clothes or the person. It’s about the composition of the photo itself. It can be messy, it can be chaotic, but when the light looks nice or the subject is doing something interesting, those are always the photos I’m proudest of— the ones that are more dynamic.”

Self portrait Brooklyn, January 2024

Julia’s secret to capturing compelling moments on the fly? “I’m very discreet. There are some street photographers who put the camera right in your face. I’m not like that. I don’t ask for permission because I want to capture a candid moment. As soon as permission is requested and given, it’s a portrait, not a street photo. Of course, if anyone asks me to delete an image, I respect their request.”

She carries this ethos into her backstage photography for brands like Les Fleurs, where her lens focuses on designers and models in the moments before they stride down the runway. “I want to capture backstage as authentically as possible. If it’s chaotic, I’d rather show that it’s chaotic instead of having everyone pose with nothing going on in the background. The backstage experience isn’t always perfectly organized, and the photos should reflect that.”

Julia doesn’t rule out the possibility of pursuing photojournalistic assignments in the future, but for now she is committed to growing her career in fashion. After just five years—including pandemic interruptions—her international reputation is blossoming. She receives editorial photography commissions from publications like L’Officiel Chile or Purple, an independent French magazine. Julia’s recent Spring Summer 2024 preview for the celebrated Italian luxury brand Marni captures the collection’s joyful explosion of stripes and three-dimensional florals.

Among the many pinch-me moments Julia has recently experienced, perhaps the most significant came in early 2023 from a source closer to home. The Toronto Star’s beauty, style, and culture magazine, The Kit, assigned her to photograph the collections of six Indigenous designers who were invited to Milan Fashion Week.

“That was my first really big print publication assignment.

I feel it’s really important that Indigenous designers be recognized. It’s a big responsibility for a photographer to do that in a respectful way that makes it more of a collaborative process.”

Another event in Julia’s life that seems like it was lifted from the plotline of a rom-com is more personal: in 2022, she married fellow alum Will Cross-Bermingham ’14. Julia’s classmate even since pre-HSC days—as far back as Grade 3— Will also happens to be an Oxford-educated economist with a passion for photography. “He is very supportive and has helped me through periods of self-doubt, so I am very lucky.”

Soon Julia will mark 10 years since graduating from HSC, though at times she stills feels like that 17-year-old diving into uncharted waters. “There’s a lot of navigating and sorting out who you are, and that takes time. It sounds cheesy, but my advice is to take risks, believe in yourself, and do the scary or uncomfortable thing. It doesn’t have to be a straight path.”

Above Backstage at the Diesel show, Milan, September 2023.

Top right Steet style in Milan, February 2021.

Right Backstage at the Marni show, Paris, September 2023.

THE MAN

Entrepreneur Travis Schneider ’98 has had a lot of great ones, leading to a string of successful tech companies

By Mary K.

Nolan

Photography by Jaime Hogge

HE’S NO LONGER CUTTING GRASS TO EARN A LIVING, but Travis Schneider ’98 is definitely not letting it  grow under his feet. From Hamilton to California and back, he has built a string of successful companies as a self-described, and very dedicated, “serial entrepreneur” in the technology sector.

It was a high school landscaping gig that introduced Travis to the benefits of being his own boss. The summer after Grade 12, he and schoolmate Jeremy Parsons ’94 bought a 1978 Ford pickup, ordered some business cards, hired a bunch of their pals and began knocking on doors to drum up clients for their

fledgling lawn and garden service. “I really got a taste of being an entrepreneur and running my own business,” he says.

Travis is the only child of Marg, a middle school principal, and Peter, a high school teacher, who sent him to HSC not only for its outstanding academic reputation but also because its operating hours and bus service worked well with the schedules of two working parents. He flourished from day one in Colleen Moore's kindergarten class. “I loved it from the get-go and never looked back. I was so happy there,” he says. “One of the most valuable things I took away from it was the friendships. Anyone who goes all the way through can’t help but forge really strong relationships.”

The HSC Lifer played football on a team that “probably lost more games than we won.”

But coach and math teacher Greg Higson left a big impression on the students. “He was oldschool traditional,” says Travis. “If you didn’t do your best out there on the field, you were on the bench. Higson was looked up to, admired and feared. He was tough and hard to please, but he was a great teacher and he had a big impact on me.” Travis admits he was too busy having a good time to worry much about academics. “I was an average student. It didn’t come naturally and I had to work hard to get good marks.”

During the summers, a teenaged Travis and his dad headed west on their Harley-Davidsons. It was on those idyllic road trips that he discovered California—the Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, the spectacular scenery, and “a world outside Hamilton, a world I knew I wanted to explore.” The fact that California was also the epicentre of the entertainment industry was not lost on Travis, a huge movie buff who realized he’d need to figure out a way to work the Golden State  and show biz into his plans for the future.

Armed with those career criteria, he set his sights on Wilfrid Laurier University for the business school and its acclaimed co-op program. He buckled down to his studies at HSC and, upon graduation, was accepted into WLU’s honours business administration program.

On one of those summer bike trips, Travis and his dad had met a man who was an executive at the Munich corporate headquarters of Siemens, the German multinational technology giant. That serendipitous meeting led to a fourmonth co-op placement at the company’s Munich and Berlin offices after Travis’s second year. When he got home, he and friend Dominic Zamprogna ’98 took off on a motorcycle trip to California. Dom was chasing an acting career, Travis in search of business opportunities. He rode to the Siemens office in San Diego, showing up in a wrinkled shirt from his saddlebag, and lined up a co-op placement for the following summer.

As valuable as that experience was, it reaffirmed Travis’s desire to work for himself. He’d always been independent and outgoing and was confident he had the necessary drive. “I never hesitated to go after something I wanted. I never worried about the risk element.”

He just had to find the right business idea.  It came to him during his last year of business school, while he was watching the 2001 action thriller Spy Game with his girlfriend Suzanne, whom he’d met on his first day at university. “Brad Pitt was wearing these really cool shades,” Travis recalls, “but it was 2002 and if you wanted to buy those shades and look like Brad Pitt, nothing existed to get that information. It was an awesome potential idea. What if I could build a website where you could get all those products you see in movies and on TV?” Such a venture would combine all three of his career requirements—being an entrepreneur, indulging his love of movies and going to California. “I’d need to partner with the studios, convince them to tell me where the products came from, and then give them a cut.”

To raise capital, he persuaded friends to ask their parents if they knew people who’d be interested in taking a flyer on his idea. It worked. A friend’s doctor dad and several colleagues floated him $50,000 seed money and he was off. He cashed the cheque on a Thursday, went to Best Buy for a computer and left Hamilton with Suzanne at 5 a.m. Friday in a snowstorm. “We arrived on the coast by Sunday night, got an apartment on Sunset Boulevard and I started cold-calling every single entertainment company that ever existed.”

It was more than a year before Showtime Networks saw the potential, and Star Brand Media was born. It caught

Travis promotes his PatientPOP product.

“We

arrived on the coast by Sunday night, got an apartment on Sunset Boulevard and I started cold-calling every single

the attention of Warner Bros. and eventually most of the major movie studios and television networks. After selling to an entertainment company in 2007, Travis stayed on in a consulting capacity before coming up with his next enterprise, an e-commerce business called Shop Nation. Within a few years, Shop Nation was snapped up by Meredith Corporation, the largest digital and print magazine publisher in the U.S. Again, Travis stayed on for a transitional year while fermenting his next venture.

This time, Travis’s light-bulb moment was triggered by the experience of expectant friends who were shocked by an archaic health-care system. It wasn’t the care, but areas such as billing, patient communication, access to medical records and appointment booking that needed work. “The medical world was late to the game,” he says. “Health care was one of the last to leverage technology to improve.” Enter Santa Monica-based PatientPOP, software designed to modernize the way doctors run their offices and streamline the business side of their practices. It’s now used by more than 100,000 physicians in the U.S.

Early in 2020, as COVID-19 gripped the world, Travis and Suzanne, now his wife and the mother of their four children, repaired to their vacation property in Ellicottville, New York. The longer they stayed, the more they realized that if they were ever going to return to Canada, this was the time. “A couple of years” in California had somehow stretched to 20 and they wanted their children to have the Canadian experience.

Home is now a splendid Mountain brow house just blocks from HSC, where Travis serves on the College’s board of governors, Suzanne is a member of the Parents' Guild and does supply teaching, and George, 15, Vince, 11, Erika, 9, and Charlie, 6, are students. Travis gets a kick out of the fact that his French teacher, Laur-Ann Camus, now teaches one of his sons.

Travis is no longer CEO but remains on PatientPOP’s board of directors while percolating plans for a new technology company in 2024, probably in the healthcare sector. “This is the most exciting time, incubating concepts and ideas,”

he says. “I get energized between projects and extremely enthusiastic about going after the next thing. For some entrepreneurs, the business is their baby and they want to run it forever, but I get more juice from the start-up phase and less with the day-to-day operations.”

Indeed, Travis may well be the classic idea man in the tradition of those in both Silicon Valley and Wall Street.  “I like doing new things. It keeps you on your toes. You have to be paying attention to what’s going on in the industries you’re looking into and curious about what’s going on around you. You always want to be in a position to catch an opportunity.”

TO GUN

SAYING NØ VIOLENCE

Physician Chethan Sathya ’03 has become a prominent voice in the U.S. in the struggle to prevent the tragic toll caused by firearms

By Patricia Hluchy | Photography by Bryan Derballa

CHETHAN SATHYA ’03 HAS HEARD devastating stories from dozens of families who lost loved ones through gun violence. Due to his work, the pediatric trauma surgeon is well-acquainted with the horrors wrought by firearms, and he is determined to do something about it.

Chethan is director of the Center for Gun Violence Prevention—whose creation he spearheaded in 2020—at the New York City region’s non-profit Northwell Health, the largest healthcare system in the state. He is also the recipient of a US$1.4-million grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health to research the phenomenon.

Over the past four years, the Edmonton-born physician and HSC Lifer has emerged as a powerful voice in global, and especially North American, conversations about death through firearms.

And that, Chethan says, is how he got to know “so many incredible people who lost loved ones. Creating community with and being able to support survivors, who feel so alone and are the ones doing the hardest work in the space, is the best part of my role. Seeing their resilience and advocacy in the face of tragedy has been eye-opening.”

As a board member of Sandy Hook Promise, he has met family members of the 26 people—20 of them children—who lost their lives in the December 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The non-profit group, founded and led by survivors, is committed to preventing firearm violence. ”You encounter individuals who have been through unthinkable trauma that turns them into incredible advocates,” says Chethan. “At the end of the day, that is really inspiring.”

Chethan has become a go-to expert on preventing the scourge of gun violence. He has worked closely with hospitals and health systems across America, leading a 2022 panel for the prestigious National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on the subject. Last fall, he was invited to the announcement of President Joe Biden’s new White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, to be overseen by Vice-President Kamala Harris. He was also a panellist on guns at the annual Association of American Medical Colleges conference in Seattle.

Last November, Chethan spoke at a rally in Washington focused on the case of Zackey Rahimi, a Texan who has been subject to a domestic-violence restraining order since 2019. Chethan and others urged the Supreme Court to preserve the policy of preventing alleged domestic abusers from possessing guns.

And in Toronto in September, he participated in a Canadian Academy of Health Sciences forum on guns. He notes that many in this country aren’t aware of the fact that, after the U.S., Canada has the highest rate of gun violence per capita in the developed world, albeit much lower than America’s. “It’s wrong to think that it’s not an issue in Canada,” he says. “It’s just more sporadically located and not as rampant.”

On several occasions he has spoken with Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former president Bill, on gun violence and was a featured guest on her Apple podcast “In Fact.”

In his 38 years, Chethan has racked up more skills, honours and titles than

most people could hope to achieve in two or three lifetimes. He is also trauma director at New York City’s Cohen Children’s Medical Center, part of Northwell Health. And he is a medical writer who completed a twoyear fellowship in global journalism at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. Articles written or co-authored by him have appeared in Scientific American, the Globe and Mail, CNN, the Washington Post and Harvard Business Review, among others.

While doing his Munk fellowship, he was also a resident surgeon at U of T— and he completed a master’s degree in clinical epidemiology.

Chethan concedes his interest in medicine sprang, at least in part, from his family of doctors. His father, Dr. Jinka Sathya, is a retired radiation oncologist, his mother, Pushpa, is a pediatric gastroenterologist, and his two younger brothers, Abhinay ’08 and Akshay ’12, are physicians. “Growing up, I saw that what my parents did every day was extremely rewarding,” he recalls. “That’s why I went down the route of studying anatomy and cell biology at McGill.” Naturally, he graduated with honours.

HSC also played a significant role in his dreams. “There was the enthusiasm my teachers had around science,” he says. “And the education there really focuses on motivating kids to dream big.” His peers at the institution, which he attended from preschool Montessori through to graduation, also had a big impact. “Many of my friends to this day are from HSC and we maintain a very strong bond, like family. Having that network is incredibly important—we shared that dream of wanting to achieve.”

One of those close pals is Jonathan Skirving ’03, who arrived at HSC for Grade 6. “I’ll never forget that Chethan was one of the first people I met there, in the hallway,” says Skirving, the Burlington-based president of a corporate-investment consulting company, Blackbriar. “He knew I was the new kid in the school, and he was just the kindest, nicest person. He took me under his wing and helped me feel comfortable.”

The two have kept in regular contact,

Below A screenshot from Emergency NYC, the Netflix docuseries featuring Chethan in action.

Above Chethan with President Joe Biden in 2023 at the White House for the announcement of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

He notes that many in this country aren’t aware of the fact that, after the U.S., Canada has the highest rate of gun violence per capita in the developed world, albeit much lower than America’s.

sometimes travelling together, says Skirving. “He’s still the same person I met in Grade 6: kind, caring, a good human being. That’s not always the case for unbelievably accomplished professionals who are doing good things in the world. And that’s why we’re still friends after more than 25 years.”

After HSC and then McGill, Chethan went to medical school at U of T, where he completed his certification as a general surgeon. He then worked for two years at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago.

Over time, he felt pediatric surgery was his calling. “I knew I loved operating and being able to save a life amid such a horrendous journey,” recalls Chethan, now the father of three young daughters. “And then one of the things that was really exciting about pediatrics is that you’re taking not only the baby or child on that journey but also the parents, and I found that incredibly rewarding.”

On the day he spoke, he was going to remove a kidney tumour from a three-year-old and a lung abnormality from a baby.

While he was working in Toronto, Chethan encountered victims of gun violence. Then, in Chicago, he treated three children who had been shot. “That really pushed me to want to make this a priority issue. You know, we often say that you can comment on things but you can also remain on the sidelines. And I definitely did not want to remain on the sidelines; I wanted to be actively engaged.”

Chethan’s work on gun violence plus his clinical career means he puts in work weeks of 80 to 100 hours. His wife, Merin Thomas, a physician assistant in vascular surgery, provides essential support, he says, and he takes great pleasure

in his girls, aged five, three and 10 months.

But he also loves the adrenalizing diversity of his career. “I’ll have weeks where I do a day of operating on little babies—that clinical work is highly impactful to my other work,” he says. “Then I might travel for a day, perhaps to Washington, D.C., to do some advocacy. And then I get to do a day of research. I really do love kind of switching paths constantly every week.” Weekends are devoted to his family and seeing friends. He also enjoys travelling with his family.

And he continues to demonstrate a striving spirit. Chethan is intent on getting society to have a more nuanced understanding of gun violence and, therefore, more sophisticated approaches to its prevention.

“There is firearm suicide and there are so-called accidental injuries in the household where a kid had accidentally played with a gun,” he notes. “There are public mass shootings, such as school shootings, like the ones that we unfortunately see all too often here in the United States and that have occurred in Canada, such as the mass shooting in Nova Scotia. And then a very large bucket of gun violence is what we call community firearm violence. We’ve lumped them all together, and that’s a mistake.”

Chethan aspires to continue being a key voice in finding and promoting solutions. That includes, he says, the possibility of running for political office in Canada or in the U.S., where he has a green card and intends to apply for citizenship.

At this point, he is not ready to elaborate on his politics. But clearly, Chethan Sathya is going to be a continuing force in grappling with one of our most challenging social issues.

Top Honours

Alumni Award of Distinction

A Bold Leader in Medicine

Dr. Sunjay Sharma ’98, a rare combination of brain surgeon and critical-care physician, is working to improve health care in Ontario

Stories by Alex Berry

IN HIS ACCEPTANCE SPEECH for the Alumni Award of Distinction, Dr. Sunjay Sharma ’98 recounted his days at HSC as among his fondest memories. And it’s clear that the College holds a special place in his heart. “When I found out I was being given this award,” he said, “I was truly choked up. To me, this is the most meaningful recognition I’ve received.” That says a lot considering Sunjay is the chief of neurosurgery and medical director of critical care for Hamilton General Hospital and one of the only doctors in North America with both surgical and critical care training.

For someone who works under high levels of stress and pressure, Sunjay is disarmingly lighthearted and selfdeprecating. When reminded that his aspiration in Senior School was to become a neurosurgeon, he joked that becoming one was just a fluke. “I wasn’t the top of the class when it came to marks and I almost flunked out of my undergraduate degree at McMaster.”

Modesty aside, Sunjay has accomplished a lot. Despite his own father, who practised medicine, trying to convince Sunjay not to become a doctor, he doubled down. After completing undergraduate studies, he went on to earn his degree in medicine at the University of Western Ontario in 2007 and subsequently completed his residency in neurosurgery at the University of Toronto in 2014. During his neurosurgical training, Sunjay earned a master’s degree in clinical epidemiology and then completed his fellowship in adult critical care medicine in July 2016.

Sunjay had to get special permission from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons to pursue intensive-care unit training. “There were many in the field of neurosurgery who questioned my pursuit of critical care because it takes so long to train as a surgeon that most just stick with that,” he says. And yet, Sunjay’s specialized path has proven extremely valuable to local health services and beyond, and he has been the lead author of two provincial guidelines addressing the management and transfer criteria for patients with neurosurgical emergencies. His day-to-day work life is split between the ICU and surgery rooms with roughly two and half weeks of the month spent doing critical care work and the other half operating. The times when he does scrub in, Sunjay specializes

Photo by Frank Zochil

in brain cancer surgeries. “My first love will always be surgery.”

During the pandemic, Sunjay served as the site chief of Hamilton Health Sciences’ ICU, an experience he compares to being at war. “It was brutal but it was what I trained for.” In his role, Sunjay became a spokesperson for COVID-19 vaccination, a position that brought him a lot of unwanted attention. He received numerous death threats after being interviewed for a television news story. “There were people telling me I was a paid actor and that the patients they filmed on life support were dummies. I wish that were true because I witnessed a lot of people die who, if they had taken the vaccine, might still be alive.”

Sunjay makes no bones about the state of health care in Canada and sympathizes with those who are frustrated by backlogs, overcrowding and wait times. “It’s not for lack of effort, because I know our doctors, nurses and health-care workers are the best, but the system is strained.” For his part, Sunjay has lent his expertise to committees working to improve access to and delivery of neurosurgical services in Ontario and hopes to grow his career as an advisor for government. He has also started a company that is using artificial intelligence to facilitate research. When he can find spare time, Sunjay loves to travel and considers himself a foodie. He also practises the martial art Krav Maga three days a week. “I’ve broken a lot of bones but luckily I haven’t broken my hands yet.”

With so much on his plate, it’s hard to imagine he has time for anything outside of work, but Sunjay admits he makes a point of keeping work at work. “I’d rather stay late than take work home with me and have to think about it while I’m spending time with my kids.” The decision to enrol his two sons in HSC’s Montessori School was a no-brainer and he takes pride in championing the College. “Anytime I have colleagues asking about local schools, my answer is always that there is only one place to send your kids.” It may not be brain surgery, but Sunjay could easily add HSC ambassador to his list of job titles.

“There were many in the field of neurosurgery who questioned my pursuit of critical care because it takes so long to train as a surgeon that most just stick with that.”

Sunjay Sharma ’98

Strength of Personality

Jennifer Dent-Haddon ’82 has powered her social skills into a global journey in pharmaceuticals

WHEN JENNIFER DENT-HADDON ’82 initially agreed to a one-year work assignment in Germany, she never anticipated that it would extend into a remarkable 12-year sojourn. “I am a fervent advocate of embracing diverse experiences,” she says, “and Europe has undoubtedly provided me with precisely that.” Perhaps her penchant for adventure can be traced back to her bold attempt to join HSC’s boys’ football team during Senior School. Though she wasn’t allowed to play in games, Coach Brett Dalton let her train with the team and assume the role of manager for the season. As it turned out, she says, “I found the social dimension of the game more appealing, and the team spirit served as a powerful motivator during training.”

In her current role as global medical content strategy lead at Boehringer Ingelheim, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, Jennifer frequently encounters the challenge of bridging the gap between a younger generation of doctors accustomed to an “on-demand” world and the traditionalists in the industry. “I find that explaining our objective—creating a model akin to Netflix that provides the company’s educational material, research findings, and more—resonates well, helping medical professionals access precisely what they need based on their interests, knowledge gaps and field of medicine.”

Jennifer attributes the evolution of her career to the social and collaborative skills cultivated on the sidelines at HSC. From her days organizing “More House” activities as a prefect to making it to the Ontario finals as part of the field hockey team, Jennifer leaned into hands-on learning through team and group activities. Through it all, her interest in science was constant and influenced her decision to pursue undergraduate and master’s degrees in exercise physiology at McMaster University. It was there that she met her husband, David, whom she calls “a significant source of my success and happiness.”

Her experience as a part-time research associate at the Children’s Exercise and Nutrition Centre at McMaster Children’s Hospital, coupled with pharmaceutical research, proved immensely fulfilling and set the stage for her entry into Astra Pharmaceuticals as a clinical researcher. “Designing research protocols alongside doctors nationwide made it evident that my social and communication skills were valuable, giving me an advantage among my peers,” she says.

Reflecting on her move to Boehringer’s headquarters in Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany, Jennifer recalls facing challenging stretch assignments that pushed her to learn and grow. “My sons chuckled when I mentioned applying for the role of global digital medical director,” she recalls. But she was unafraid to step outside her comfort zone, and acknowledges the role of mentorship in expanding her knowledge, gleaning insights from younger colleagues in the digital space. She also played a pivotal role in establishing the company’s mentorship program in Canada, viewing it as integral to a company’s success. “HSC and my parents taught me the value of networking, and I enjoy witnessing the mutual benefits for mentors, mentees and the organization,” she says.

With their two sons now pursuing studies in Canada, Jennifer envisions a transition back to her homeland. She remains open to discovering what will be next for her and likes to tell her sons that a linear career progression is not a requirement for growth. “As long as I continue to learn, develop, reflect and build on all my experiences, while relishing the journey, I consider that a measure of success.”

Alumni Hall of Excellence

Photo by Frank Zochil

Jennifer DentHaddon ’82

Alumni Hall of Excellence

Building a Life

Brooke Guzar ’03 is a top engineering CEO but her achievements go beyond structures

UNDER BROOKE GUZAR’S graduation photo in the 2002–2003 Boar Pibroch yearbook, she wrote that her ambition was to “become a good civil engineer.” She also wrote that her probable destiny was “something so far away from engineering.”

Flash forward 20 years and a quick Google search for Brooke will bring her IMDb page among the top results. Though it might sound like she’s doing something far away from engineering, Brooke is the inaugural CEO of Blackwell Structural Engineers, a highly regarded Toronto-based firm established in 1987. Turns out she became a really good civil engineer. And IMDb? “I was hired to consult on a documentary series about hidden structures built by Nazis,” she says.

Brooke labels herself a textbook overachiever, but she brings humility and gratitude to her position. “I stepped into the role of CEO in January 2023 and every day since then I have been deeply honoured, overwhelmed and having a blast all at the same time.”

Her first job after earning a degree in civil engineering from McMaster University had her inspecting, repairing and designing bridges all across Ontario. The work was interesting, but she knew it wasn’t what she really wanted to be doing. “I had always dreamed of working for Blackwell but

I didn't think I was smart enough.” As fate would have it, Brooke would sit down to a family meal and discover that her cousin in-law, Corey Zurell, worked as a principal for the company. There wasn’t a role for her at the time, but Brooke kept Blackwell on her radar.

In 2012 she moved to Sudbury, Ontario, to work on a variety of mining related projects, both on the surface and underground. “The jobs were gritty and grimy and I said I’d do it for two years but I stayed for six,” she says. Brooke received significant project experience as commissioning lead for a state-of-the-art pump house facility—an intense project requiring many months of planning, long days and fast thinking. Once the project ended, she took a seven-month wellness leave, part of which she spent driving a motorcycle across the country, travelling Iceland in a camper van and spending time in New York City.

As her leave came to an end, Brooke found herself once again at a family gathering with her cousin in-law. This time, Blackwell was hiring. “I hadn’t been doing a lot of technical work and was more of a people and project lead so I doubted myself, but luckily, that’s exactly what Blackwell needed at the time.” She spent the next six years growing herself and the business from Halifax, working with local architects and developers on some of her favourite projects. When she received an invitation to teach at Dalhousie University, she jumped at the opportunity. “I am a deeply curious person and want to experience as much as possible.”

Brooke often dives wholeheartedly into things she’s a beginner at. Over the years she has taken up the piano, rock climbing, fencing, music production and motorcycling, and believes that being an HSC Lifer shaped her appetite for new experiences. “There was so much support from my friends and teachers that I felt safe trying new things.” Looking back on this past year, now based in Toronto, Brooke is proud of the decisions she’s made and her contributions to the design community. “I plan to give as much as I can, for as long as I can before I pass the torch to someone who can lead Blackwell into the next phase of growth.” After that, she expects to take time off to reflect and make contributions to the world in a different way—maybe doing something far away from engineering.

Photo by Frank Zochil

Brooke Guzar ’03

Woman of Influence

Carly Hourigan ’07 has gone from working for a prime minister to high-end corporate consulting around the world

IT WAS THE SPRING OF 2015 and 26-year-old Carly Hourigan ’07 was in northern Iraq for a meeting with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi at the presidential palace. The visit was just one of the many diplomatic trips she made while working as senior producer, strategic communications, for Prime Minister Stephen Harper. “I was at the first G7 meeting after they kicked Russia out—my mom would often say to me that I was getting 30 years’ experience in the few years that I worked on Parliament Hill.” Looking back, Carly credits her age for helping her keep up with the pace of politics as well as a fearless ingenuity that earned her a reputation for creating savvy content and authentic communications.

At that time, Canada’s government was among the first to use social media for its daily communications, with PM Harper being the fourth world leader to sign up to Twitter in July 2007 on the heels of Barack Obama. Carly admits that they didn’t always get it right. “It was such a turbulent time to work in communications and learning to navigate these new platforms was a bit of trial and error.” She quickly learned to capitalize on real-life moments and began finding creative ways to share genuine moments from the Hill, all with zero budget. Her team was the first in the world to live-tweet a cabinet shuffle in 2013, an approach lauded by many as a success that helped boost Harper’s follower count by eight times his normal daily follower growth. For Carly, her position gave her a lot of room to experiment. “Because the age of social media was in its infancy, I had carte blanche to come up with how we were going to use it.”

That resourcefulness comes through in her work today as the founder and creative director of two successive companies. Her first, Hour Media, was launched in 2015 and provided all of the services she used to do for the prime minister, his wife and cabinet, from social media management and website development to video production. Once again, her ability to foresee trends in

Carly Hourigan ’07

“HSC placed a lot of value on community and empathy—when you’re kind to people, they remember you and are more willing to help you out in the future.”

communications helped her weather the impacts of COVID-19. “Before the shutdowns began, I had my team film a bunch of COVID-19 related stock footage that we were able to package and sell to pharmaceutical clients.”

Carly’s latest venture, Stock Productions, focuses on high-end video production services and content creation for corporations around the world.

In 2023, the company expanded and Carly moved to the U.K. to open a second shop in London. Despite providing her clients with a range of marketing materials and digital content, she prefers to keep a low profile online. “A lot of the work we do is internal communications and most of our clients come to us through word of mouth, so we don’t have to do very much self-promotion.”

Relationships are what Carly sees as one of the most valuable takeaways from her time at HSC. The people she met and the values ingrained during her teen years at the College have helped her build bridges throughout her career. “HSC placed a lot of value on community and empathy—when you’re kind to people, they remember you and are more willing to help you out in the future.”

Carly hints at a possible run at politics in her future and, given her track record for making friends and influencing people, she could very well find herself winning the popular vote.

Photo by Frank Zochil

Alumni Hall of Excellence

Speeding Ahead

Ben Agro ’19 has already made his mark in autonomous driving systems

IN THE SPRING OF HIS FIRST YEAR in computer science engineering at the University of Toronto, Ben Agro started cold calling professors looking for a summer internship. He landed a spot with the Autonomous Space Robotics Lab (ASRL) at U of T’s Institute for Aerospace Studies and has worked every summer since in robotics labs testing the latest technology for autonomous navigation systems.

Ben completed his undergraduate degree in June 2023 with a 4.0 GPA and the highest grades among his cohort of fellow graduates across U of T’s three campuses. He was the 2023 recipient of the John Black Aird Scholarship, which is awarded annually to the top undergraduate student at U of T, and he received a Governor General’s Silver Medal for his excellent academic record.

His internship in the summer of 2022 at Toronto-based Waabi, an artificial intelligence company building the next generation of self-driving technology for trucks, has turned into a research position for Ben and part of the work he is doing for his direct-entry PhD. “The CEO, Raquel Urtasun, is also a professor at U of T so I am completing my PhD research under her at Waabi,” he says.

Ben is not one to shy away from a challenge, which was his primary motivation for moving to HSC in Grade 8. “I came to HSC for the AP program and found the teachers were incredibly motivating—by the time I went to university

Ben Agro ’19

I was so much better prepared than most of my peers.” His instinct for problem-solving also lends itself to a passion for bouldering, a no-ropes rock-climbing sport Ben has done competitively since he was in grade school. “A lot of engineers are into bouldering because it shares a lot of qualities with research—always testing and tweaking and evaluating results of slight variables like positioning of your body. They are called bouldering problems for a reason.”

In his current role at Waabi, Ben’s favourite aspect of the job is having a direct impact on the end product. “Seeing the research that we do have an immediate use on the trucks is incredibly rewarding.” Though he could see himself one day at the helm of his own autonomous driving startup, Ben is focused first on learning as much as he can from the best in the business. “It’s invaluable that I get to work with so many experienced engineers who are mentors to me and have taught me so much.” With all that he’s accomplished, it’s not hard to imagine that Ben himself is a mentor to many.

Photos submitted by Ben Agro '19

Singular Students

Leading by Example

Vanessa Bal

VANESSA BAL GOES TO GREAT LENGTHS to be at HSC, quite literally. “I live in Cambridge so I need to be on the bus by 7 a.m.,” she says. With a commitment like that, it’s no wonder she plans to take advantage of all the opportunities provided at HSC. In addition to playing competitive volleyball, Vanessa is a talented musician and singer with experience acting. She looks forward to getting involved in HSC’s arts scene when the time is right. “I’m already involved in HOSA [future health professionals], the English Conversation Circle and the Asian Students’ Association, so I’m trying not to overload my schedule.”

Despite her experience working at the Ontario legislative assembly as a page in 2022, Vanessa doesn’t see a future career in politics. “I’m more interested in the field of medicine as a way of helping people.” Until then, Vanessa plans to help by showing peers that you don’t have to be loud to lead. “I don’t believe in the saying that people are born leaders, because there are many different ways to lead,” she says. “You just need to find the way that works for you.”

The Alumni Association Leadership Scholarship is given to selected Grade 9 students who embody the College’s Mission, Vision and Values, especially through outstanding leadership potential.

Positive Thinker

Jack Clifford

“AT THE START OF GRADE 7,” says Jack Clifford, “I could barely work up the courage to answer a question in class.” Flash forward two years and Jack is overcoming his fears by putting himself out there as a leader among his classmates. After serving as house captain in Grade 8 and Middle School ambassador, Jack gained confidence in himself and decided to apply for the Alumni Leadership Award. “I wanted to prove to myself that I am a capable leader,” he says.

An HSC Lifer, Jack has been looking forward to his move to Senior School and enjoys the added level of freedom. “We have more independence and get to take on more of the responsibility of deciding what and how we are learning.” He’s taking advantage of all the co-curricular opportunities and has joined a number of HSC’s athletics teams, including soccer, basketball, and track and field. Asked what he might do after HSC, he’s not quite sure, but he’s confidently optimistic about the future. “I’m very excited to be working on myself and I am super excited to learn new things and face new challenges.”

Chosen for Kindness

Alexis Elkins

IN GRADE 6, ALEXIS ELKINS received the kindness award as chosen by her peers, and when she moved to HSC in Grade 7, she channeled her good will into a role as student ambassador. “I have learned that I can be a good leader by being kind, supportive and welcoming to everyone,” she says.

When she was 12, Alexis made Oakville’s Ontario Player Development League team— the highest level of soccer in Ontario for youths aged 12-17. “On top of games, my team trains over six hours a week,” she says. Alexis also referees small-sided games where she leads players starting out in soccer. “My goal is to provide them with a positive experience to grow their love for the game.”

It doesn’t come as a surprise that Alexis has her sights set on a career in medicine. As a member of HSC’s HOSA future health professionals group, she says she plans to explore the field of cardiology. “A heart surgeon worked for four hours straight to save my grandmother and, some day, I’d like to do the same for someone else.”

Photos by Arran Svadjian

Inclusive Voice

Jae Lee

JAE LEE HAS A GROWTH PLAN for her time in HSC’s Senior School. “I can see myself being the Wellbeing Prefect in my final year but I first need to get to know as many students in the College as possible,” she says. Off to a good start, Jae’s joined HSC’s DECA group and Model UN and is also an active member of the Hamilton Children’s Choir. Because the choir meets at HSC for practices, Jae is often on campus from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the week. All that practice paid off as Jae was among those from the Ilumini choristers who traveled to Belgium in the summer of 2023 for the Europa Cantat Junior festival. As a student ambassador, Jae is focused on ensuring that peers don’t feel left out. “Inclusion is so important when you are a leader because the more people feel like they belong, the more they’ll be willing to listen and participate.” From the sounds of it, Jae is certainly in tune with what it takes to be a successful leader.

Great Grads

HSC's Award of Distinction Graduate Scholarship is given to one or more departing students who epitomize the nature of service and leading by example.

Safiya Makada ’23

Now studying at the University of Waterloo.

A Greater Good

Safiya Makada ’23

BY THE TIME SAFIYA MAKADA ’23 had graduated from HSC, she was already a tech entrepreneur developing her own app to help patients track autoimmune symptoms for better diagnosis and treatment outcomes. In addition to being awarded the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce Innovation Award at the Bay Area Science and Engineering Fair for the project, Safiya was also the first-place winner of the RBC Next Great Innovator Hackathon for her work on a team that designed an app to match students with volunteer opportunities in their community.

Safiya’s instinct to find solutions for social good lent itself well to her position as the service prefect in her final year, an experience she credits with helping build her confidence in social settings. “Being in that role taught me a lot about how to connect with other students and gave me skills that I know will prove valuable to my career aspirations,” she says. Her involvement as a member of HSC’s Muslim Students’ Association also helped her make connections across the College— including with Senior School teacher Yasmine Abdelaal who motivated Safiya to apply for the prestigious Muslims Achieving Excellence (MAX) Scholarship. “Winning the MAX scholarship as well as the Alumni Award of Distinction Scholarship was such a boost to my confidence and really showed me that HSC has my back,” says Safiya.

Today, Safiya is a software engineering student at the University of Waterloo and continues to be motivated to find innovative solutions for helping people. Short term, she has her sights set on joining a design group at the university that is working with AI to advance speech mobility. Long term, she’s interested in pursuing entrepreneurship through venture capital. “I’d love to be able to bring my idea to market before I graduate.”

Photos by Arran Svadjian, Edge Imaging

Purposeful Prefects

These 15 students are this year’s leaders across Hillfield Strathallan College. From school life to dinner companions, here’s what they’re into.

My dream job Engineer for a Formula One team

Favourite class

Design technology or physical education

I can’t live without My skis or mountain bike

Favourite HSC activity

Homecoming

Most used emoji on my phone right now

My dream job GM of an NHL team

Favourite class Economics

I can’t live without My mom’s cooking

Favourite HSC activity

Ram the Rink

Most used emoji on my phone right now

My dream job Pediatrician

Favourite class Biology

I can’t live without Sports!

Favourite HSC activity

Friday Night Lights

Most used emoji on my phone right now

My dream job Psychologist

Favourite class

History or APS

I can’t live without

My snowboard

Favourite HSC activity

Homecoming!

Most used emoji on my phone right now

Dream dinner with Ken Block, late rally driver

Out of school I like

The outdoors: hiking, biking or skiing

Favourite podcast

Past Gas by Donut Media

Favourite Lawson

Hall meal

Vegetarian eggs benedict

HSC in three words

Exciting, life-changing, leadership

Dream dinner with Ted Lasso

Out of school I like

Playing hockey or golf

Favourite podcast

Spittin’ Chiclets

Favourite Lawson

Hall meal

Waffles and chicken

HSC in three words

Fun, challenging, memorable

Tamilore Awobodu

Diversity and Inclusion Prefect

My dream job

Musician/artist

Favourite class

Culinary arts

I can’t live without My headphones

Favourite HSC activity

Volleyball team

Most used emoji on my phone right now

My dream job

Working within marketing

Favourite class

English

I can’t live without Coffee

Favourite HSC activity

Homecoming

Most used emoji on my phone right now

Dream dinner with Novak Djokovic

Out of school I like

Playing sports, spending time with friends

Favourite podcast

New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce

Favourite Lawson

Hall meal

Breakfast for lunch

HSC in three words

Community, engaging, energetic!

Audrey Hutchinson Athletic Prefect

Dream dinner with Queen Elizabeth II

Out of school I like Crocheting

Favourite podcast

Even the Rich

Favourite Lawson

Hall meal

Beef stroganoff with egg noodles

HSC in three words

Community, friendship, exciting

Dream dinner with Michael Jackson

Out of school I like Reading/writing

Favourite music

Lauryn Hill

Favourite Lawson Hall meal

Waffles and chicken

HSC in three words

Every day blessing

Dream dinner with Emma Watson

Out of school I like Spending time with my friends

Favourite podcast

Crime Junkies

Favourite Lawson

Hall meal

Chicken burgers

HSC in three words Life-long memories

My dream job CEO of my own company

Favourite class

Challenge and change

I can’t live without HEAL smoothie bowls

Favourite HSC activity

Homecoming

Most used emoji on my phone right now

Dream dinner with Taylor Swift

Out of school I like Hanging out with my friends

Favourite podcast

anything goes with Emma Chamberlain

Favourite Lawson Hall meal

Breakfast for lunch

HSC in three words

Tiring, fun, educational

Photos by Frank Zochil

Matthew Bear Junior School Prefect

Lauren Cruickshank Montessori School Prefect

Evan Eftekhari Spirit Prefect

Max Osborne Middle School and Head Prefect

Lucie Osborne Senior School and Head Prefect

Top Honours

Mila Latinovich Wellbeing Prefect

Andy Tang Academic Prefect

Prefect

My dream job

Pediatric surgeon

Favourite class

English & biology

I can’t live without Music

Favourite HSC activity

Pumpkin painting!

Most used emoji on my phone right now

My dream job

Videographer/ video editor

Favourite class

English, classical civilizations, APS

I can’t live without Music

Favourite HSC activity

Semi Formal

Most used emoji on my phone right now

My dream job Quantitative researcher

Favourite class

AP physics

I can’t live without Tea

Favourite HSC activity

E-week

Most used emoji on my phone right now

My dream job CEO/entrepreneur

Favourite class

AP Economics

I can’t live without Money

Favourite HSC activity

Investment Club, DECA, Model UN and soccer!

Most used emoji on my phone right now

Dream dinner with Princess Diana

Out of school I like Doing puzzles or Lego

Favourite music

Taylor Swift & BTS

Favourite Lawson Hall meal

Coconut curry

HSC in three words

Incredibly life-changing

Philip Marcarian Athletic Prefect

My dream job

Sports lawyer

Favourite class

Phys ed or Italian

I can’t live without Sports

Favourite HSC activity

Ram the Rink/student buyouts

Most used emoji on my phone right now

Dream dinner with Lady Gaga

Out of school I like Listening to music, playing an instrument or singing

Favourite podcast

Jenna + Julien

Favourite Lawson

Hall meal

Pho

HSC in three words

Exciting, encouraging and inspiring

Dream dinner with Issac Newton

Out of school I like Playing badminton

Favourite podcast

3b1b

Favourite Lawson

Hall meal

Beef stew and three sisters soup

HSC in three words

Learning, family, joy

Sahith Rajkumar Environmental Prefect

Emily Wei Arts Prefect

My dream job

Cardiologist

Favourite class

Biology

I can’t live without My family

Favourite HSC activity

Green Team initiatives

Most used emoji on my phone right now

My dream job

Dentist

Favourite class

Art and biology

I can’t live without My cat Bella

Favourite HSC activity

Jingle Bands

Most used emoji on my phone right now

Dream dinner with Elon Musk, David

Goggins and Ray Dalio

Out of school I like

Running marathons

Favourite podcast

Diary of a CEO and The Joe Rogan Experience

Favourite Lawson

Hall meal

Breakfast for lunch

HSC in three words

Striving for excellence

Eddie Zhang Service Prefect

Dream dinner with Barack Obama

Out of school I like Playing hockey and exercising!

Favourite podcast

Spittin’ Chiclets

Favourite Lawson Hall meal

Chicken burgers

HSC in three words

Exciting, opportunistic, engaging

Dream dinner with Albert Einstein

Out of school I like

Reading books

Favourite podcast

The Lancet Voice

Favourite Lawson Hall meal

Pizza rolls

HSC in three words

Inspirational, memorable, fun

Dream dinner with Drake

Out of school I like Listening to music

Favourite podcast

Philosophize This!

Favourite Lawson

Hall meal

Thai red curry coconut chicken

HSC in three words

Broaden my perspectives

My dream job

Lawyer

Favourite class

English

I can’t live without Music

Favourite HSC activity

Jingle Bands

Most used emoji on my phone right now

Dream dinner with My grandparents

Out of school I like

Gym, reading or cooking

Favourite podcast

Philosophize This!

Favourite Lawson

Hall meal

Butter chicken

HSC in three words

Growth and community

Olivia Marsden Media Arts & Public Relations Prefect

Ava Zanetti Chapel

HSC Lifers 2023

Every year as we celebrate the graduating class at HSC, we say goodbye to a group of students we know as “Lifers”. These students joined the College at the start of their education and have been part of the HSC community throughout their school years.

Photo by Frank Zochil

Bella Hill Joshua Karmiol

Madeleine Le Olivia Larssen

Connor Nethercott Ioannes Sahlas

Victoria Valente

Michael Pearson

Taryn Brunberg

Luke Doble

Megan Edwards Charlie de Boer

Christina Ferraro Owen Griffith Liam HarperMcCabe

Justin Goncalves

Sally Lee Emily Matsumoto Rianna Mercer

Ella Leggat

Incredible Feats

A legacy of philanthropy fuels HSC’s vision for an exceptional future

By Alex Berry

JEFF PAIKIN ’80 REMEMBERS THE HEARTWARMING feeling of sitting alongside Bill Young ’35 on the Transformation HSC campaign committee in the early 2000s. “Bill had helped lead development on the Fennell Avenue campus more than 45 years prior and to see him maintain such a vested interest in the ongoing growth of the College was an incredible motivator for me,” says Jeff. It became clear to him that he had an opportunity to do for HSC what Bill and so many others had done in the years before: pay it forward. “HSC is a place that has given so much to my family that I owe it to the next generations to continue supporting the legacy of excellence.”

Philanthropy has always been part of HSC’s DNA. The College was founded through private donations in the early 1900s and has continued to expand thanks to the generosity of its community members. As Jeff points out, “HSC’s tuition fees only cover the day-to-day operations and maintenance of the College, so any expansion or enhancements need to be funded by donors.” While HSC has had the privilege of being the beneficiary of historic donations from individual donors, it can be the smaller contributions from many members of the community that move the needle forward, he notes. “Yes, Michael DeGroote Senior made a historic donation, but so too did the rest of our community. Together, HSC families matched Mr. DeGroote’s contribution and that, in and of itself, was an incredible feat of philanthropy.”

As HSC lays the groundwork to execute on its ambitious Campus Master Plan, there is a lot to be learned from donors who came before. Martin Doble, who serves on HSC’s finance committee and is a member of the board of governors and trustees, views giving back to HSC as a powerful act with immediate benefits. “Progress comes from investments of hearts and minds as much as money,” he says. “By thinking about and planning for the future, we can improve the present.”

Martin knows a thing or two about growth and change, working as engineering consultancy Hatch’s global managing director, strategy and development. For him, the Campus

Perkins & Will

Master Plan is a continuation of what was started with the completion of the Michael G. DeGroote Senior School in 2012. “This plan has created a horizon that we can all look out onto and start heading towards, with a step-by-step approach that we can follow.”

The first step involved hearing from HSC’s constituents about the needs of the College, which included increasing accessibility to and across campus as well as building a new Middle School. Consultations with external vendors are underway to gain a clear picture of the costs to meet the needs outlined for the first phase of development. This is where Jeff lends expertise to the campaign. As the president and cofounder of New Horizon Development Group, he understands why the price tag will be high. “It can’t just be good enough; it has to be exceptional. Our facilities will have a lot of young people using them over a lot of years so it needs to be topquality to be able to withstand the test of time.”

For both Jeff and Martin, the experience that their children had as HSC Lifers is one motivating factor in their support of the College. The other factor is the larger societal benefits of having an institution of HSC’s calibre in the region. Jeff points to its positive influence on health care and higher education in the region as an example. “World class doctors, professors and medical researchers find the move to Hamilton more desirable because we have HSC—an educational institution where their children can flourish.”

Drawing inspiration from a famous quote of Winston Churchill’s—“We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us”—Martin offers a further outlook on why a donation to HSC makes a difference: “We shape our buildings, which shape our students and, subsequently, they shape the world around them.” Donor giving is about more than a campaign contribution; it’s about investing in the legacy of excellence that defines HSC, and about shaping a brighter future for all.

An aerial view shows a phased approach to HSC's next major redevelopment.

Passages

Lives Lived

ALUMNI

MARGARET “MARGO” JOHNSON ’34, principal for 30 years of prominent Milton Academy Girls’ School in Milton, Massachusetts; born in Washington, D.C., raised mainly in France with an interval in Canada; after Radcliffe College, taught French before becoming Milton’s principal in 1950; later served at the Spence School for girls in New York City and Robert College in Istanbul; enthusiastic traveller with a strong interest in foreign affairs. On May 1, 2023, at 103.

NANCY HARRISON (NÉE WIGLE) ’41, former HSC board member and longtime secretary to the Anglican dean of Niagara, as well as the first female warden of Christ’s Church Cathedral in Hamilton; active in organizations including the Junior League, Art Gallery of Hamilton and National Ballet of Canada; sister of late Dr. William Wigle ’43 and Susan Ford ’52; mother of Trish ’67, Hugh ’69, William ’71 and Doug ’78, and great-grandmother of Charlotte ’31 and Aron-James ’33; wife, mother, grandmother, greatgrandmother. On June 11, 2023, at 97.

FRANCES JOYCE YOUNG (NÉE FERRIE) ’43, HSC Patron and legendary community benefactor with late husband Bill Young ’35 (see cover story, p. 14); mother of Douglas ’67, Catherine Phillips ’70 and William ’72; aunt of Hamilton Tiger-Cats owner Bob Young ’47; wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother. On September 19, 2023, at 97.

PETER C. NEWMAN ’45, best-selling author, former editor of Maclean’s magazine and the Toronto Star and well-known Canadian media personality; attended Hillfield school after his Jewish family fled Europe in wartime; began his memoir in HSC Review, Spring 2018, this way: “I lived the charmed life of a little rich boy in Moravia, Czechoslovakia—until age nine. That is, until the world as I knew it vanished”; after the family’s harrowing, year-long journey to Canada, his former industrialist father started a farm in Burlington in 1940 to conform to immigration requirements while Peter boarded with headmaster Arthur Killip from 1941; “It was at Hillfield that I grew from a lederhosen-wearing Czech kid to an English-speaking Canadian, so it left a profound effect on me," he wrote; later went on to Upper Canada College and a stellar career, writing such blockbusters as The Canadian Establishment and The Secret Mulroney Tapes; companion of the Order of Canada and passionate Canadian nationalist; retired to Belleville, Ont., with fourth wife Alvy (saying earlier that one of his divorces was due to theology: “I thought I was God, and she didn’t”); husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather. On September 7, 2023, at 94.

MARGARET MORISON (NÉE FOSTER) ’47, owner in the 1980s of Mike’s World of Books bookshop in Hamilton and materfamilias of a large HSC family, including late husband and longtime city councillor and lawyer Brian W.B. Morison ’41, plus brother J. Peter Foster ’42, children Fred ’79, Martha ’79 and Gordon ’81, and grandchildren Ora ’06, Brian ’08, Rachel ’08, Brittany ’12, and Mackenzie ’12; loved world travel; wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother. On May 19, 2023, at 92.

BARNEY MORISON ’48, HSC mom and in later life lab technician at McMaster University who retired to her “spiritual home” in Nova Scotia’s Gaspereau Valley; with late ex-husband Andrew McLaughlan ’44 was mother to Peter ’76, the late Timothy ’78, Amy ’80 and Richard ’82 McLaughlan; sister-in-law of Margaret Morison ’47 (see above) through late brother Brian ’41; wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother. On July 29, 2023, at 91.

COULTER OSBORNE ’50, former associate chief justice of the Ontario Court of Appeal and talented athlete; after Osgoode Hall Law School, practised law in Kitchener from 1959 to 1978, when he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Ontario and then to the Court of Appeal in 1990; served as Ontario integrity commissioner after retirement; multi-sport athlete at HSC and ran track and played basketball at Western University, where he is in the Sports Hall of Fame; starting forward on Canada’s basketball team at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne and carried the torch 44 years later at the Sydney Olympics; described as “dignified and laid-back with a deep, resonant voice and an easy charm"; husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather. On April 19, 2023, at 88.

ELIZABETH ANNE SIMPSON (NÉE HOLTON) ’58, known as “Grannie Anne” to her family in England, where she moved with her late first husband David Lang and their four children in 1977; sister of William ’58 and Alen ’67 and Joyce Corcoran ’70; daughter of William V. Holton ’32; wife, mother, grandmother. On July 24, 2023, at 83.

CATHERINE “NICKY” EATON (NÉE MARTIN) ’59, board member for many years of Bishop Strachan School in Toronto and Trent University in Peterborough; supported the business, philanthropic and diplomatic activities of late husband Frederik Stefan Eaton, former Canadian high commissioner to the U.K. and member of the Eaton department store family; sister of Frances Richardson ’55; wife, mother, grandmother. On September 11, 2023, at 83.

CRISPIN “KIP” SUMNER ’66, well-travelled former mathematics teacher and important figure in the United World Colleges (UWC) movement and the International Baccalaureate Organization; taught for 12 years at Upper Canada College in Toronto as well as at four AWC schools and six others in Australia, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland (now Eswatini), the U.S., Norway and China; was deputy chief examiner in mathematics for the IB Organization; in his graduating year at HSC, won five top sports trophies and four major academic and general achievement awards; brother of Robert ’65; husband, father. On October 27, 2023, at 75.

LT. CMDR. TIMOTHY TAYLOR ’67, career Royal Canadian Officer who served 37 years and retired as a lieutenant commander; tours included service at Canadian headquarters in Bahrain during the Gulf War; son of Paul Taylor, late former assistant headmaster at HSC and also a former naval officer; brother of Peter ’65 and Penny ’71; husband, father, grandfather. On September 22, 2023, at 74.

FRED MULDOWNEY-BROOKS ’80, former insurance executive and life-long learner; excelled in academics and athletics at HSC; described by colleagues as “patient, inclusive, inspiring, fun-loving and generous with both his time and knowledge”; brother of Louise Vajdec (née Brooks) ’73; husband. On February 19, 2023, at 62.

MARC COLANGELO ’00, accomplished medical data professional who studied mathematical and computational models of asthma and cancer for his PhD in medical sciences at McMaster University; completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of California Berkeley and stayed in California involved in bioinformatics; excelled academically at HSC and participated in activities ranging from sports teams to band; remembered for his “tenacity, genuineness, positivity, kindness, courage, and ability to make a perfectly timed witty comment”; succumbed to brain cancer; son of Peter and Anna; brother of Diana Colangelo ’97; husband. On June 2, 2023, at 41.

FRIENDS

HAROLD PRINGLE, HSC board member 1981-87 who served as chair of the finance committee 1983-87; chartered accountant who was a leading Canadian expert in business interruption insurance and regularly appeared at court proceedings as an expert witness; volunteered on many boards; loved sports and family pets; husband, father, grandfather. On February 5, 2023, at 97.

MARINA “MARNIE” PAIKIN, mother of two high-profile HSC alumni – television host Steve Paikin ’78 and HSC Patron Jeff Paikin ’80 – and a lively high-achiever who became a member of the Order of Canada in 1999, thanks to her leadership in many major organizations, from chair of the governing council of the University of Toronto to acting chair (twice) of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.; famously attended every Blue Jays home opener from the first in 1977 to 2020; grandmother of Natasha ’13, Alexa ’15 and Sasha ’17; wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother. On November 19, 2023, at 87.

GAREY KEITH, accountant and sports fan, remembered by wife Catherine Keith ’67 and family for “his talk of sports, his music trivia challenges, his keen sense of humour and his fondness of a good joke”; husband, father, grandfather. On August 24, 2023, at 77.

FACULTY AND STAFF

DAVID WILLIS, former HSC art teacher and painter known for portraiture, including the president of the University of Guelph; coached basketball in Ancaster; born in Wolverhampton, England, and retired in 1985 to Niagara-on-the-Lake where he and wife Greta ran a successful B&B; father of Henry Willis ’82; husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather. On November 10, 2003, at 94.

ELAINE JENKINS, former HSC administrative assistant who became the College archivist before her retirement in 2009; wife, mother, grandmother. On September 14, 2023, at 78.

PAUL KNOX, former HSC teacher remembered for a quick wit and joy for life; also taught at Westdale Secondary; husband, father, grandfather. On November 6, 2023, at 76.

A note about Lives Lived:

If you learn of any alumni, faculty or staff who have passed away during the course of the coming year, you are welcome to send a note to communications@hsc.on.ca so HSC Review can properly remember them on this page. If you have confirmed details, including age and date of death, please include them, as well as an appreciation of the person if you wish. A copy of, or link to, a published obituary is especially helpful. Passages

For more information please contact admissions@hsc.on.ca

Visit hsc.on.ca/learnmore to book a 1:1 admissions meeting or register to attend an open house.