Journey Alumni Magazine - Spring 2021

JOURNEY LAKEHEAD ALUMNI MAGAZINE | SPRING 2021

VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY Sailing around the world transformed Jennifer Smith

OLYMPIC HOPEFUL

Bobsledder Stephanie Drost is on fire

EXTREME ADVENTURE

Scott Kress skies to the South Pole

PLUS Groundbreaking podcast for people with dementia Lakehead pays tribute to Dr. Fred Gilbert Quentin Evans is a catalyst for change

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meet the

NEWEST MEMBERS OF THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD

ANNETTE BUTIKOFER

University, 1997) and an MA in Integrated Studies (Athabasca University, 2013). Carmen is married with a daughter and spends a lot of her free time at local rinks coaching ringette and girls’ hockey. She’s the author of the Life in Finland weblog and seeks out not-so-well-known connections between Canada and Finland. Carmen is also a past Chair of the Finnish-Canadian Society.

Carmen is the acting president of the Finland Alumni Chapter, which includes many former exchange students from Finland and Sweden.

Director Bachelor of Administration, 1985 Annette began her information technology career in 1985 as a programmer/analyst for Telecom Australia. Upon returning to Canada, Annette worked as a programmer/ analyst for Woods Gordon Consulting and the Hudson’s Bay Company. In 1991, she joined the Information Technology Branch of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) as a Senior Programmer Analyst and has gone on to hold progressively challenging positions.

In 2015, Annette became CIO and Assistant Commissioner, Information Technology Branch. In addition to her BAdmin (with a specialization in Management Information Systems) from Lakehead, Annette is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA). In 2013, she graduated from the University of Ottawa Certificate Program in Public Sector Leadership and Governance and in 2017, she graduated from the Canada School of Public Service’s Executive Leadership Development Program.

CARMEN PEKKARINEN Director Honours Bachelor of Outdoor Recreation, 1995

Carmen was born and raised in Northern Ontario and has lived and worked in Finland since 1998.

She is currently a Documentation Specialist at Trimble Solution in Espoo, Finland. She also holds an Honours Bachelor of Physical and Health Education (Laurentian

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JAMIE DENNISON

Director Civil Engineering Technology, 1995 Honours Bachelor of Commerce, 1999 Born and raised in Thunder Bay and now residing in Oakville, Ontario, James joined Great-West Life, a Canadian insurance company, in 2016 and is the Vice President & Global Head of Operational Risk.

James has worked in the financial services industry since graduating from the Bachelor of Commerce program at Lakehead University in 1999, and he has since held various roles in risk management and regulatory organizations including the Bank of Montreal and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI). James takes pride in always being an active volunteer, including through his current roles with a local food bank and numerous other community and industry associations. James also served on Lakehead University’s Board of Governors from 2007 to 2009.

JOUNI KRAFT

Director Honours Bachelor of Science, 1970 Jouni received an Honours Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Lakehead in 1970. After graduating, he obtained a medical degree from the University of Toronto in 1977 and completed an internship at St. Joseph’s Hospital on the Queensway in Toronto. For the next 40 years, he enjoyed a career in family practice at the Port Arthur Health Centre.

He was on active staff at the Port Arthur General and St. Joseph hospitals. Jouni is now retired from the medical scene, however, his interests are numerous. He is married to Archdeacon Deborah Kraft who is the priest of St. Paul’s Anglican Church. He is very involved in a host of church activities from choir work to general maintenance of the church property. Jouni has four wonderful children and 11 grandchildren.

CONTENTS

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CHANGEMAKER

ON THE MAP

Essential news from Lakehead Orillia and Lakehead Thunder Bay

Helping others is what alumnus Quentin Evans does best

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Mourning the passing of Lakehead’s sixth president Dr. Fred Gilbert

Archaeologist Dr. Scott Hamilton explores Canada’s cultural heritage

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Sharks and sea turtles were Jennifer Smith’s companions on an epic sail

Bobsledder Stephanie Drost has her sights set on the 2022 Olympics

IN MEMORIAM

LIFE ON THE HIGH SEAS

DIGGING DEEP

COOL AS ICE

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EXTREME ADVENTURE Scott Kress has skied to the South Pole and climbed Mount Everest

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DEMENTIA DIALOGUE A podcast gives a voice to people with dementia and fights misconceptions

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TURNING POINTS Alumni milestones and achievements

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Biologist Dr. George Ozburn remembers Lakehead’s early years

Jerry Hemmings has fond memories of basketball coach George Birger

Alumna Diane Thompson is an outstanding Lakehead supporter

HISTORY HIGHLIGHTS

LAKEHEAD LOOK BACK

LAKEHEAD LOYAL

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COLONIAL MEDICINE Cert no. XXX-XXX-000

The Sandy Lake Five waged a hunger strike for better health care 1

SPRING 2021 VOLUME 37, NUMBER 1 Lakehead Journey Alumni Magazine is published twice a year by the Communications and Marketing team which is responsible for establishing policy, editorial direction, and content for the magazine. The views expressed or implied do not necessarily reflect those of Lakehead University or the Communications and Marketing team.

Publications Mail Agreement Number 40062450

CONTACT US

Communications, Marketing and Clayton Browne Web Development Director Editor Tracey Skehan Graphic Design Melissa Kastern Telephone: 807-343-8134, Fax: 807-346-7770 Email: editor@lakeheadu.ca CONTRIBUTORS Editor Tracey Skehan, Brandon Walker, Wendy Helfenbaum

SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO

Office of Annual Fund and Alumni Engagement Lakehead University 955 Oliver Rd., Thunder Bay, ON Canada P7B 5E1 Telephone: 1-800-832-8076 Fax: 807-343-8999 Email: alumni@lakeheadu.ca or online alumni.lakeheadu.ca

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS President and Chair Vice-President Vice-President Treasurer Past President Director Director Director Director Director Director Director Director Director Annual Fund and Alumni Engagement Director

EXTERNAL RELATIONS TEAM

Debra Woods Yolanda Wanakamik Karen Boz Paul Popo-Ola Michel Beaulieu Nancy Angus Michael Michaud Chris DaSilva Linda Henderson Nancy Luckai Chris Vaillant Laara Losier Peter Lau Mike Walton Mark Tilbury

Interim External Relations Vice-President Ann Brandt (Toronto Office) Annual Fund and Mark Tilbury Alumni Engagement Director Government Relations Director Richard Longtin Communications, Marketing and Clayton Browne Web Development Director Philanthropy Director Kathryn Davidson External Relations Coordinator Patricia McCluskey Annual Fund and Meghan Hanbury Alumni Engagement Manager Annual Fund and Amanda Gerow Alumni Engagement Associate Annual Fund and Anna Sampson Alumni Engagement Associate Alumni and Philanthropy Assistant Anna Gagliardi Campaign Operations Associate Jennifer Steers Campaign Research Analyst (Toronto Office) Jill Cooper Donor Events Associate Diane Robnik Donor Events Manager Patti Merriman External Relations Associate Jacquie Kent (Lakehead Orillia) External Relations Associate Samantha Carothers (Toronto Office) Gift & Database Administrator Katie Friday Communications and Marketing Associate Tracey Skehan Communications and Marketing Associate Melissa Kastern Media, Communications and Brandon Walker Marketing Associate Media, Communications and Jaclyn Bucik Marketing Associate (Lakehead Orillia) Philanthropy Associate Lee-Anne Camlin Stewardship and Student Aid Associate Tara Monteith Annual Fund and Alumni Engagement Intern Jenna Beaulieu Web Development Manager Spencer Ranta Web Developer Justin Michel Web Information Designer Stefan Hoard Web Information Designer Ian McLeod

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DIRECTORS’ MESSAGE Welcome to the second all-digital version of Journey! When we first relaunched Lakehead University's alumni and friends’ magazine in 2016 as Journey, little did we know how aptly named it would be. As we prepare to enter the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are sure you will all agree that these last 12 months have been quite a journey.

Throughout the fall, and into the winter, there have been many virtual "firsts" for Lakehead. Some are captured on these pages, and a few deserve a special shout-out.

Virtual AGM The first Virtual AGM of the Alumni Association of Lakehead University was held on Monday September 21 at 6 pm (EST). The event was attended by 50 alumni and friends, and featured greetings by Lakehead's President and ViceChancellor Dr. Moira McPherson, a Year-In-Review by Alumni Association Executive Director Mark Tilbury, and a special question and answer session with Lakehead alumna and Canada's Minister of Health, the Hon. Patty Hajdu.

During the formal business portion of the meeting, the Board bid farewell and offered thanks to retiring Board members Michel Beaulieu, Chris Vaillant, Chris DaSilva, Peter Lau, and Nancy Angus, who between them, have over 35 years of service to the Alumni Association. Also, during the business portion, we welcomed five new Board members: Annette Butikofer, Jamie Dennison, Dr. Jouni Kraft, Nathan Lawrence, and Carmen Pekkarinen (from Finland).

Virtual Homecoming and Alumni Honours Homecoming was another first this year, with all events taking place virtually. The signature event was Lakehead Celebrates on Friday evening where we honoured our

Karen Boz, BAdmin'92 President, Alumni Association

award recipients (featured in this issue) and highlighted our distinguished student athletes.

During the event we also featured two of our talented student musicians and were treated to a special performance by award recipient Matt Sellick. Throughout the three days there were several Alumni Speakers Series events, all of which were well attended. In addition, the GTA Chapter and the Simcoe County Chapter hosted trivia events, music bingo, beer tasting, and other events that were open to all alumni, anywhere in the world.

Plans are underway to incorporate "virtual" activities into future Homecoming Weekends, even when in-person events are resumed.

10,000 Coffees – Lakehead Connect We are halfway through the second year of our alumni/student mentoring platform – Lakehead Connect, powered by 10,000 Coffees, and funded by RBC Futurelaunch. At the yearly program review, our 10,000 Coffees account manager shared some extraordinary news – Lakehead ranks first among postsecondary institutions across the country in every metric they use.

In the Introductions Made category, the 12-month average is 3,000 introductions; Lakehead's number is 10,289. In the Messages Sent category, the average is 1,5002,000; Lakehead has hit 3,645, and in the Reported they Met category, we doubled the platform average.

As we enter the second year of these unusual times, we see some light on the horizon. We are looking forward to the resumption of inperson alumni engagement events, while continuing to develop a variety of virtual events for you to participate in, regardless of your location.

Watch for details about our Alumni Speakers Series, starting in March, a Homecoming announcement later in the year, and many other exciting events to come.

Mark Tilbury, HBCom’94 Executive Director, Alumni Association

ON THE MAP Cancer-Imaging Tools

 City of Orillia Mayor Steve Clarke, former Lakehead Orillia Principal Dr. Kim Fedderson, former Orillia mayor Ron Stevens, and Lakehead Orillia Principal Dr. Dean Jobin-Bevans were among those who took part in a special dedication ceremony.

Tree-Planting Ceremony Two Orillia campus pioneers – Dr. Fred Gilbert and Dr. Kim Fedderson – were celebrated at a ceremony in October 2020. A tree was planted in honour of each man for their roles in developing the Lakehead Orillia campus. Dr. Gilbert, Lakehead’s sixth President and Vice-Chancellor, was instrumental in establishing the campus during his tenure. Dr. Gilbert, who passed away in November 2020, said at the time, “I’m deeply honoured by the planting of this commemorative tree, especially since my scientific background is ecology.” Dr. Fedderson became the Lakehead Orillia Founding Dean and Vice-Provost in 2007 before being appointed the first Principal of the campus in 2015. “It’s unprecedented for a community to come together to build a university for its children and its future,” he added.

A Lakehead University and Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute (TBRHRI) team are using a $98,655 grant from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) to develop new drugs to fight cancer – the leading cause of death in Canada. “Our research aims to design and prepare novel diagnostic imaging agents that could potentially improve the prevention, early diagnosis, and management of cancer,” said Dr. Jinqiang Hou. Dr. Hou is a Lakehead University chemistry professor and a TBRHRI research chair. He is working with fellow Lakehead chemistry professor and TBRHRI research chair Dr. Michael Campbell as well as Lakehead chemistry professor Dr. Justin Jiang. Currently, a biopsy is the only way to diagnose most types of cancer with any level of certainty. Biopsies, however, are invasive so Dr. Hou and his team are exploring a non-invasive detection method known as Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging to improve quality of life and reduce health care costs.

Investing in Mining The Government of Ontario's Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation is providing more than $690,000 to help support a new industrial research chair at Lakehead and create nine new jobs in Thunder Bay. Lakehead Geology Chair Dr. Peter Hollings will be the Industrial Research Chair in Mineral Exploration. He and his team will work with Impala Canada, which owns the Lac des Iles palladium mine in Northwestern Ontario, to analyze nickel, copper, and platinum group elements near the mine. The results will lead to new analytical models to accelerate mineral exploration, potentially reducing the development time of new mine sites. “Finding new, economically viable mineral deposits opens the door to generations of jobs, investment and community development opportunities,” said Impala Canada CEO Tim Hill.

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ON THE MAP

Wellness Strategy

3MT Competition Winner

Lakehead University unveiled its first Wellness Strategy in January 2021.

The plan’s mission is to embed systemic health and wellness practices and services into the University to foster the well-being of communities where faculty, staff, and students work, live, and study. “The launch of our Wellness Strategy represents a seminal moment for our Lakehead community in striving toward our vision of an inclusive university,” said Adam Shaen, the associate vice-president of human resources. The strategy will focus on the social, physical, occupational, intellectual, financial, environmental, emotional, cultural, and spiritual dimensions of wellness. Read the Wellness Strategy at www.lakeheadu.ca/trailtowellness to find out more

Chemistry PhD student Jessica Allingham won second place in the 2020 provincial 3MT (Three Minute Thesis) Competition for her thesis presentation, “Brightening up brain injuries.” 3MT is a communications exercise that challenges graduate students to share their scholarly research in an engaging manner in just three minutes. The research must be understood by an audience with no background in the research area. This year’s competition, hosted by the University of Windsor, was held virtually due to the pandemic.

“I could not believe that from all the amazing presentations put forward, mine was selected as one of the best,” Jessica said. Click here to watch Jessica’s presentation.

Teaching Scholarship Education student Melana Hope has received an Ontario College of Teachers Scholarship (Primary/Junior division). Melana, who has an art history PhD and experience as a university and college lecturer in England, began working as an unqualified supply teacher at an Ontario elementary school board after taking time off to raise her children. This career change sparked the realization that educating young children was her calling in life. Since then, Melana has maintained Dean’s List status at Lakehead Orillia and volunteered in the community teaching children’s art lessons and helping with initiatives at her local parents’ council. Ontario College of Teachers scholarships are awarded to education students who “demonstrate a high level of preparedness for teacher education through examples of community involvement, background, and life experiences.”

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 Jessica Allingham’s brain injuries presentation received a provincial award.

ON THE MAP

COVID-19 Grants

 Dr. Uddin is a pioneer in the development and application of fuzzy logic controllers for induction motor and interior permanent magnet synchronous motor drives in real time.

Engineering Innovator Dr. Mohammad Nasir Uddin was named a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for his outstanding contributions to control techniques for alternating current (AC) motor drives, making him Lakehead University’s first IEEE Fellow. Dr. Uddin is an electrical engineering professor and the LakeheadGeorgian Partnership Electrical Engineering program coordinator.

He’s also the director of the Renewable Energy, Power Systems and Drive Research Lab in Barrie, Ontario. “Out of all the awards and honours that have been bestowed upon me, this one is the most rewarding and gratifying, especially since it was supported by my peers,” Dr. Uddin said. The IEEE is the world’s leading professional association for advancing technology for humanity, including in the fields of aerospace systems, biomedical engineering, and consumer electronics.

Two Lakehead University researchers – Dr. Olakunle Akingbola (business administration) and Dr. Natalya Timoshkina (social work) – recently received Partnership Engage Grants of approximately $25,000 each for research connected with COVID-19.

These grants for small-scale, stakeholder-driven partnerships were awarded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Dr. Akingbola’s grant is aimed at understanding how, why, and under what circumstances the Caribbean African Canadian Social Services adopted remote work during and after COVID-19 and the consequences for employee and community wellbeing. Dr. Timoshkina’s project will engage Lakehead Orillia in an action-research partnership with North Simcoe Victim Services to determine, and address, how the COVID-19 crisis affected the capacity of Ontario’s victim services agencies to help trafficked persons.

Newcomer Recognition Award In November 2020, the County of Simcoe gave Orillia student Rudy Grewal a Newcomer Recognition Award for Service Excellence.

“Simcoe County is home to more than 62,000 immigrants and growing, who bring diversity in their skill, knowledge and experience, helping to enhance our economy and communities,” explained Simcoe County Warden George Cornell. Rudy graduated with an Honour Bachelor of Arts and Science degree from Lakehead in 2020 and is currently completing Lakehead’s one-year Honours Bachelor of Social Work program.

He’s active in diversity and human rights initiatives, including promoting the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and serving as a community champion for the County of Simcoe’s annual #ITSTARTS campaign – a dialogue on systemic racism. Rudy also regularly donates to, and volunteers with, local shelters such as the Women & Children’s Shelter of Barrie.

Circumpolar Education Institute Lakehead – along with other universities in Canada, Russia, and Norway – is a founding partner of the University of the Arctic’s Læra Institute for Circumpolar Education. The word læra means ‘learn’ or ‘study’ in Icelandic, and the Institute will promote best-practice teaching and learning about the Circumpolar North. “Lakehead University has committed to continue to develop regional nodes for professional program delivery with a focus on increasing access to education in northern communities through remote program delivery,” said Dr. Michel Beaulieu, Lakehead's associate viceprovost (academic) - special projects. The University of the Arctic is a cooperative network of universities, colleges, research institutes, and other organizations concerned with education and research in and about the North.

Lakehead is also a founding member of the University of the Arctic.

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IN MEMORIAM

DR. FRED GILBERT Dr. Fred Gilbert, the sixth President and Vice-Chancellor of Lakehead University, passed away on November 2, 2020. He had metastatic pancreatic cancer and lymphoma. As Dan (Diana), his wife of 39 years, noted, “Fred never did anything by halves.”

University, he earned a Master of Zoology and a PhD of Zoology from the University of Guelph.

 Dr. Fred Gilbert

During his tenure from 1998 to 2010, Dr. Gilbert's bold vision was responsible for transforming the University.

In addition to spearheading the launch of the Lakehead Orillia campus, he continued to work towards the establishment of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, which came to fruition during his appointment as President.

Additionally, Dr. Gilbert developed the University's research capacity and laid the groundwork for the creation of the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law. Dr. Gilbert was born in 1941 and raised outside of Toronto, Ontario.

His first job as a junior forest ranger led to summer forestry and wildlife research opportunities that would shape his career. After attending the University of Toronto and Acadia

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Dr. Gilbert had a distinguished career in both Canada and the United States. He worked in the State of Maine in a dual appointment as Assistant Professor of Wildlife at the University of Maine (Orono) and Big Game Project Leader for the State of Maine. He subsequently held professorships at the University of Guelph and Washington State University, was Founding Dean of the Natural Resources and Environmental Studies Faculty at the new University of Northern British Columbia, and Vice Provost Academic at Colorado State University.

On the academic side, his accomplishments include coauthoring the textbook The Philosophy and Practice of Wildlife Management, and the writing of over 60 refereed publications, articles, and book chapters. He also conducted research for the development of humane animal traps. With Dan, he was part of the effort to find, and more particularly, provide Canadian standards (followed by American and international standards) for humane animal traps used in the wild fur industry. These standards allowed Canada to continue to trade in furs with the European Union.

Other milestones during Dr. Gilbert's tenure as Lakehead University President and Vice-Chancellor ranged from building the Advanced Technology and Academic Centre

to installing a Cray computer to enable cutting-edge research. A passionate sports enthusiast, he helped revive Lakehead's hockey team—which would become the Thunderwolves—based on a community-support model unusual in Canada at the time. He also facilitated the construction of the student-funded Hangar sports facility.

After retiring from Lakehead in 2010, Dr. Gilbert (always a ‘closet granola’) started an organic farm in Nova Scotia, where he continued to play old-timers' hockey until 2020, at age 78. He was a generous Lakehead donor and established strong ties with the Lakehead University Alumni Association, which granted him an Honorary Membership in 2017. While in Nova Scotia, he also became involved with the Alumni Association at Acadia University in Wolfville.

“Fred was a crusty and cussed old so-and-so, but one of immense personal integrity, intellectual vigour, humour, and very often, real kindness,” said Dan, who is utterly bereft at his passing.

Dr. Fred Gilbert will be remembered

by Lakehead University for his legacy of leadership and innovation (and, possibly, all of the above).

Please visit Lakehead University's giving page if you would like to make a donation to the Frederick F. Gilbert Aboriginal Scholarship or the Frederick F. Gilbert Second Chance Late Bloomer Bursary in honour of Dr. Gilbert's memory.

THE LAKEHEAD UNIVERSITY STUDENT ALUMNI ASSOCIATION GETS INVENTIVE

by Jacquie Kent

Keeping busy and stimulated during a pandemic, and in a lockdown, has been a challenge for many. All community and university event programming had to come to a sudden halt, and people began looking for fun and interesting things to do in their leisure time.

Postsecondary teams working with alumni had to start thinking outside the box when coming up with strategies to engage alumni.

The Lakehead University Student Alumni Association (LUSAA) based on the Lakehead Orillia campus was one of those groups facing this dilemma. This group of nine student volunteers, who were simultaneously dealing with a new online environment for their own classes, rose to the occasion when faced with this unprecedented challenge.

They began to meet online to brainstorm ways to reach students, who were for the most part studying at their homes all over the world.

They researched available tools and event ideas. From those online meetings they came up with some unique virtual events, the first of which was launched in September 2020, and used an online platform that allowed them to run a quiz challenge.

Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse” event. This very active team is also working on events for specialized groups such as our professional year education students and LakeheadGeorgian Partnership students.

In addition, LUSAA organizes an annual event to give back to our local community. This year is no exception, in spite of, or maybe even because of, the pandemic. They are currently working on thank you cards and treats that they will safely deliver to package and mail delivery companies to be distributed to their delivery service workers as a thank you for their important work during these times. It is just this kind of exceptional and unconventional thinking that epitomizes our Lakehead student and alumni volunteers, and for that we are most grateful.

Since then, they have hosted many virtual events for students throughout the academic year including an online yoga session, a social media-driven pumpkincarving contest, a hot chocolate bomb-making workshop, and a stargazing event.

LUSAA has more unique events planned for the remainder of the current academic year including a Netflix party and a “The Art of

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Voyage of

Discovery

Jennifer Smith’s epic sail around the world

by Wendy Helfenbaum

Many people dream of someday embarking upon a bucket-list adventure – like selling everything and hitting the open sea to circumnavigate the globe.

Jennifer Smith (HBSc’85) actually did it.

Green Ghost is a Vancouver 42 cutter-rigged sloop weighing over 17 tonsJennifer chronicled the 40,000-nautical-mile journey from Vancouver to Toronto “the long way around” that she and her husband took from 2000 to 2017 in her book, Green Ghost, Blue Ocean, which won the 2019 Pottersfield Prize for creative non-fiction.

Long before stepping foot on a boat, Jennifer embraced change, uncharted territories, and unconventional choices.

Early Explorations Born in Oakville, Ontario, Jennifer became fascinated with archeology when her second-grade teacher read the class a story about the discovery of King Tut. She later grew to love geography, and then zeroed in on geology.

Enamoured with the idea of going “far away” to university, Jennifer

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While a student, Jennifer’s summer jobs helped her gain valuable industry, government, and academic experience. She was a field assistant on a uranium exploration crew camped about 100 miles from the Arctic circle, a research assistant for geology professors Graham Borradaile and John Mothersill, and a worker at the federal Department of Northern Affairs’ Geology Department in Whitehorse, Yukon.

Upon graduation in 1985 with First Class Standing, Jennifer was awarded the Department of Geology prize.  Green Ghost is a Vancouver 42 cutterrigged sloop weighing over 17 tons.

According to Jennifer, knowing when to shorten sail and getting it done quickly and efficiently is the most technically difficult part of sailing. “Most of your problems are caused by not anticipating conditions and not reducing sail soon enough.”

“I love seeing new things and being in motion – the physical process of moving through space toward a goal,” Jennifer says. “Because I really love physical geography, the way the land looks, and the processes of nature, I enjoy seeing as much of planet Earth as I can.”

obtained three scholarships in 1981 and attended Lakehead’s Geology, Energy and Fuel Science program.

“I loved my time at Lakehead, and the camaraderie of my classmates,” Jennifer says.

“Although we were the largest class the geology department had ever seen, there were still only 25 of us. It’s wonderful that those relationships just go on and on throughout your life if you make the effort to stay in touch.”

 Jennifer during her Lakehead undergrad years.

VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY

 Jennifer says that it was thrilling to round the Cape of Good Hope in their sailboat because it was long believed to be the southernmost tip of Africa and the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans (Cape Agulhas actually holds this distinction).

A kindred spirit leads to new directions During a 1987 summer job on a gold exploration crew, Jennifer met a fellow geology graduate from the University of Toronto who would later became her husband. Alex ‘Nik’ Nikolajevich – Jennifer calls him “the captain of my heart” – also loved to travel, and the couple spent 1989 backpacking through Australia, stopping to work for six months at a gold mine in Western Australia.

After getting married in 1990 and moving to Vancouver, British Columbia, Jennifer spent a decade working as an exploration geologist in British Columbia and Yukon for various companies.

became a chartered public accountant in 1996. Leveraging her background in geology, she took on roles in finance, accounting, and later, corporate development in the mining sector.

“It's so interesting how people grow up in the same house with the same parents and then have such different journeys,” says Jennifer’s sister, Carolyn Solby. “She was always adventurous.

“Looking back, I'm glad I was flexible, I was okay with letting geology go to take a different route,” she says.

"Nik is a true adventurer as well, but he’s more the dreamer and long-term thinker. My sister is so organized and thoughtful. She’ll set a high goal for herself, and then take care to understand everything that needs to be done to achieve that goal.”

Veering off course towards a new dream Settled in successful careers, Jennifer and Nik began envisioning a different life, one that would offer time for self-discovery. Jennifer captured their thoughts in her book: “You can always make another dollar, but you can’t make another minute.”

They had started taking sailing lessons, and being on the water fed their souls in a way nothing else had. The couple became obsessed with the idea of sailing from Vancouver to Australia, and did not want to wait 30 years until retirement to do so. They sold their home, bought a 42-foot offshore boat called Green Ghost, and sailed away in September 2000 across the Pacific Ocean towards Brisbane, Australia.

Getting their sea legs As Jennifer and Nik adjusted to life at sea, they quickly learned that cruising required determination, flexibility, patience, and especially mental and physical endurance.

Nik was plagued with relentless seasickness, and when the weather didn’t cooperate, there were some harrowing moments, as one of the first lines in Jennifer’s book notes.

“Just three days in and our dream felt more like a nightmare,” she wrote. Nik observed that cruising on a sailboat is a lot like camping on a roller coaster. There was always something to repaint, repair or replace, which surprised the couple.

“Although I had wonderful experiences working as an exploration geologist – I really enjoyed being out in the mountains, on a traverse, mapping rocks – I didn't have any mentors, so I didn't really know where it would lead me,” she recalls.

When economic forces driving the mining sector made finding work challenging, Jennifer and Nik found being far from home, and each other, increasingly difficult. To make themselves more employable, they each retrained, and Jennifer

 Nik caught many fish on their sailing voyage – dorado (mahi mahi), tuna (yellowfin, dogtooth, albacore), wahoo, barracuda, cobia (black kingfish), and Spanish Mackerel.

Here, Nik holds up a huge dorado catch, near Long Island, Bahamas.

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VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY

“We’d put so much work into the boat before we left, and I think I was a bit naïve in thinking that you could spend a lot of time getting ready, and then you’d arrive at and remain in a state of readiness. After a while, I realized that cruising is about perpetually getting ready. There’s no end to it,” she says.

On one occasion, the transmission got flooded with sea water, but Captain Mallet – the Port Captain of Rodrigues – saved the day when he and his small group of volunteer coast guards towed Green Ghost in to port through the reefs.

Another time, their autopilot system failed. Jennifer says finding out that other cruisers experience the same challenges eased the burden somewhat.

“One young couple we met from Seattle had bought themselves a brand-new boat, and they were still having to fix things, and I remember them saying, ‘We thought this would be more of a cocktail cruise; we didn't realize it was going to be like this.’ Parts of that trip were really hard. Sometimes I’d ask myself, ‘Why are we doing this again?’ But, in the difficult moments, I fell back on my mantra: This won’t last.”

Frustrations also became opportunities to connect. “So many other people did us a favour or offered us a smile when we needed one…nobody cruises alone!”

Weathering the storms Jennifer describes offshore sailing as 98 per cent boredom and two per cent sheer terror, and indeed, the couple had several close calls in open water.

“There were moments where I felt like, ‘This is a really bad situation; I'm afraid one of us is going to get hurt here,’ but I never felt that we were in imminent danger of a fatal incident,” Jennifer says, noting that her worst moment came when she woke up one afternoon while Nik was keeping watch on deck and couldn’t find him anywhere.

“I thought he'd fallen overboard, but of course, nothing had happened,” she says. Nik had climbed eight feet up the ratlines (a rope ladder near the mast) because he thought he’d spotted a whale.

“Something that non-sailors don’t think about is that the biggest danger is falling off the boat. If you

 Jennifer climbs into the dinghy to take a closer look at a nurse shark near Warderick Wells, Bahamas. Nurse sharks are exceptionally sedentary, posing a threat to humans only if provoked. Other marine life they observed included pilot whales, humpback whales, green sea turtles, dolphins, manatees, stingrays, eagle rays, manta rays, reef sharks, and bull sharks.

do, the chances of being retrieved are so small. In my mind, I felt that as long as we remained on the boat, we could get through anything.”

Towards a new horizon Jennifer and Nik’s original goal was to cross the Pacific and get to Australia, but a year into their voyage, the couple’s expedition started feeling like a lifestyle.

“We felt we’d discovered a secret world, a magical life that was there for the taking. We knew two things for sure: the cruising life was fantastic, and we weren’t ready for an ending,” Jennifer wrote in her book.

To extend their time at sea, the couple took breaks to pick up contract work and shore up their bank accounts.

 On the bow of Green Ghost, surrounded by the crystal-clear waters of Mayaguana, the easternmost island in the Bahamas. During their travels, Jennifer and Nik witnessed many spectacular sights, including dolphins swimming through bioluminescent water at night.

“It was as though the dolphins themselves were glowing,” Jennifer says.

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From enjoying potluck dinners on the beach with other ‘yachties’ to exploring a live volcano to swimming with manta rays, Jennifer wanted to forever capture the feelings of

VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY

“I sensed that I’d set myself free.

How constraining it is to be defined by others. How liberating to decide who you’ll be.”

Jennifer also wants to let young people know that they don’t need to have all the answers laid out in advance.

“An undergraduate education is so much more than a fixed track toward a degree and a career,” she wrote.

 On a river cruise through Tanjung Puting National Park, Jennifer visited the Orangutan rehabilitation centre at Camp Leakey, near Kumai, Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo). This alpha male was known as “Tom.”

wonder she was experiencing.

Sending detailed dispatches to friends and family not only preserved these memories, but also made Jennifer and Nik mascots for the loved ones living vicariously through them.

“Jennifer is a wonderful communicator, and from the beginning, she wrote long summaries of various legs of their journey, and I always really looked forward to receiving the next dispatch,” says Brenda SawatzkyGirling, a longtime friend.

Jennifer and Nik welcomed guests on the Green Ghost, and Brenda and her husband Scott joined the couple onboard in 2003, sailing around Fiji for two weeks. Carolyn and her family visited with them in New Zealand, Australia, and St. Lucia.

“One of the things I really admire about Jennifer is her integrity and willingness to do things that feel right to her, even though it’s not a prescribed path for other people,” says Brenda.

Throughout their sailing expedition, the couple visited many destinations, including Indonesia, Singapore, Madagascar, South Africa, French Guyana, and the Caribbean. Jennifer

particularly loved Mooloolaba in Queensland, Australia, as well as Penang, Malaysia, and Madagascar.

“Oh, there were so many great places!” Jennifer says. “Malaysia – we enjoyed very much, it’s a wonderful crossroads in Asia, multi-ethnic and multicultural, and yet English is widely spoken which makes it a very easy place to travel for English-speaking people. I recall a time when we sat in a Malaysian open-air bar eating pulled pork sandwiches, drinking Kilkenny draft, and watching world cup soccer as we listened to the muezzin call Muslims to noon prayer from the nearby minaret. Only in Malaysia!”

“Hopefully, it’s an experience that will set a student on a course to be ready to learn, ready to retrain, ready to pivot. Mental agility is what allows you to take advantage of the unexpected options that will come your way.”

When you figure things out as you go along, Jennifer believes there’s no telling how far you can travel.

The next chapter By 2017, Jennifer and Nik were ready to set up home base in Burlington, Ontario. Green Ghost now lives in a Penetanguishene marina, and the couple has since sailed seasonally on Georgian Bay. “We definitely have no regrets about having gone on that trip,” Jennifer says. She plans to continue writing, and recently completed a biography of her mother.

Above all, Jennifer is happy she embraced an imperfect plan, as she wrote:

 The most challenging places to navigate were coral reef passes and the interiors of coral lagoons. “All navigation must be done by eye and that can be tricky.”

The reefs, though, were beautiful and while snorkelling Jennifer and Nik saw many tropical fish and sea creatures – sea cucumbers, Moray eels, jellyfish, cuttlefish, sea urchins, giant clams, and conches.

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History Highlights Dr. George Ozburn remembers Lakehead’s earliest years “I started at Lakehead in the fall of 1965 – the year Lakehead became a university,” says retired biology professor Dr. George Ozburn. There were only 40 to 50 faculty members and about 500 students.

Dr. Ozburn was an entomologist with degrees from McGill University and Imperial College (London, England) who initially did pest control in West Africa preventing infestations in peanut, maize, and cocoa bean crops.

After marrying, and while teaching at Northern Michigan University, Dr. Ozburn was asked by Dr. Harold Braun, the principal of the Lakehead College of Arts, Science and Technology, if he’d like to teach at the College (which was about to become Lakehead University). Dr. Ozburn quickly accepted.

“I had large first-year biology classes in the Upper Lecture Theatre of the Braun Building,” he remembers.

“Other classes were taught in a number of smaller rooms for both lectures and labs.”

Later, as the University expanded the science and engineering building,

 Retired Lakehead biology professor Dr. George Ozburn is a trained entomologist who says his favourite insect is the dragonfly. “I once found a fossilized dragonfly wing on a canoe trip to James Bay with my father – the wing was just over a foot in length.”

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 Dr. Ozburn was a big supporter of Lakehead’s Physical and Health Education department, volunteering his coaching skills and his time. Pictured above are students in the Fieldhouse representing the different sporting activities offered by the program in the 1970s. “One year, an oval speed skating rink was constructed on a playing field beside the Fieldhouse for the physical education students,” he says. “The department even brought a Zamboni up from town a couple of times to ice it.”

Dr. Ozburn developed an aquatic toxicology research program. This involved work for the federal and provincial governments developing standards for allowable discharge of toxic substances into waterways. The lab still exists and tests effluents from regional paper mills and mines.

As a fledgling university, faculty members were expected to help attract students and boost enrolment numbers, especially from Northwestern Ontario.

“The University used to send professors on road trips to recruit high school students from places like Geraldton, Rainy River, and Manitouwadge,” Dr. Ozburn says.

“These were always fun trips usually in bad weather during exam week in December and April.”

But it wasn’t all hard work.

“In the early days, the faculty hosted a lot of parties,” Dr. Ozburn says.

“Some of the profs were World War II vets, and with a little lubrication, you’d sometimes get great stories.

Like when Tom Miller – a history professor who served in the air force – told us about his escape from a prisoner-of-war camp.”

Lakehead also gave Dr. Ozburn an outlet for his love of sports.

“In the first few years there was a proper hockey rink with lights and boards in front of where the

Agora is today. There were frequent co-ed matches between faculty and students with the latter usually winning.”

He also remembers annual winter carnivals featuring some remarkable ice sculptures and the crowning of a carnival queen and king.

The only other on-campus sports were squash games held in courts in the Braun Building and table tennis matches held in two of its hallways.

In 1967, Dr. Ozburn coached the squash team that won the first intercollegiate championship for Lakehead. He also assisted the Physical and Health Education department – which later became Kinesiology – with mandatory sporting activities, including cross country skiing and canoeing.

“The dean of the day inveigled me to help with the canoe trip, and for many years, I was one of the leaders on an annual expedition to the Boundary Waters that separate Minnesota and Ontario,” he says.

When the students needed another canoe for their 1973 trip, Dr. Ozburn gave them one, and since then has been a regular and generous donor to the University.

“I really enjoyed my time at Lakehead,” Dr. Ozburn adds. “I don’t think I could have had a better life anywhere else.”

Meet Quentin Evans (HBSW’14), A risk-taker and changemaker

by Tracey Skehan

 Supporting others and helping them achieve their goals has always motivated Quentin. He’s been a Big Brother and the national communications director of Canada’s 2012 Special Olympics Winter Games. “If you’re ever curious as to where to find joy – make friends with these athletes,” he says. Quentin currently volunteers with Hospice Orillia.

Ten years ago, most people who knew him would have assumed that Quentin Evans’s life was on track.

He’d grown up in a supportive family, had an Honours Bachelor of Arts from Western University and a public relations certificate from Humber College, and he’d just established a new branch office of a non-traditional marketing agency in Toronto.

But things changed suddenly when Quentin had a heart attack at the age of 33.

“Although my path to living with purpose began earlier,” Quentin says, “it took the contemplation of my own mortality to truly push me to become more intentional about my life choices.”

He discovered a new sense of clarity, which prompted him to enrol in a social work degree at Lakehead Orillia. “I always believed I would embrace a vocation serving others,” he explains.

Quentin had a strong influence on campus. During his field placement with Student Services, he and his fellow classmate Laura East tackled the problem of cyber-bullying in postsecondary institutions.

The two came up with the idea of the Audacity Movement (AM).

“We set out to shift the campus culture at Lakehead Orillia towards one that modeled – and rewarded – community, kindness, and social innovation,” Quentin says.

A key element of the initiative was tokens emblazoned with the initials “AM” that students and staff were able to give to anyone they witnessed performing an act of compassion or courage.

Quentin has never shied away from taking a risk on endeavours he is passionate about, most notably founding the independent record label Hope Café Records with his life partner, singer/songwriter Angie Nussey.

The duo experimented with innovative campaigns that set new standards in the industry.

Unfortunately, after five years of operation, the label had to fold due to financial difficulties. Quentin, though, was unphased by this setback.

“Being deeply humbled by that perceived 'failure' enabled me to differentiate between living a ‘satisfied life,’ that would be measured by us, versus the more traditional ‘successful life,’ which is so often measured by others.”

Quentin is currently a community impact project liaison at Georgian College’s Centre for Changemaking and Social Innovation (CCSI) in Barrie, Ontario. Much of his time is spent helping students engage in social innovation by connecting them with progressive community organizations. Over the past three years, they’ve focused on food security, social isolation, and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Besides his work with CCSI, Quentin teaches courses at Georgian and

 Centre for Changemaking and Social Innovation students take part in a collaborative ideation session.

is the faculty representative for “ManUp” – a student-led social movement, in partnership with the Ontario Provincial Police, dedicated to addressing gender-based violence.

The pandemic, of course, presents some challenges to his work and teaching.

“Without question, I really miss being in the physical classroom,” Quentin says, “but there’s something so beautifully human about hearing families in the background or watching a pet cross in front of a web cam.”

Quentin recognizes how fortunate he’s been to have worked alongside so many inspiring individuals.

“I’m genuinely fascinated by people.

I love to hear someone’s story and I’m always happy to share the things I’ve learned, and more importantly, un-learned during my journey.”

Anyone who would like to get in touch with Quentin is welcome to email quentinevans@gmail.com 13

Archaeologist Dr. Scott Hamilton Digs Deep

by Tracey Skehan

Research in places like the remote Hudson Bay Lowlands has changed archaeologist Dr. Scott Hamilton’s understanding of Canada.

“The Lowlands are an area of water-saturated bogs, muskeg, sphagnum moss, and coniferous trees,” Dr. Hamilton says. “In the summer, it has an incredibly high density of insects that swarm and bite.”

He recalls an expedition there 12 years ago to conduct an archaeological assessment on behalf of the Constance Lake First Nation during planning of a road route to a possible phosphate mine.

“We would get dumped out of a helicopter early in the morning wearing hip waders and carrying all of our gear, water and food on our backs. There was surface water everywhere but you couldn’t drink it. If the helicopter couldn’t pick us up, we would be there overnight.”

“At first, it felt like hell on Earth.”

But as the weeks went by, Dr. Hamilton became struck by the “absolute beauty” of this northern landscape that is part of traditional Cree and Ojibwe territory.

“It’s incredibly lush and green.

Orchids bloom in the floating bog vegetation in the summer and there’s no ambient noise except for the birds and insects. Silence envelops you. I began to see why

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these homelands are so revered.”

Dr. Hamilton specializes in applied and academic research in fur trade archaeology, ethnohistory, and Aboriginal archaeology of Canada’s northern plains and boreal forest.

He’s been a Lakehead professor since 1988 and he’s currently the Department of Anthropology Chair and a member of Lakehead’s Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Mining & Exploration.

His contributions to the discipline were recognized in November 2020 when he received a J.V. Wright Lifetime Achievement Award from the Ontario Archaeological Society.

Dr. Hamilton’s methods have

evolved over time and include his adoption of Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), nearsurface geophysics, aerial and underwater drones, sonar, and 3D modelling to carry out his research.

“I’m a bit of a map nerd,” he says.

“I like to reconstruct what sites looked like.”

Having the capacity to deploy non-invasive data recovery helps preserve historic sites. A recent example is new information he’s gathered about the Sourismouth forts – a series of fur trading posts constructed along Manitoba’s Assiniboine and Souris rivers – using aerial drones. These technologies are also useful for understanding how the landscape was used by pre-contact communal bison hunters.

“I’m an old archaeologist trying to keep up with new approaches,” he says, “but working with hotshot graduate students makes it a lot easier.”

 Scott Hamilton doing boat survey at Slate Falls First Nation. Water transportation is still the most important means of warm season movement in the northern boreal forest, with archaeological sites often found along the shores of navigable streams and lakes.

His consulting career began in the early 1980s overseeing salvage operations for Ontario’s Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport using funding from the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines. This was sparked by the realization in the 1970s that Canada’s natural and cultural heritage was being jeopardized by a

DR. SCOTT HAMILTON DIGS DEEP

growing number of natural resource development projects. This resulted in requirements for environmental impact assessment conducted before projects were given the green light. Most of the archaeology now conducted in Canada involves the inventory and investigation of sites before industrial infrastructure can be built.

Dr. Hamilton’s expertise as a consultant has been sought on many of these ventures, such as the Ring of Fire mineral exploration project in Northern Ontario. He is helping document First Nations’ culture and history in the region by interviewing Elders and identifying sensitive places requiring protection. He also reviews other archaeologists’ work on these types of projects.

“Some of my most important applied research is in the role of ‘cultural translator,’ since two sides in a dispute often have difficulty comprehending the viewpoints of the other side.

It means moving beyond the economic valuation of Indigenous relationships with the land and

 Using a drone in 2018 to photodocument early 20th-century cabin foundations at Slate Falls, Ontario.

This cabin foundation is in an area reported by Elder Sam Carpenter as a place where he lived as a child. After locating subtle earth ridges indicating the foundation, brush was cleared to aid documentation. This included drone-assisted photogrammetry to map the site. Archaeological team member Clarence Surette can be seen in the background.

embracing a cultural-spiritual perspective. Supreme Court decisions mandating the Crown’s duty to consult with Indigenous communities, as well as Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation process, have strengthened this trend.”

At the moment, Dr. Hamilton is engaged in an ambitious undertaking that is using his training in new ways. He is the archaeology team co-leader of the Six Seasons of the Asiniskaw Ithiniwak Project, funded by a $2.5 million Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) partnership grant with Rocky Cree communities in northern Manitoba and the University of Winnipeg in Manitoba.

“We’re working with a Cree storyteller, William Dumas, who is writing a series of picture books for Rocky Cree children, although I suspect it will have a much broader reach,” Dr. Hamilton says.

The aim is to develop a school curriculum for Rocky Cree children that encourages language retention and helps younger generations learn about their ancestors’ way of life.

These historical stories will feature children working with their elders and learning about their role in society. The first book is a coming-of-age story about an adolescent girl in the 1600s trying to decide if she’d like to become a midwife when she grows up. While travelling with her aunt and uncle by canoe to a spring gathering, a thunderstorm separates them from the rest of the group. When her pregnant aunt goes into labour, the girl must help her give birth.

Dr. Hamilton is on the team providing information about Rocky Cree history and technology that appear in sidebars within the stories. The project is also developing app versions of the stories so that children can listen

 Scott Hamilton doing remote shovel test survey in Hudson Bay Lowlands in 2008. Guided by GPS tracks, these walking transects were conducted along a proposed road. Surface inspection and sub-surface testing sought to determine whether archaeological deposits intersect the proposed road route. This reconnaissance is the first step in the impact assessment process.

to the stories in Rocky Cree or English.

Research like the Six Seasons of the Asiniskaw Ithiniwak Project allows Dr. Hamilton to do groundbreaking work that has a real impact.

“The kids are transfixed by the stories,” he says, “and for me, it’s really satisfying to participate in something that will be read by nonacademic audiences.”

Learn about the Six Seasons of the Asiniskaw Ithiniwak Project. https://sixseasonsproject.ca/about

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The Walker Wood Foundation changes lives

by Tracey Skehan

 Student Connor McKinnon

 Student Emily Kaun

In 2019, the Walker Wood Foundation generously donated $32,000 to establish Walker Wood Foundation Awards to help Lakehead University students.

“In a country like Canada, with so many newcomers, we believe education is paramount,” Susan says.

That’s why the Walker Wood Foundation has been supporting students with high academic standing and leadership qualities who might otherwise find it difficult to afford postsecondary education.

To reach the greatest number of people, the Foundation gives to colleges and universities across Canada.

“We also have a small allocation of our funds that go to general donations including health, community programs, theatre and music, and disaster relief,” Susan says.

In fact, in 2020, Lakehead was fortunate to receive a $5,000 donation to the Lakehead University COVID-19 Student Relief Fund from the Walker Wood Foundation to assist students who are struggling during the pandemic.

During this same academic year, Lakehead students Connor McKinnon and Emily Kaun were thrilled to receive Walker Wood Foundation Awards. Emily is a second-year student from Fort Frances, a Northwestern Ontario town of about 8,000 far from any university or college, making

“Previous generations could leave high school thinking, ‘I’m going to set the world on fire,’ but things are different now,” Susan Wood says.

The Foundation was established

by Susan and her husband Neil Wood in 2006 and is run by them along with their daughter, Halifax physician Dr. Kate Wood.

It was the life of another physician – Neil’s father Dr. James Wood – that inspired Neil and Susan to support postsecondary education.

Dr. Wood was able to become a physician after receiving a prestigious Carnegie Scholarship to attend medical school. When he graduated, Dr. Wood repaid this kindness by spending his career as a family doctor in an economically depressed region of Yorkshire, England.

The couple's dedication to postsecondary education was also influenced by their experience as immigrants. Both of them are originally from the United Kingdom and both of them chose to take a risk and start new lives overseas.

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a postsecondary education an expensive proposition.

“Thank you for opening so many doors for me," Emily says. "Your generous bursary has allowed me to pursue my dream of becoming a registered nurse. I am honoured that you chose me, but most importantly, I wanted to let your organization know that by helping me, I am going to be able to help others.”

Connor is also a second-year nursing student. He grew up in Thunder Bay, however he spent much of his childhood travelling to and from Toronto for medical treatments after being diagnosed at the age of six with a rare form of cancer.

“I was not supposed to survive,” Connor says, “but my parents refused to take me home unless they had tried everything possible.”

He adds, “I have seen how nurses and doctors can change your life and it has been my dream since to be a nurse, then hopefully a doctor, so that I can give back to someone else's family.”

Emily and Connor’s commitment to supporting the vulnerable is one that Susan Wood applauds. “I always say work hard, do your best, and be kind and thoughtful to your fellow human beings.”

If you would like to support a student, please contact External Relations Philanthropy Director Kathryn Davidson at 807-3438010 ext. 8476 or by email at kathryn.davidson@lakeheadu.ca for more information.

One of the most difficult tasks in starting a business is finding the support resources to launch and grow.

INGENUITY, Lakehead’s first business incubator for students, is allowing entrepreneurial thinkers to access the tools, spaces and funding to create, innovate and explore.

THE BEST INVESTMENT YOU CAN MAKE IS IN SOMEONE’S FUTURE.

Support INGENUITY today… so a good idea doesn’t have to go to waste.

For more information contact: Lee-Anne Camlin Samantha Lennon Philanthropy Associate

(807) 343-8010 ext. 7792 lee-anne.camlin@lakeheadu.ca

Alumni and Annual Giving Associate, GTA (416) 646-1416 ext. 2822 samantha.lennon@lakeheadu.ca

Student Relief Fund Thank you! To the Alumni, Faculty, Staff, Governors and Friends who supported the Student Relief Fund at Lakehead University.

Thank you to all donors for helping us out. In the future, I wish to be a donor like you who can help students in need. This fund helped me get through a few harsh months without which the situation would have been bad and I might still be recovering from it.

Once again, thank you so much.

– Engineering student

Thunder Bay firefighter is cool as ice on the bobsled track

by Brandon Walker

 Stephanie (right) in Innsbruck, Austria, after a race with her then pilot Bianca Ribi.

brakeman with her pilot, Stephanie says she wants to compete at the Beijing Olympics in 2022.

was wrong with her sled, so she watched instead, standing near one of the corners on the track.

“That's what I have my sights on, whether it’s the next Olympics in Beijing or in 2026. I still feel very green in this sport. However, I'm learning a lot being around veteran athletes.”

“I'd seen bobsled on TV, but you don't see how fast they go and how loud they are. It sounded like a jet engine coming toward me – extremely loud and super fast.”

A typical week for Stephanie included sliding three days per week with weight training and speed training interspersed throughout, with competitions in Germany and Austria typically happening on weekends.  Stephanie Drost, HB Commerce Program & HB Kinesiolology Program

Stephanie Drost says she's caught the bug – the 27-yearold is hooked on bobsledding.

Stephanie, who studied kinesiology and business at Lakehead and was one of the first two women hired

by Thunder Bay Fire Rescue, has taken holiday time coupled with a leave of absence from firefighting to compete for Team Canada Bobsleigh on the Europa Cup and World Cup circuits in Europe.

This winter she was in Altenberg, Germany, practicing as a

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She’s been on a whirlwind tour since trying out for the team in Calgary, Alberta, in October.

After she was chosen, Stephanie trained with her new teammates for eight weeks in Whistler, British Columbia, which has the fastest bobsled track in the world. Then, in late December, she flew to Germany to participate in the Europa and world cup circuit.

Stephanie has competed in races in Altenberg, Germany, and Igls, Austria, where all Canadian teams had top 10 finishes.

With speeds up to 150 km per hour in Whistler, Stephanie recalls being nervous before her first time whipping down the track in a bobsled. She was supposed to go down that day, but something

That’s when her nerves set in. “I remember thinking ‘this will be me tomorrow.’ I was excited. I wasn’t scared, but definitely a little nervous. Once you get in the back and you feel yourself being hurled down the track – it doesn't sound

COOL AS ICE

as loud and it doesn't feel as fast as it looks. It’s a rush and as soon as I got to the bottom I couldn't wait to get back in the sled and do it all over again.”

Stephanie says anyone curious about a new sport or hobby should not be afraid to try it.

“Definitely go for it and don’t let the odds or doubts stop you, because there were definitely times when I doubted myself or thought I might be too old to get into a new sport and compete at a high level, but persistence and dedication can get you to whatever you have your sights on.

You never know what could happen. If I told myself even two years ago that this is where I would be, I would have never believed that. Trust in yourself. We're all capable of some pretty amazing things.”

Stephanie returned home to Thunder Bay in the middle of February.

 High fiving with teammate, Melissa Lotholz in Königsee, Germany, after Melissa finished a monobob race.

 Stephanie pushing the bobsled with her pilot Christine DeBruin during a training day in Königsee, Germany.

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A Look Back...

Coach George Birger brought basketball glory to Lakehead

by Tracey Skehan

George Birger had an outsized impact on the history of Lakehead University athletics.

He was a beloved mentor, father figure, coach, and athletics director who inspired strong loyalty.

When George passed away from COVID-19 on October 10, 2020, in Tucson, Arizona, at the age of 91, the University mourned the death of one of our early leaders. So did former athletes like Jerry Hemmings who played on Lakehead’s championship 1969-70 Nor’Westers basketball team.

 Lakehead Athletics Director Hank Akervall, Athletics Activities Coordinator Bill Shannon, and Coach George Birger celebrate joining the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). NAIA was an association of small and mid-sized American colleges and universities that allowed Lakehead to compete for American championships in basketball, as well as many other sports. This was critical because it was too expensive to travel to southern Ontario to compete against other provincial universities. Photo courtesy of Lakehead University Archives

“From a players’ perspective, Coach Birger was outstanding,” Jerry says. “He knew how to motivate with intensity, humour and compassion.”

“Coach was very focused on the bench and if the score got close, he got nervous and started chewing on his towel,” Jerry adds.

Fittingly, George was born in Winner, South Dakota, in 1929, where he excelled as athlete during his school years. During this period, he began to see sports as a way to build character and cultivate the values of good citizenship.

This insight became the catalyst for a distinguished 50-year career in athletic programs in high schools and universities throughout the United States and Canada.

 George’s coaching skills brought him and his wife Lorine to schools in Canada and the United States, including Ontario, Manitoba, South Dakota, Idaho, Prince Edward Island, and Arizona.

Photo courtesy of Jerry Hemmings

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in Canada and the United States, including Ontario, Manitoba, South Dakota, Idaho, Prince Edward Island, and Arizona.

In a 2015 Lakehead Thunderwolves podcast, George recalled those early years.

“When I came, we were a very small department. We only had four people in the department – Henry Akervall who was the hockey coach, Bill Shannon who was our coordinator, and Chris Siciliano and myself.”

The small size of the athletics staff didn’t limit the basketball coach’s ambitions.

He began his career as an assistant basketball coach with the University of South Dakota in the early 1960s and then, in 1967, Lakehead University had the good fortune to hire George as our athletics director and men’s basketball coach.

“We had the new gym that could hold quite a few people,” George explained in 2015, “And I said, ‘I’m going to fill that gym’ and most people thought it was a big laugh that we’d ever fill that for basketball.

Maybe hockey, but not basketball.

Well, it didn’t take very long and that place was plumb full all the way, all the time standing room only.”

George’s coaching skills brought him and his wife Lorine to schools

Part of Coach Birger’s strategy was to cast his net wide in his search

A LOOK BACK GEORGE BIRGER

for talented basketball players.

“George was relentless in his efforts to recruit student athletes. He recruited me to Lakehead in 1969,” explains Jerry, who is originally from North Carolina. “It was the start of a 50-year friendship.”

By George’s third year of coaching, Lakehead was accepted into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

George was quoted in the Argus student newspaper as saying of NAIA, “The main point is that our top athletes will now receive the recognition they deserve and the door is wide open for Lakehead University to build an international reputation, particularly in sports such as hockey and basketball.”

Success came quickly and by the 1969-70 season, Lakehead’s basketball team, including Jerry Hemmings, had slam dunked their way to the NAIA District 13 championship playoffs in Minneapolis.

“It was a great year,” George said in the 2015 podcast, “we kept winning and winning until we finished the season with 23 wins and one loss. We beat some very

good American and Canadian teams. We were the best men’s basketball team in Lakehead’s history.”

The basketball court wasn’t the only place George expected his players to shine. He always stressed the importance of a good education.

“That’s one thing I can say,” George said about the 1969-70 team, “all these guys got a degree because I pounded it into them, ‘You’ve got to study, you’ve got to be in class every day, and you’ve got to put your best efforts forward each time.’”

George’s influence continued to grow when he served as Lakehead's athletic director from 1971 to1974. According to Jerry, “George was instrumental in starting summer basketball camps and hosting Christmas basketball tournaments along with coaching clinics for high school and ruralarea coaches.”

His mentorship allowed student athletes like Jerry Hemmings to fulfil their potential. Jerry was Brandon University’s head men’s basketball coach from 1974 to 2004 as well as a Physical Education and Recreational

 A ferocious basketball game during the 1968-69 season. “George was a players’ coach who related very well to his players,” Jerry Hemmings says. “He emphasized a strong defence first and an up-tempo game to complement his player’s strengths.” Photo courtesy of Lakehead University Archives

Services instructor. George, incidentally, was Brandon University’s athletics director from 1978 until 1987.

The accomplishments of George Birger will always be remembered.

He and the 1969-70 basketball team were honoured at Lakehead’s 2015 Athletics Wall of Fame ceremony and his legacy lives on in the hearts of our alumni.

Listen to the 2015 podcast interview with George Birger and former Lakehead basketball players Louis Vaughn and Jerry Hemmings.

To make a gift to Athletics or to learn about naming and recognition opportunities in the Wolf Den, Lakehead's new Athletics building, please contact: Kathryn Davidson Philanthropy Director External Relations T: 807-343-8000 ext. 8476 E: kathryn.davidson@lakeheadu.ca All photos are courtesy of the Lakehead University’s Archives Department.

 The 1969-70 Basketball Team (photo courtesy of Jerry Hemmings): Front Row (l-r): Joe Parks, Robert Jackson, Charlie Tallach, Ken Traynor, Jerry Hemmings, Louis Vaughn, Brian Nieminen Back Row (l-r): Coach George Birger, Renato Savioli, Dale Olson, Wayne Chuchmuch, Richard Earl, Shelton Bellamy, Brian Smith

21

The hunger strikers who fought for basic health care

by Tracey Skehan

In 1988, Chief Josias Fiddler, head of Sandy Lake First Nation, travelled over 300 km to Sioux Lookout, Ontario.

He wasn’t there for work or a vacation – he was there to begin a hunger strike.

Taking part with him in this highstakes protest were fellow band members Peter Goodman, Allan Meekis, Peter Fiddler, and Luke Mamakeesic. The Sandy Lake Five wanted to draw attention to decades of abysmal health care services in their community. There was no hospital in Sandy Lake.

Many had witnessed family and friends die because they didn't have access to proper medical care.

“Federal and provincial governments were playing a pass the buck game trying to spend as little money as possible in Indigenous communities,” Dr. Travis Hay says.

Dr. Hay is a historian with Lakehead University's history department and Indigenous learning department who specializes in Canadian federal Indian policy and settler colonialism. He is also a Lakehead University alumnus with a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in History.

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in Nishnawbe Aski Nation's Health Transformation initiative. Her perspective is especially important since Josias passed away in 2012 and can no longer take part in this conversation.

Dr. Hay is also supervising Skye Fiddler, Josias and Teri Fiddler’s granddaughter, as she pursues her honours degree in Indigenous Learning at Lakehead. Skye’s research will share even more stories of her grandfather’s life and legacy in Northwestern Ontario.

“The hunger strike was a major moment in the history of Canadian medicine,” Dr. Hay says.  Dr. Travis Hay graduated from Lakehead with an HBA in History in 2010 and an MA in History in 2012.

A History of Substandard Health Care

He began researching the hunger strike in 2019 and he's written a book – The Science of Settler Colonialism – that will be released in September 2021 by the University of Manitoba Press.

Since the 1960s, Ontario medical schools had been sending nursing and medical students north to train them. It was a practice that created a different – and lesser – level of health care in Sandy Lake.

“I study archival records," says Dr. Hay, "but these can only tell half of the story.”

The situation wasn’t helped by the many university and government researchers who parachuted into the community to conduct experiments in the midst of stark inequities.

Josias Fiddler's wife, Teri Redsky Fiddler, has served as the project Elder, collaborating with Dr. Hay to reconstruct and provide context for the events explored in the book. Teri is also an educator, an advocate, and an important figure

Chief Fiddler was keenly aware that Indigenous peoples across the country were used as guinea pigs. He himself was a survivor of

THE HUNGER STRIKERS

a residential school and had spent time in a racially segregated Indian hospital. Students and patients in these institutions were historically exploited by scientists to conduct research trials.

“Often, it was scientific experimentation without consent or with considerable coercion,” Dr. Hay explains. These ranged from malnutrition experiments aimed at mass producing cheap food to vaccination experiments.

In fact, Canadian science’s understanding of respiratory infections, tuberculosis quarantine protocols, and vaccination – information relevant to COVID-19 – come directly from the study of Indigenous peoples.

One horrifying experiment from the 1970s involved researchers exposing young children to the cold, because they were convinced that northern Indigenous people could recover more quickly from frostbite than non-Indigenous people.

Research projects in Sandy Lake and other Indigenous communities forced people to weigh potential health care funding from the

projects against their willingness to become the subjects of medical research.

By 1988, Chief Fiddler had had enough. The main demand of the Sandy Lake Five was that government medical services representatives fly to Northwestern Ontario to discuss the state of health care in their community.

Within a few days, the hunger strikers were able to secure a meeting and news media had begun covering the story. Their actions prompted the formation of the Scott-McKay-Bain Health Panel to review health services in Northwestern Ontario.

The courage of the Sandy Lake Five also led directly to the establishment of First Nations Health Authorities, organizations that transferred some of the responsibility for health care policies into the hands of Indigenous communities.

Another outcome of the hunger strike was the construction of Sioux Lookout’s Meno Ya Win Health Centre. This 80-bed primary health care facility takes a holistic approach to health and

wellness and serves Indigenous communities throughout the region, as well as Sioux Lookout residents.

Despite the victories that followed in the wake of the protest, Sandy Lake still faced challenges, including continued experimentation by researchers.

In the 1990s, the Province of Ontario paid $750,000 to researchers to find the ‘thrifty gene’ in the DNA of Sandy Lake band members – a gene they believed was responsible for higher rates of diabetes in Indigenous people.

The community was skeptical, but agreed to the research in order to receive health care funding.

“The study put Canadian genomics science on the map after researchers claimed they’d found the gene,” Dr. Hay says.

“Sandy Lake became known as the community where people got diabetes not because of the cost of food, inadequate health care, or lack of infrastructure, but because of this gene.”

It was not long before the research was thoroughly discredited and it’s now infamous for the scientific racism it embodied.

Even today, Sandy Lake community members find themselves in a precarious situation. They have no choice but to travel great distances by plane or winter roads to receive essential health care.

“It’s my hope that The Science of Settler Colonialism will expose the myth of universal health care in Northwestern Ontario,” Dr. Hay says, “and bring to light an entrenched policy of treaty breaking.”

 Newspaper coverage of the hunger strike helped draw attention to the dire health care situation in Sandy Lake First Nation.

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Trekking to the South Pole

by Tracey Skehan  Scott Kress has led four Antarctic expeditions including two to the South Pole and three to Mount Vinson – a 4,892 metre (16,050 ft) peak that is the highest in Antarctica.

Outdoor recreation grad Scott Kress (BSc’93/HBOR’93) knows what it is like to live life on the edge.

This alumnus and adventurer is the 51st Canadian to summit Mount Everest and the 18th Canadian to climb the highest peak on each of the seven continents, along with mountains in the Rockies, Andes, Alps, and the Himalayas.

Scott’s outdoor rec roots are also apparent in his work organizing and guiding expeditions for True Patriot Love – a charity based in Toronto that seeks to help ill and injured Canadian soldiers and war veterans.

In addition to mountaineering, Scott is a compelling storyteller, author, and team-building expert who runs Summit Team Building.

On March 10, Scott gave a talk called “Achieve the Outrageous” as part of Lakehead University’s Alumni Speaker Series. We invite all of our readers to click here to listen to Scott share the story of his punishing 44-day expedition across Antarctica – one of the most hostile places on the planet.

“Antarctica is teeming with life in specific areas, but it’s confined mostly to the coast. Once you move inland, there is nothing,” Scott says.

“No animals, no humans, no plants, nothing.”

In 2016, he and three other explorers arrived there with the mission of skiing 1,000 km – unsupported and unassisted – to the South Pole.

“An unsupported expedition is one in which the explorers receive no re-supplies along the way,” explains Scott. “Each person must pull their

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expedition gear and enough food for 50 days in sleds weighing over 110 kilos.”

An unassisted expedition means that the explorers will use only human power for forward movement (no machines, dogs, or kites).

“An unsupported and unassisted expedition is the purest form of expedition and harkens back to the early days of polar exploration,” he says.

Since the best way to train for any sport is to do that sport, Scott tried to mimic pulling a heavy sled by dragging truck tires around his neighborhood for hours each day.

He also had mental and polar skills developed over decades of adventuring. But even the most arduous training regimen can’t compare to the real thing.

“The first few days are always tough as your body adjusts to the physical exertion and your mind adapts to the isolation,” Scott says. The last few days are challenging too as you know you are almost done, and your body has just about had enough.”

Because the expedition season runs from late November to mid-February during the short Antarctic summer, Scott had to cope with being away from his family during the holidays.

“Emotionally, Christmas was difficult.

Sitting in the tent thousands of kilometres from home on Christmas Day is a lonely experience.”

The sense of isolation was compounded by brutal weather conditions. When Scott’s party arrived at the South Pole, the temperature dropped dramatically because they were at an altitude of 2,835 m.

“Initially, we were in the -15 C range and some of our coldest days on the Polar Plateau were in the -35 C range. Add in the windchill, and the temperature can drop even further. On many days, the wind speed exceeded 74 kilometres per hour, making travel difficult and uncomfortable.”

Now, Scott has a new achievement to be proud of – he was recently named a Fellow of The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS). The Society was established in 1929 to make Canada better known to Canadians, and to the world.

The men and women chosen to be RCGS Fellows must have directly contributed to scientific knowledge in the fields of geography, geographical exploration, or allied sciences, or through teaching, academia, community service, and the arts.

Scott was elected a Fellow based on his expedition and adventure background in Canada.

The first Fellows included trailblazers like Canadian scientist and Nobel Prize winner Dr. Frederick Banting, who co-discovered insulin, and Group of Seven artist A.Y. Jackson as well as explorers, anthropologists, and historians. What links RCGS Fellows is their common commitment to the Society’s longstanding tenets: “the determination to build, courage to explore and steadfast love of country.”

Lakehead congratulates Scott on being honoured by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and his death-defying adventures around the globe!

Watch this short video of Scott that was featured in Lakehead’s 2019-20 Annual Report.

Dementia Dialogue

by Tracey Skehan

“Honest. Heart breaking but hopeful,” is the way one listener describes the Dementia Dialogue Podcast. This forum for people affected by dementia was launched in 2017 in response to an urgent need.

More than 432,000 Canadians over the age of 65 are living with dementia. This means, on average, that nine seniors are diagnosed with dementia every hour.

David Harvey, the host of Dementia Dialogue, started the podcast after retiring from the Alzheimer Society of Ontario where he'd spent a dozen years in public policy and program development.

“Although I don't have a background in broadcast journalism, I've always had a real love for radio and the power of the individual human voice,” he says.

On the show, David interviews people with dementia and their care/ life partners to provide insight into this condition and to strengthen the adaptive skills of people with dementia.

David’s inspiration for the podcast came from a research project he was involved in called “Mapping the Dementia Journey” led by Dr. Elaine Wiersma. She is a Lakehead University health sciences professor and the director of Lakehead’s Centre for Education and Research on Aging & Health (CERAH) – the organization that funds and runs Dementia Dialogue. Dr. Wiersma is especially pleased about the podcast’s success in dispelling misconceptions about dementia.

“Typically, society and the media only talk about late-stage dementia, which promotes these tragic narratives,” Dr. Wiersma says.

“But people can live well with their diagnosis for many years.”

Dementia Dialogue compassionately explores both the good and the bad that comes with dementia. “In a November 2020 episode,” David says, “I talked to activist and artist Christine Thelker, a woman with dementia who’s published a book called ‘For This I am Grateful.’”

“One of the best ways to combat stigma,” Dr. Wiersma adds, “is by getting to know people with dementia and listening to their stories.”

The podcast is also working to break down the harmful culture of silence faced by individuals with dementia.

 Clara Mersereau (l) and Jim Berry (r) are two members of the North West Dementia Working Group who have taken part in recent Dementia Dialogue podcasts.

“Often people don’t talk about the fact that they have this condition because society doesn’t want to hear about it,” David says. “This can cause them to doubt their own capacity and withdraw from the world.”

David also interviews experts on the show, but viewers don’t need to worry that they will be overwhelmed with clinical jargon.

“I don’t want a lecture,” he says. “I want to know why they are interested in the topic and why’s it important to people with dementia.”

David and Dr. Wiersma are now expanding the reach of the podcast.

In the fall of 2020, CERAH received more than $127,000 from the Government of Canada’s Dementia Community Investment fund to enhance the marketing of the Dementia Dialogue and to increase the number of episodes and episode contributors.

“We want to reach diverse cultures and communities as well as regions of the country where people have difficulty accessing services,” David says. They also hope to offer the podcast in French.

“These podcasts have the potential to alter the way we think about dementia,” Dr. Wiersma says. She believes that bringing about this kind of transformative change is essential.

“If we only see people as their diagnosis,” Dr. Wiersma says, “we are robbing them, and society, of the contributions they can make.”

Visit dementiadialogue.ca to find dementia resources and listen to the podcast.

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TURNING POINTS 1980s Dr. Michael (Mike) Walton (HBOR’83) was appointed to the Yukon Environmental and SocioEconomic Assessment Board (YESAB), which helps protect the environmental and social integrity of the Yukon, in October 2020. Mike has over 35 years of experience in land use and conservation issues. He’s worked for the forest industry in Ontario and Alberta, as well as for the federal government and provincial, municipal, and First Nation governments in Ontario, British Columbia, and Yukon, addressing development, conservation, and Indigenous relations. Mike is also an independent consultant based in Whitehorse, Yukon, and an adjunct Lakehead University professor.

1990s Kate Boyd (BA/HBOR’95) became the first woman to take the reins of Nordiq Canada’s high-performance program in September 2020. Kate is focusing on getting Canadian cross-country skiers back on the Olympic podium and continuing the tradition of medal-winning performances in the national ParaNordic program. Since 2015, she’s been Nordiq Canada’s NextGen coach and program coordinator, and in 2018, she began sharing high-performance manager duties with Joel Jaques. Kate is a registered professional coach and a member of Canada’s COVID-19 Return To Sport Task Force. She currently lives in Canmore, Alberta.

Dr. Rhonda Crocker Ellacott (HBScN’91) became the president & CEO of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and CEO of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute in November 2020. Rhonda is a health care leader and a champion

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of patients and families. During her over 30-year career, she’s served as CEO of the North West Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), CEO of the North East LHIN, Transitional Regional Lead for Ontario Health in the North Region, and CEO of the Nipigon District Memorial Hospital. In her new role, Rhonda will develop a strategic plan and lead health system transformation.

Chantal Moore (BA/BEd'94), a school principal in Ignace, Ontario, was named the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board’s interim superintendent of education in November 2020. Chantal will hold this position for the rest of the 2020-2021 school year. She is a guidance and special education specialist who has a Bachelor of Education from Lakehead University and a master’s degree from the University of Toronto.

Chantal began her teaching career in Pickle Lake, Ontario, in 1994 and she has 19 years of experience at the board’s Wabigoon, Ignace, and Upsala schools, including in professional development, eLearning and ConnectEd. Yolanda Wanakamik (HBA’98/ MEd’20) was appointed director of Indigenous Affairs at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) in October 2020. Yolanda has an HBA in Political Science and an MA in Education and is a member of the Whitesand First Nation. She’s held several positions at Lakehead University’s Aboriginal Initiatives Office and served as a band councillor for her First Nation. Most recently, she was an integrated policy officer at Dilico Anishinabek Family Care in Thunder Bay where she acquired expertise in policies and programs affecting the health and welfare of Aboriginal children, families, and elders.

2000s David Blanchard (HBA’09/MA’11) has expertise in the insurance and resource recovery industries including roles at one of Canada’s largest insurance intermediaries, Toronto-based Totten Insurance Group, where he worked from 2015 to 2021. At Totten, David progressed from technical assistant to business analyst to part-time business consulting, and finally, to head of compliance and strategic projects. From September 2017 to May 2019, David was the coordinator of strategic initiatives with Emterra Group – a national recycling association of companies. In February 2021, David became the compliance and underwriting operations VP with APOLLO Insurance Solutions.

Greg Chomut (BA/BEd’08) was recognized with a Certificate of Achievement from the Prime Minister’s Awards for Teaching Excellence program. Award recipients are honoured for remarkable achievements in education and for their commitment to preparing their students for a digital and innovation-based economy. Greg teaches art, history, and media to students at Thunder Bay’s Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School.

The award citation describes Greg as a compassionate educator who builds multiple bridges between his Indigenous students and the wider community, and who helps those students find their voices.

Matthew Gollat (HBCom’04) was announced as a member of Premier Gold Mines Limited’s anticipated management team for i-80 Gold Corp in February 2021.

Matthew has more than 12 years of experience in many aspects of the mine development cycle, has participated in multiple corporate and strategic development projects, and is currently Premier

TURNING POINTS

KEEP IN TOUCH Gold Mines’ vice-president of business development. In addition to holding an Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree from Lakehead University, he has a Certificate of Mining Studies from the University of British Columbia. Matthew is also an independent director of Nomad Royalty Company Ltd. Sean Speer (HBA’05) made The Power List released by Maclean’s magazine in January 2021.

Maclean’s canvassed Canadians about the qualities they think represent power in a time of transformative change and came up with a list of 50 Canadians they believe are shaping how we think and live. Sean is an assistant public policy professor at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. He is also the co-director of the Ontario 360 research project at the Munk School, a Prime Minister of Canada Fellow at the Public Policy Forum, and a past senior economic adviser to former Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

David Bruno (HBA‘98), the founder and CEO of a global cyber security firm that specializes in anti-fraud and anti-corporate espionage systems, has recently written a white paper on Canada’s new Digital Charter Bill C-11 that is slated to pass into law soon.

For 20 years, David has provided security protections to the general public and he is a contributor and member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which advocates for digital civil liberties. In addition, he’s a tech policy analyst for the Washington, DC-based Global Foundation For Cyber Studies & Research. You can access David’s The Digital Charter Bill C-11 white paper here.

You may update your address online at alumni.lakeheadu.ca. You may also fax this form to 807-343-8194 or mail it to: Alumni and Community Relations Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, Ontario, P7B 5E1 Name Telephone Address Email Degree(s) Year(s) of Graduation Employer Employer Telephone Employer Address Position Spouse / Partner’s Name Spouse / Partner’s Education Spouse / Partner’s Occupation Started a new job? Have you married? Begun a family? Received an award?

If so, we want to hear from you! Take a moment to tell us what is new and exciting in your life or just to share your comments and story ideas for the Lakehead Alumni Magazine. Use a separate page if necessary.

The Alumni Association and its affinity partners may contact you occasionally to promote programs and services that generate revenue for Lakehead University.

If you do not wish to be contacted, • call 1-800-832-8076, or • complete the online form on our website, or • check the box below and mail this form to the Office of Alumni Relations or fax it to: 807-343-8999  I do not wish to receive ANY materials advertising Lakehead University affinity programs. alumni@lakeheadu.ca

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Diane Thompson is

LAKEHEAD LOYAL Diane Thompson has a youthful spirit. When she attended Lakehead University she was, what was considered, a mature student. “There weren’t many of us,” she shares. “I loved being in a classroom of younger students. The only time I remembered that I wasn’t as young as they were was when the professor told a joke and I was the only one in the room who laughed.”

 Diane (centre) receiving her Lakehead University Alumni Volunteer Appreciation Award in 2013.

Surrounding herself with young people has been part of Diane’s strategy to stay young at heart.

Now retired from St. Ignatius High School’s student services office in Thunder Bay, Diane loved interacting with students.

“When they came into the office we would talk about what they wanted to do. I always encouraged them to take a good look at the programs offered at Lakehead,” she says. “They had this wonderful opportunity in their own backyard.”

When she graduated in 1994 with her BA in Anthropology, Diane, in her mid-50’s, was the first person in her immediate family to earn a university degree. Her nieces and

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nephews are now following in her footsteps. “They tell me, if you can do it Auntie Diane, so can we.”

Never one to sit on the sidelines, Diane became involved with the Alumni Association of Lakehead University and was a volunteer on the board for 16 years. While on the board, she successfully pushed for the creation of the Alumni pin that Lakehead grads could wear to show their school pride. Since then, she’s been handing them out to students and alumni everywhere she goes.

A familiar face at convocation, Diane has volunteered in smaller ways since leaving the board. In honour of her dedicated years of

service, Diane was awarded the well-deserved Alumni Volunteer Appreciation Award in 2013.

Not only has Diane given of her time, she’s also been a loyal donor to Lakehead University every year for the past 26 years. No easy feat for the single mom of three and now grandmother. “It’s important to me to support my alma mater,” she shares. “I want other students to have the same opportunity for a quality postsecondary education that I had.”

If you would like to make a gift to Lakehead University, visit our secure online giving page donate. lakeheadu.ca.

You can also contact Meghan Hanbury, Annual Fund and Alumni Engagement Manager, for more information about supporting the Lakehead Annual Fund.

T: 807-34–3-8010 ext. 8910 E: mhanbury@lakeheadu.ca

 Diane speaks at the 2013 Alumni Awards Dinner.

APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN FOR THE

Alumni Entrance Award Deadline April 30, 2021

For over 35 years the Alumni Association of Lakehead University has been awarding the Alumni Entrance Award.

It is one of the largest donor-funded awards at Lakehead University with a value of $10,000 ($2,500 per year for four years).

Eligible applicants must: • Be an immediate family member of a Lakehead University alumnus/alumna. Immediate family is defined as: spouse, sister, brother, child, parent, grandparent, or grandchild.

• Have a minimum overall 80% average.

• Demonstrate strong leadership qualities and community involvement.

• Plan to attend Lakehead University in the 2019-20 academic year on a full-time basis.

Supported by donations from the

For a full list of conditions of the award and application form, visit alumni.lakeheadu.ca and select “Engage.”

GTA ALUMNI CHAPTER

Supporting future Lakehead students In January of 2020 the GTA Alumni Chapter came together for an ambitious goal.

We wanted to make an impact in the lives of Lakehead students. The Chapter wanted to dream big and establish an endowment, generating an award to be given each year to a student from the GTA regardless of their program of study.

Since we began this journey last year, our Chapter events, GTA Chapter Members and an impressive number of GTA alumni have contributed towards this award and to date we have raised $6,700!

By supporting the Chapter’s Endowment Fund, you can have a lifechanging impact on future Lakehead students from the GTA! For more information or if you would like to contribute to the GTA Endowment Fund contact: Samantha Lennon, Alumni and Annual Giving Associate, GTA | samantha.lennon@lakeheadu.ca My experience at Lakehead was incomparable! The education I received and experience gained provided me with the skills needed to venture off into my career. I felt it was important to donate to the Lakehead GTA Endowment Fund because everyone should have this opportunity. Student loans exist, but graduates can be left taking years to pay it off. It is my pleasure to support the next generation and help ease that burden to a fellow alumni!

– Jocelyne Poirier, GTA Chapter President, HBCOMM'13

Alumni

ASSOCIATION HONOURS CALL FOR NOMINATIONS Do you know a Lakehead graduate who is an exceptional person? Nominate them for an award!

NOW OPEN

Deadline March 31, 2021

The Alumni Association of Lakehead University has been honouring distinguished alumni since 1988 when the first Alumni Honour Award was given. The Outstanding Young Alumni Award was added in 2004.

Alumni Honour Award The Alumni Honour Award is presented by the AALU to general members who have demonstrated distinction or outstanding achievement in one of the following areas: public service; business; humanities; research; science and technology; scholarship; the arts; or, for outstanding personal service rendered to the University over a period of years.

Outstanding Young Alumni Award The Outstanding Young Alumni Award is presented annually in recognition of a graduate, 40 years of age or younger, who has achieved significant accomplishments since graduation, either in their profession, sport or community service.

Visit alumni.lakeheadu.ca and select “Engage” for the nomination form and for more details or call Jill at (807) 346-7784 | Toll Free: 1-800-832-8076 Crystal Davey ’05, ’10 2018 Outstanding Young Alumni Award Recipient