THE LEGEND OF SIMU LIU ’07 AND THE VOICE OF CHANGE
VISIONARIES ON THE AI FRONTIER
Avanti Ramachandran ʼ09 PRESIDENT, UTSAA
The Profound Impact of our Community
Maybe it’s the spring air, but as I reach the midpoint of my first term as UTS Alumni Association (UTSAA) president, I feel a renewed sense of energy and inspiration from our alumni community. I’m grateful for the warm welcome you’ve extended – whether through online connections or at the in-person events I’ve had the pleasure to attend.
A standout moment for me was last January, when we hosted 50 alumni in the corporate sector during our inaugural UTS on Bay Street event. Thanks to UTSAA Director Jeremy Opolsky ’03 for hosting us at the Torys office and UTS Board Chair Peter Buzzi ’77 for his remarks.
The event’s success underscored how shared interests act as a powerful force to bring people together, inspiring UTSAA to create more targeted opportunities for professional networking and community building, both virtually and in-person.
The UTSAA Board is deeply committed to fostering innovation and inclusivity within our alumni community. We’re thrilled to have alumni from British Columbia and New York serving as directors this year, broadening our perspective and establishing a global network. We’ve also recently introduced an open online application process for those interested in joining UTSAA for future years – so if you’ve ever considered getting involved, now is the perfect time.
The growth mindset that UTS nurtures is our superpower. Witnessing the remarkable achievements of our alumni, as featured in The Root and from alumni whom I’ve had the privilege to meet, reinforces the profound impact of our community. I’m amazed to see how UTS alumni continue to pursue passions to change their own lives, their communities and even enact change on a global scale.
I am extremely proud to be a part of this community. ■
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO SCHOOLS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
371 Bloor Street West, Room 250 Toronto, Ontario M5S 2R7
Phone: 416-978-3919
E-mail: alumni@utschools.ca
Web: www.utschools.ca/alumni
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LinkedIn: University of Toronto Schools
UTSAA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PAST PRESIDENT
PRESIDENT
Avanti Ramachandran ’09
Avanti.Ramachandran@utschools.ca
VICE PRESIDENT
Aaron Chan ’94
Aaron.Chan@utschools.ca
Xiang Han Max Bai ’16
Max.Bai@utschools.ca
Winnie Cheng ’11
Winne.Cheng@utschools.ca
Geoffrey Hung ’93
Geoffrey.Hung@utschools.ca
Jean Iu ’79
Jean.Iu@utschools.ca
Aaron Dantowitz ’91
Aaron.Dantowitz@utschools.ca
TREASURER
Hana Dhanji ’05
Hana.Dhanji@utschools.ca
SECRETARY
Adarsh Gupta ’12
Adarsh.Gupta@utschools.ca
DIRECTORS
Ian Lee ’87, P ’27
Ian.Lee@utschools.ca
Graham Mayeda ’92
Graham.Mayeda@utschools.ca
David Morgan ’63
David.Morgan@utschools.ca
Jeremy Opolsky ’03
Jeremy.Opolsky@utschools.ca
HONORARY PRESIDENT
Dr. Leanne Foster
Leanne.Foster@utschools.ca
HONORARY VICE PRESIDENT
Garry Kollins GKollins@utschools.ca
Julia Pomerantz ’12
Julia.Pomerantz@utschools.ca
Meg Proctor ’84
Meg.Proctor@utschools.ca
Lily Quan ’87
Lily.Quan@utschools.ca
UTS acknowledges we are situated on the traditional territory of many Indigenous nations including the Anishnabeg peoples – the Mississaugas of the Credit, and the Chippewa – as well as the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples, which is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. We also acknowledge that the land is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit. We are grateful to honour this land through our dedication to learning and ongoing commitment to Truth and Reconciliation.
THE LEGEND OF SIMU LIU ’07 AND THE VOICE OF CHANGE
From UTS student to change-making global superstar 14 VISIONARIES ON THE AI FRONTIER
UTS alumni confront profound ethical and societal questions reshaping our future
PUBLISHER
Martha Drake
MANAGING EDITOR AND STAFF WRITER
Kimberley Fehr
PROOFREADERS
David Haisell Morgan Ring ’07
DESIGN
PageWave Graphics Inc.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Dewey Chang, Martha Drake, Kimberley Fehr, S6 (grade 12) Jason, Emma Jenkin ’03, Juno Beach Centre Association, Dahlia Katz, Nola Millet, Steve Paikin/TVO, Kara Lysne-Paris, Erin Schned, Diana Tyszko/ University of Toronto Magazine
PRINTER Colour Systems Inc.
ON THE COVER
Simu Liu ’07 walks the black-and-yellow carpet at Marvel’s Thunderbolts movie premiere in London, U.K.
ABOVE
Anthony Lee ’86, pictured at the 2024 Alumni Reunion, has led the Taiko Drum Ensemble at UTS for more than 17 years and is one of many alumni who volunteer or work at our school. Photo: Dahlia Katz.
CONTRIBUTORS
Peter Buzzi ’77, Martha Drake, Dr. Leanne Foster, Ian Kent ’73, C. Stuart Kent ’79, Adrian Lee ’07, Avanti Ramachandran ’09, Susan Troke (née Kent) ’81. Published spring and fall, The Root is available to all alumni, parents and friends of UTS. The Root is also available at: www.utschools.ca/root. Contact us at alumni@utschools.ca or 416-978-3919 to update your address or to receive your copy electronically.
Peter Buzzi ’77 Board Chair, UTS
At UTS events, people often ask me about the Board’s role at our school. I tell them, “We keep our eyes trained on the future of UTS.” As Board directors, our school’s ability to thrive in challenging times is the most important thing we think about, and it’s a responsibility we take very seriously. The UTS Board of Directors takes a rigorous approach to school governance oversight, always with an eye to the broader implications for our school, asking the imperative “what if?” questions and laying the groundwork for contingencies.
We are all volunteers, and we are all here because we love the school. Our directors are alumni, parents, parents of alumni and community members who share one commonality –a deep commitment to UTS.
While overseeing and implementing day-to-day operating decisions lies with the school administration, the Board guides the strategic direction and acts as a sounding board for the school’s senior leadership team. With a vast array of expertise in leadership, governance, business, education and more, our Board directors are a resource for UTS that extends beyond the realm of the school’s everyday experience.
This April, UTS officially joined the ranks of Canadian Accredited Independent Schools (CAIS). We have so much to be proud of as a school. The CAIS accreditation process made it clear – UTS does many things extremely well. For more than 110 years, UTS has upheld an unwavering commitment to excellence and influence. The mission statement of our new UTS Strategic Plan, “We ignite the brightest minds to make a difference in the world,” in my view, succinctly summarizes the very essence of UTS.
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
Dr. Leanne
Foster Principal, UTS
The Strategic Plan, which reinforces our ongoing commitment to both academic excellence and a culture of inclusion, is more important than ever with the changing world order. We know who we are. We know what matters. And we know who we want to be. We are on the right track, and we will get there together. ■
“UTS stays with you” is how I often hear alumni describe the impact our school made on their lives. The inverse is also true: UTS alumni tend to stay with us, and their support resonates every day in the life of our school.
The generous donations alumni give to bursaries transform the lives of students. Our alumni also show up for our school in person – as leaders, guest speakers and all-around general inspiration.
This spring, when UTS hosted the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations Girls’ A Volleyball Championships, Hannah Joo ’20 cheered on the Senior Girls Varsity Volleyball team as an assistant coach, and gave an inspiring keynote for the opening ceremonies.
In the Withrow Auditorium , when the resounding sounds of UTS Taiko Drum Ensemble brings its powerful art form to school events, Taiko Instructor Anthony Lee ’86 fosters the extraordinary teamwork that makes it happen, and he’s been leading it for more than 17 years!
Three alumni enjoyed debate at UTS so much, they’ve become coaches: Sarah Harrison ’13 , Levi Tepner ’17 and Sarenna McKellar ’21 . Board Director Tom MacMillan ’67, GP ’29 can be found on the ice coaching the UTS Hockey Team, as he has for almost a decade. Johanna Pokorny ’04 curated art in the Keys Gallery at UTS for a decade as well!
Every year, alumni share their career and university experiences with students through the Branching Out mentoring program and volunteer as Admissions interviewers. They can also be found as guest speakers in our classrooms, and as keynotes at assemblies and conferences, such as the Remembrance Day Assembly where this year’s guest speaker was United Nations peacemaker Salvator Cusimano ’08 .
UTS alumni may have graduated, but they remain a vital part of our school. Their presence ignites the imaginations of our students and shares the magnitude of possibilities that lie ahead. For this, we are truly grateful. ■
Anand Mahadevan (centre), executive director of CAIS and former UTS head of academics, presents the UTS CAIS Accreditation to Peter Buzzi ’77 and Dr. Leanne Foster.
BOWDEN, BORTHWICK AND BURSARY
A LEGACY FOR OUR FUTURE
One of my many UTS joys is the pleasure of the extraordinary people I meet. John Bowden ’48 and Don Borthwick ’54, whom we sadly lost this past winter, were two of the best. Both lived good and long lives, making an indelible mark on UTS, and providing insightful mentorship to me in my work at the school.
As many of you know, Don served as executive director of the UTS Alumni Association (UTSAA) and as a longtime volunteer and advocate for the school and the UTSAA. When UTS established the Office of Advancement in 2007, Don worked on site with me in my first year to show me the ropes. In subsequent years, his encyclopedic memory or helpful perspective on anything UTS-related was only a phone call away. From Don, I learned that when speaking to grads from the early years, I pronounce the school name as “UDS” while more recent grads are “UTSers.” Don handed me the proverbial keys to the school community and implored me to honour the past in building the future.
During my first week on the job, John Bowden made sure to meet with me. After his hefty investment in securing the future of UTS as a bursary campaign volunteer and proud champion of coeducation (his daughter, Elizabeth Bowden ’79, was in the first year of girls at UTS), he wanted to ensure the UTS he fought for would flourish forever.
I am saddened that John and Don are not here to know that next school year, thanks to the generous support of the UTS community, we will provide over $3 million in financial aid to 21 per cent of the student body – with many students receiving full or close to full tuition support. I know they would be pleased that their valiant efforts, for which they each earned our school’s highest commendation, the H. J. Crawford Award, continue to grow along with our commitment to ensure that a UTS education is within reach for families and students who otherwise would not be part of the UTS community.
Today, we celebrate the immeasurable contributions of John, Don and so many of you who provide your vital ongoing support to this school. Together, you ensure UTS continues to graduate students who truly make a difference in the world.
Our school’s enduring commitment to financial accessibility is why I joined the UTS community and I still rejoice in our strategic commitment to financial aid today. As I contemplate and celebrate the legacies of John Bowden and Don Borthwick to UTS, I also invite you to consider this question – what will your legacy be to our school?
See page 31 to read more about Don Borthwick ’54 and John Bowden ’48 .
Martha Drake Executive Director, Advancement
IN SCHOOL
The clock was on! At the second annual UTS Blues Hacks weekend, student teams from across the GTA had from Friday night until Sunday at noon to create projects based on the theme, Trailblazers of Tomorrow. From a platform enabling food banks to minimize waste to an AI-powered tool that facilitates real-time conversations with historical icons to a game that helps students train neural networks, participants showed what it is possible to accomplish in 48 hours. Hosting a hackathon takes a community, and we couldn’t have done it without our student organizers, UTS staff supervisor Chris Walasek , and our five distinguished volunteer alumni judges (left to right, starting third from left): Shane Miskin ’87, Gordon Chiu ’00, Elvis Wong ’11 , Kanwar Sahdra ’15 and Sava Glavan ’22
What we see in the media is “powerfully ingrained” in what we think is possible, Jennifer Holness P ’21, ’25, an award-winning film and television producer told students at the school’s annual Black Futures Month assembly in February. Organized by students on the Black Equity Committee, the assembly took UTS students on a powerful journey towards greater understanding of the Black experience. S6 (grade 12) Georgio described how he was one of two Black students in his grade and now with about 20 Black students, the community is much stronger. The assembly culminated with M3 (grade 9) Yeab and Director of Music Lyris Pat ’s moving performance of Lift Every Voice and Sing, which filled the Withrow Auditorium with the sound of possibility and purpose.
This March, the McIntyre Gymnasium came alive with teamwork, collaboration and feats of athleticism as UTS Athletics played host to the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations Girls’ A Volleyball Championships and our team took home the bronze medal.
Assistant Coach Hannah Joo ’20, who played on the first UTS team to bring home the gold in OFSAA Girls’ Volleyball, helped coach the UTS Blues along with Head Coach Garry Kollins and Assistant Coach Mark Laidman . Hannah told competitors in her opening ceremonies keynote that it was on the court where she “learned the most about leadership –how to bring people together, how to lift others up when they’re down, and how to be a teammate that everyone can rely on.”
PHOTO: S6 (grade 12) Jason
UTS is growing local in the halls! In February, students on the UTS Environmental Action Committee (USEAC) assembled their first hydroponic garden planter and planted lettuce as well as herbs such as basil, parsley and more. They purchased the planter thanks to the Tony Lundy ’79 and Janet Looker Climate and Environment Solutions Fund, established in 2024 to support UTS students in developing climate change and environmental solutions.
“It’s about local produce, because often we don’t really know where everything’s coming from and it’s really good to see the process of growing plants, instead of getting food from further away, which creates more emissions,” says M4 (grade 10) Shanti, an executive on the committee. They plan to share the harvest with the UTS Cooking Club, so more students will benefit from this project!
From predicting maintenance needs on NASA jet engines, helping people correct their posture to diagnosing Alzheimer’s dementia from speech biomarkers, students in the new UTS AI Talent Network are harnessing the power of artificial intelligence. “The Network is a pilot project that aims to enable students with the powerful AI skillset and networking mindset that are behind the disruption we’re seeing in every field of work,” says Adnan Zuberi, a UTS Computer Science and Math teacher.
Three student teams presented their papers at the 2025 Canadian Undergraduate Conference on AI in Toronto this month along with 320 AI innovators from across the country, where they learned from other fascinating projects underway, and heard from key leaders such as the directors of AI research at Meta and MDA Space.
Collaboration became the alchemy as over 40 students took part in the Drama Showcase this February. Directed by Drama Teacher Gabrielle Kemeny, Junior Drama students performed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (adapted by Roald Dahl) and Senior students took on Daniel MacIvor’s satirical This Is A Play M4 (grade 10) Safeyyah (centre), one of three students playing the role of the male actor in tandem, says, “It took a lot of riffing off of each other – almost every movement we did came out of sheer improvisation…we had learnt about the Uta Hagen substitution method earlier in the year, so we were able to push all the obnoxious, jock energy we each had into the character.” Their play earned awards for Compelling Ensemble Work and Most Original Dramatic Interpretation at the National Theatre School Drama Festival.
For more UTS news and views, check out our website at utschools.ca.
BY KIMBERLEY FEHR
Nearly four years have passed since Simu Liu ’07 and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings made waves (and $432 million at the box office) as the first Asian superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Simu is as ubiquitous as ever, living large in the entertainment industry stratosphere and doing everything a superstar can do, with his characteristic amiable affability.
He’s diving to the bottom of the North Sea in full scuba gear to rescue his unconscious, trapped coworker in Last Breath, a 2025 movie with Woody Harrelson, based on a true story. Being a real-life dragon on the Canadian TV show Dragon’s Den. Eating steaming dumplings in the bathtub as part of his role as Asian frozen food company MìLà’s chief content officer, one of his endeavours to support minority-owned businesses. Joining the starstudded cast of Marvel characters in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday Solving an ancient mystery tied to the Seven Wonders in the upcoming Amazon series of the same name and having his brain hacked in the science fiction spy thriller TV series Copenhagen , which filmed in Toronto. Grooving his way down what they call the spirit tunnel to the stage on The Jennifer Hudson Show. He’s sharing his love for Bangkok on the CNN travel series, My Happy Place. And that’s only an inkling of the dizzying array of engagements he has been up to lately.
All of which goes to say, Simu is showing his staying power, on and off the camera, diversifying for the long haul while channeling his stardom into something positive for the world. Increasingly, he’s steering the narrative and owning the stories – he’s billed as executive producer on Seven Wonders and Copenhagen and producer on Sleeping Dogs, where he pulled a minor coup by securing film rights to the revered cult classic video game. “I know I have so much more to offer the world as a creative,” he says. “I want to take on roles that are more challenging. I want to become a successful producer so I can help get other stories made. I want to direct. I want to create opportunities for others. The joy and fulfillment is not in the destination, but in the journey.”
Life imitates art. Simu played a superhero, and then for all intents and purposes, he became a superhero in real life – he’s the role model he never had, a household name and an inspiration to youth around the world.
He is the representation and since Shang-Chi, he keeps showing up, challenging industry norms, advocating for cultural respect and supporting underrepresented communities. Simu broke ground as the first Asian-lead superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and his fiery portrayal of ShangChi made it a success. He played one of the Kens in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie (2023), another massive box office smash – “I do think it is meaningful when, for example, a rival Ken to Ryan Gosling is Asian,” he says. In Simu’s likeness, today’s Asian youth can see themselves represented in both a ShangChi action figure and a Ken doll, donning a disco tracksuit in gold and white. He graced the cover of Time as one of the 100 most influential people of 2022 and that was the pinnacle of the many, many accolades he’s earned. Beyond the entertainment world, he established an investment firm, Markham Valley Ventures, with the goal of uplifting minority entrepreneurs.
Most of all, Simu speaks out, in the moments when it matters most.
In the pandemic, when incidents of anti-Asian racism surged in North America, he shared his very heartbreaking fears for his parents in a 2021 Variety Magazine guest column, driving home the magnitude of what was happening: “The truth is that Asian people have been targeted and discriminated against for far, far longer than COVID has been around.
TOP TO BOTTOM: Simu Liu performs his own stunts, pictured here filming the movie Atlas, which co-starred Jennifer Lopez.
Simu ventures to the deep sea in Last Breath, with L-R Finn Cole and Woody Harrelson.
Simu with his fellow Kens in the Barbie movie L-R: Scott Evans, fellow Canadian Ryan Gosling, Simu and Ncuti Gatwa.
These recent attacks, fueled by racist rhetoric in the wake of the coronavirus, are yet another reminder that we are only seen as the foreigners, the unwelcome presence…the other.”
“Simu played a superhero, and then for all intents and purposes, he became a superhero in real life.”
After five seasons, upon the cancellation of the much-loved CBC series Kim’s Convenience, a groundbreaking show praised for its portrayal of the immigrant experience that made Simu a household name in Canada, Simu voiced his concerns on social media about the show’s inequities: from racist storylines and the lack of Asian and female representation in the writer’s room, to salaries far less than his CBC counterparts on Schitt’s Creek.
As a guest dragon on the CBC reality show Dragon’s Den last fall, he became the voice of reason, defending an entrepreneur criticized by
one of the other dragons for a lack of commitment because he had a day job. On another episode, his “cultural misappropriation” concerns about the Bobba bottled brand of bubble tea took on a life of their own, going viral and ultimately leading to harassment and even death threats against the entrepreneurs. Simu spoke out again on TikTok: “Let’s critique this idea of cultural appropriation. Let’s talk about it. But what we’re not going to do is threaten people’s physical safety and cause them trauma that they don’t deserve as entrepreneurs, who in good faith attempted to pitch a business. Was it misguided? I believe so. Were they a little ignorant? Absolutely. But those are all human things, and I guess I’m just asking for empathy and compassion.”
When the wildfires raged through Los Angeles in January, Simu penned a heartfelt Instagram love letter to the city describing “the magic of this town” and thanking firefighters and first responders, saying he donated to the wildfire disaster relief fund and encouraging others to do the same.
Also this year, he posted a TikTok video criticizing Trump’s policies and tax cuts for the wealthy: “I actually believe that people like me probably should pay more tax,” which went viral with 18 million views to date.
“Many of us as children of immigrants were taught not to speak up, to keep our heads down and not cause a ruckus,” he says. “While I really appreciate the place that advice comes from, it’s not necessarily conducive to bringing about social change. History tells us that societal change is painful and only happens when people make a lot of noise. So, I try to model that behaviour as much as I can, even when sometimes it comes at my own detriment…we all need to be ready to argue our truths when we are called upon to do so.”
Simu takes his story on the road, frequently making public speaking appearances at universities and other educational institutions where his experience finding the courage to follow his own path can make a difference for the younger generation. When he spoke about battling cultural stereotypes as keynote speaker at the 2023 Higher Education Summit in Toronto, UTS Principal Dr . Leanne Foster and 2023-24 co-captains Archie Shou ’24 and Iris Park ’24 met up with him. “What I loved most about spending time with Simu was seeing his evident and lasting passion for UTS,” says Leanne. “The sincere interest he took in Iris and Archie, asking about their classes,
Simu Liu with legendary martial artist and actor Jackie Chan.
their hopes for university, the state of House competitions and athletics was a testament to his kindness and the fondness he feels for our school. The conversation wasn’t about making movies or living in Los Angeles. It was about Simu’s time at UTS and the lasting friendships he forged.”
Simu’s candour carries into his 2022 New York Times bestselling family memoir, We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story. He wrote the book, which is legendary in its own right, because he knew stories like his family’s weren’t being told, and they were desperately needed. “I wanted to tell my family’s story in the hopes that it would normalize immigrant family dynamics, and also to make immigrant families like mine feel seen,” he says.
For the first five years of his life, Simu didn’t know his parents, living with his grandparents in Harbin, China. Then, just like a superhero, he was whisked away to a strange, new life in Canada with his parents. He speaks and writes candidly about the immense pressure to succeed that his parents, who are both aerospace engineers, placed on him, and how they healed their relationship as adults. Now he says on Instagram: “I will never stop being grateful for everything my parents did to support us. We came from the discount aisle at the supermarket, from secondhand clothes at yard sales and duct tape triage in the car to keep it alive. We counted every penny and we never bought full price. The life we live today is beyond either of our wildest imaginations.”
More than two decades later, thanks to Simu, the UTS Twig Tape finally made its late-night television debut this year on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon with the song ‘For You,’ which included accompaniment by their friend Joanne Fung ’07 on piano.
Jeff Kuperman, deputy prefect; Pogo New, gonfaloniere; Claire Leewing, prefect; Morgan Ring, literary rep (and proofreader of this magazine); and Simu Liu, athletic rep.
The life Simu lives now was once a dream he couldn’t speak out loud. A vision he wouldn’t share. An idea he buried so deeply at the back of his mind that he told no one when he was a University of Toronto Schools (UTS) student.
Even so, while facing family pressures at home, at UTS Simu sought the limelight, playing football, basketball and volleyball, dancing and singing in Café, SHOW and other productions, and learning “tricking,” a type of acrobatics, from fellow student Rick Kuperman ’07. At UTS, Simu found his people, making friends for a lifetime. Some of his fondest memories are experiential education at Camp Couchiching and Wanakita, House Soccer at Robert Street Field, school dances and riding the subway with his best friend after school every day.
In middle school, he and his peers Adrian Lee ’07 (the writer of the feature article on artificial intelligence in this issue), Mike Lee ’07 and Jason Leung ’07 formed the boy band LX4.
“High school is a bit of a shit show for 99 per cent of people,” says Simu. “Very few come out of it unscathed, and I think it’s even more true of a high-pressure and high-functioning environment like UTS. I wish I could go back and tell myself to stop obsessing over other people – their opinion of me, their goals, their definitions of success – and instead spend more time cultivating my own self.”
Throughout his six years at UTS, the dream was always there, that maybe, just maybe, he could be an actor or an entertainer. That wasn’t typical at UTS, where his peers and their families gravitated towards traditional blue-chip careers such as medicine, law, finance and business.
He feared people would laugh or judge him, so he never said it out loud and come graduation, he pursued the path of expectations laid out before him, placating his parents and his peers. He studied business management and organizational studies at Western University’s prestigious Ivey Business School, and began a career as an accountant at Deloitte.
House Leaders of the Lewis Vikings in 2006–07 L-R:
Photo: The Twig
TOP: Simu Liu (pictured right) with members of the Junior Boys Basketball team in 2004–05, and with the Senior Boys Basketball team (#24) in 2006–07.
BOTTOM: UTS 2023–24
Co-Captain Iris Park ’24, Simu Liu, Co-Captain Archie Shou ’24 and Principal Dr. Leanne Foster met up at the Higher Education Summit in Toronto in November 2023; Simu (centre) on the court during House Intramurals in 2004–05.
Landing that position was a performance in itself, a harbinger of the greatness to come. What he lacked in marks and diligence, he made up in persuasive speaking and charisma, an infectious affable likeability that wasn’t enough. Nine months later, he was fired. It marked an end, and the real hero’s journey began. Set free from the constraints, he seized his chance, embarking on a dogged pursuit of his acting dream. He said yes to everything, infamously searching for roles on Craigslist and earning a mere $100 for a stock photography photo shoot that would haunt him to this day, landing him in hundreds of ads, brochures, storefronts and textbook covers before Kim’s Convenience and then Shang-Chi changed his life forever.
Simu’s career may be in the celebrity stratosphere, but he remains grounded by his UTS roots. He flew in nine of his high school friends for the Shang-Chi premiere to stay with him in a large rental house. He’s taken his high school friends on a VIP Disneyland experience with private tour guides and a trip to Vegas and more. “My closest and oldest friends today are my UTS mates,” he says. “I think we went through something so special during our six years at the school…it was almost like going to Hogwarts. Since then, we’ve
gone on to do wildly different things. For me, it’s incredibly meaningful having this group of friends that honestly could not care less what I do.”
For current UTS students, he shares this message: “There’s no one pathway to success, and you’re not a failure if you’re not pre-law or pre-med. You all get to define what success means to you, individually, separate from your parents or your teachers or your friends. Maybe you’re a writer, or a musician or an entrepreneur. Lean in, explore your curiosities and dive in!”
Through living by example, he uses his star power to make a difference. He’s also an advocate for charitable causes – since 2020 he has been an ambassador for UNICEF Canada, speaking out for the rights of vulnerable children around the world. Every year since 2019, he’s been playing hoops among the star-studded lineup at the Canadian Chinese Youth Athletic Association Celebrity Classic, a throwback to his passion for sports in his UTS days, raising funds for NBA Champion and former Raptor Jeremy Lin’s Foundation. Along with his rescue dog Chopa, Simu also lent his star power to support the work of Humane Society International.
In another case of life imitating art, Simu found Chopa on set while filming the Mark Wahlberg
PHOTOS TOP AND BOTTOM RIGHT: The Twig
film, Arthur the King, in the Dominican Republic. Based on a true story, the film follows a team of endurance racers (one of which is played by Simu) who are guided through the immense challenges of the competition by a stray dog they called Arthur. Cue in Chopa, one of many strays playing as extras in the film. Simu and the dog formed an instantaneous connection. Ask him about her, and he’ll gush: “She’s the sweetest and best dog there ever was.” Look on his camera roll and about 60 per cent of the photos are of her sleeping.
The diversification of Simu continues. He’s treating himself like an entrepreneur, setting out to create opportunities for himself. He’s become a popular and in-demand television host. His take on the iconic Molson’s “I am Canadian” commercial at the 2022 Juno Awards earned a standing ovation: “I grew up on ketchup chips, roti and Jamaican beef patties. And by the way, it is pronounced bubble tea, not Boba. Bubble tea – goddamn it. So whatever your background or gender, even if it’s Toronto mans, everyone is fam because Canada is a place where the government is also our drug dealer and we’re into snowboarding, not waterboarding, and where a woman always has the right to choose. My name is Simu Liu and I am Canadian.”
He raised his microphone to the sky against the backdrop of the Canadian flag, a scene all the more poignant now in the second era of a Trump presidency.
Simu returned again to host the Junos in 2023, hosted Saturday Night Live in 2021, the Time Gala in 2022 and the People’s Choice Awards in 2024, as well as guest-hosting episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Kelly Clarkson Show. This year, he’s hosting his first series, the Hulu reality escape show Got to Get Out, where contestants have 10 days to escape the house for a $1 million prize.
He continues to look for other minority-based businesses to support with his firm Markham Valley Ventures and has invested in Sanzo, a beverage brand that produces Asian-flavours of sparkling water such as Lychee and Yuzu and NEX, entertainment software that aims to transform passive screentime into active playtime. He’s also diverged into voice acting, and even branched out into condo design, attaching his name and influence to the iconic 69-story tower, 8 Elm condos, under construction at Yonge and Dundas in Toronto.
With the breakneck pace, he acknowledges that the tricky thing with burnout is it doesn’t
always feel the way it’s supposed to. “Sometimes you’ll just be chugging along, thinking everything is fine, and then all of a sudden one small thing will happen that you’d usually have no problem dealing with but for some reason it just completely obliterates you,” Simu says. “If you’re overwhelmed at work, or stretched too thin, the smallest things will set you off, because you’re operating beyond your maximum capacity.”
“ There’s no one pathway to success.”
Real self-reflection is a skill that needs to be learned, he says, and being in therapy has helped him listen to what his body is telling him and know when to take a breather.
He’s not taking anything for granted. Nearly four years later, he’s still wrapping his head around his success; it’s not just work ethic. “I know just how insanely lucky I have been. But I also know that with this privilege comes a responsibility, to use the platform and benefits I’ve received and to channel them all into something positive for the world.”
Simu’s ethos mirrors that of UTS, which aims to create graduates who have impact with integrity, making a real difference, guided by empathy, ethics and leadership.
He has moved the meter with regards to Asian actors taking lead roles in Hollywood films, and acknowledges the progress made thanks to movies like Shang-Chi and Crazy Rich Asians. “But we’re barely scratching the surface of what I believe meaningful representation truly is. There are so many prominent directors who have never cast an Asian actor, so many sandboxes that we still aren’t really allowed to play in. The battle is far from over.”
Every battle needs a hero and Simu is committed to leading the charge, channeling his celebrity to be the change he needs to see in the world, and sharing openly of himself to inspire young people everywhere to follow their own path, take that chance, and dream that dream. Because who knows where it might lead. After all, Simu’s life now was once just a secret dream. And now his life is a legend: the legend of Simu Liu and the voice of change. ■
Simu pictured in The Twig in his senior year.
VISIONARIES ON THE AI FRONTIER
BY ADRIAN LEE ’07
As a UTS student, Luke Stark ’02 devoured sci- fi and speculative fiction: Star Wars and Star Trek books, the works of Orson Scott Card and Stanley Robinson. So imagining a future where advanced technology has fundamentally changed society has long been second nature for him.
But even he would’ve been hard-pressed to have predicted the speed at which that has happened. Only two decades ago, Luke was doing homework on an MS-DOS word-processing program. Today, as an assistant professor in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at Western University, where he teaches a class on the history and social impacts of artificial intelligence, AI has so fundamentally disrupted traditional ways of teaching that he has stopped assigning written essays to his students. “I can’t do it,” he said. “It’s no longer a reliable evaluator of student knowledge or capacity.”
The AI revolution has made life better and easier in many ways, from giving us better recommendations on music and shopping and making some work more efficient, to enabling self-driving cars and making medical diagnostics faster and easier. But it’s also unleashed a slew of ethical quandaries and fundamental societal disruptions. Creatives and journalists are worried about intellectual-property rights as AI hoovers up their work to use as training data. Our political discourse has been tainted by bad actors producing and amplifying misinformation and disinformation. AI-driven automation threatens to spark economic disruptions and job losses. Longstanding issues like data bias, privacy breaches and AI’s significant demands for electricity and hardware-cooling water have not yet been worked out, and it can feel like building an airplane while it’s in the air. And then, of course, there’s the existential risk: some of the field’s pioneers and biggest names have warned that an overheating industry could lead to “extinction from AI…alongside other societalscale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.” A field that first captured the popular imagination through the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, in which the AI-powered HAL 9000 famously turns on its masters, is threatening to make real life stranger than science fiction.
“There’s a real problem where people write sci-fi that’s meant to be a cautionary tale, and then tech companies take that as a blueprint,” said Luke, who is writing a book on the history of the psychological
and behavioural sciences’ influence on computing. “They’re just missing the point completely.”
He’s just one of many UTS alumni engaged with the big, knotty and even existential questions associated with the rise of AI. These are people from all walks of life – engineers, yes, but also psychologists, philosophers, economists, social scientists, businesspeople, neuroscientists, anthropologists, policymakers and more – who are on the front lines, in public life and in the private sector, grappling directly with what it means to be potentially hurtling toward a world where man is less than machine. And while it’s not clear what happens next in our brave new world, the values imparted by the interdisciplinary UTS education – which melds sciences and humanities to graduate globally minded, highly engaged citizens – instill an imperative thoughtfulness into this exciting frontier.
“I hate the term ‘digital literacy’ because I think that’s insufficient, but it’s crucial that our computer scientists have an understanding and engagement with social contexts and impacts,” said Luke. “It’s also important for humanities and social science folks to have a little bit of a sense of how these technologies actually work. And that’s maybe the point of a UTS education.”
“There’s a real problem where people write sci-fi that’s meant to be a cautionary tale, and then tech companies take that as a blueprint.”
– LUKE STARK ’02
Luke Stark ’02, assistant professor in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at Western University, speaking about AI and human relationships at a private salon.
PHOTO: Erin Schned
The pursuit of artificial general intelligence (AGI) –by which computers are capable of reasoning, thinking and carrying out complicated tasks as well as, if not better than, an intelligent human –has been a scientific concern since the mid-1950s. But even after researchers’ bullish predictions inspired the pop-culture horror of HAL, the field languished for a decade or so as innovations hit a wall. Funding plunged and research was marginalized as AI was relegated to simpler, more mechanical tasks.
“We can use all these different tools to create the next generation of intelligence about the world we live in, which is so much more complete and detailed and granular than ever before.”
– DANIELLE GOLDFARB ’93
The major leap forward happened, at least in part, just a couple kilometres away from UTS. In the 1980s, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) made a bet that there was something to the idea – much-mocked, at the time – that computers could be made to learn the way that the brain learns, and in modelling AI
after neurons, AGI was possible. CIFAR hired a slew of researchers who made groundbreaking contributions to the development of neural networks: machine-learning algorithms that allowed computers to effectively think like a human, by seeing the world, consuming data, learning patterns and rules, and acting on them.
As computing power soared and its costs plunged, companies began training their largelanguage models (LLMs) on bigger sets of increasingly complex data. These programs are now learning on their own, figuring out contexts, making accurate predictions, and, in the case of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, creating new things, such as works of fiction, computer programs, photorealistic images and extended open-ended conversations. And ever since OpenAI’s signature software launched in 2022 and grew to average more than 400 million users a week today – artificial intelligence and machine learning have fixed themselves firmly in the mainstream, their powers easily accessible to all with just a few taps on a screen.
That’s attracted many people who want to use this new technology to make the world a better place. “We can use all these different tools to create the next generation of intelligence about the world we live in, which is so much more complete and detailed and granular than ever before,” said Danielle Goldfarb ’93 , who took what she learned in math classes with her favourite teacher, Mrs Jean Collins , to become a senior fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, among other think tanks and institutions. In a recent report for the Centre for International Governance Innovation, she wrote about some of the most interesting ways AI can help us understand our world far more deeply to advance the common good, from using data to monitor remote plastic pollution to tracking ship-sensor data to understand how Russia has deployed shadow oil tankers to circumvent Western sanctions.
Another avenue ripe for AI innovation is health care, where Ashley Mo ’23 and Emma Gui ’23 – who read about convolutional neural networks and learned how to code in their spare time – built an AI algorithm to screen for lung disease with good accuracy, all while juggling their UTS schoolwork. Ashley, who is now studying at Caltech University, says the idea came from a trip to Uganda to volunteer with a rural clinic, where she saw doctors diagnosing lung conditions based
Danielle Goldfarb ’93, speaking above at MaRS Mornings on ‘Public service, powered by AI’ in Toronto this April.
on the sounds of patients’ coughs and breaths.
“But the patient-to-doctor ratio is about 10,000to-1 in these rural communities.” she said. “So I thought, ‘OK, well, what if you can have AI do this?’” The app has since received funding from the CEO of Softbank, the 1517 Fund and Inflection Grants, and is now partnering with the OKB Hope Foundation to collect clinically validated cough data from tuberculosis, pneumonia and asthma patients in Ghana for the first time, to better train the AI. “Doctors have this clinical intuition when they look at a person, but they can’t exactly describe why; it’s just that they’ve taken in mass amounts of data. I just think it’s kind of cool if you can automate that process. It almost feels like magic,” she said.
Some public-interest AI projects are even meant to clean up the messes that AI itself created.
“When ChatGPT was first released, we thought this was a Pandora’s box, that no one knew how it could be adopted responsibly in different industries,” said Edward Tian ’18, who co-founded GPTZero with Alex Cui ’16 and a socially-minded mission: to identify AI-generated text. “We just thought, hey, actually identifying where AI is used is the first step.” (Read more about Edward and Alex’s journey in the spring 2023 issue of The Root in the article, ‘Entrepreneurs. Innovators. Disruptors.’)
For Alex, the globally minded spirit of the project came directly from his time at UTS: “I think since F2 (grade 8) Civics class with Ms . Rebecca Levere, I’ve been exposed to a lot of people doing really interesting things, and looking
at systems as a whole. There was always a lot of emphasis put on being a global citizen.”
Many of the UTS alumni in the AI field who spoke to The Root explained that their high-school experiences allowed them to pursue their varied interests, rather than having them narrowly specialize – which has been an advantage in their work. “‘Interdisciplinary’ is the word I use in the first few sentences whenever I introduce myself and what I do,” said Zoya Bylinskii ’08 , a Bostonbased research scientist for Adobe Inc. “I was mathematically oriented at UTS, but I had a lot of diverse interests back then, like psychology and brain science.”
Front second from left Alex Cui ’16, centre the Honourable MP Chrystia Freeland P ’19, ’23, ’27, then deputy prime minister and minister of finance, and fourth from left Edward Tian ’18, representing the Canadian startup ecosystem to close down the Toronto Stock Exchange on a December Friday.
LEFT: Ashley Mo ’23 at a pitch session for one of her other, non-AI projects: a biosensor to detect micronutrient deficiency.
RIGHT: Emma Gui ’23 and Ashley Mo as UTS students.
Zoya Bylinskii ’08, a Boston-based research scientist for Adobe Inc., received the Adobe Founders’ Award in 2024, an annual, global award program to recognize employees who exemplify Adobe’s core values and make a significant contribution to the company.
”I don’t doubt our ability to identify these problems and figure them out in a more holistic way –it’s the scientific problem of our age.“
– JONATHAN TALMI ’09
That kind of broad education – where Latin and Southern Ontario Model United Nations Assembly can live alongside LLMs and STEM – is a boon in a field that requires critical thinking and multifaceted perspectives to navigate. Often, it can feel like the competing impulses at the heart of the AI field boil down to profit on one side and purpose on the other, especially in the muchhyped generative AI industry. It’s as if investors wielding venture capital and the market as a whole are driving companies hard to pursue growth at all costs, pouring lighter fluid on the already inflammatory Silicon Valley mantra to move fast and break things. “All my friends I talk to at other companies developing generative AI say it’s moving faster than anyone can even keep up with,” said Zoya. “That’s scary because when people from outside the industry say things are moving fast, people within the industry would say, ‘oh, that’s not bad.’ But now people within the industry are saying it’s moving fast – that’s when you know it’s truly accelerating.”
Of course, speed and profit are not inherently incompatible with ethics and responsible development. After all, ideas need funding to become real: “I don’t think people wanting to earn money from a startup is a bad thing, because money is what helps it grow,” said Ashley. And indeed, as GPTZero proves with its growing Canada-based business, mission-driven work can be profitable too – though perhaps only to a point. “I think people pay for quality, so we can both drive our business in a viral way, as well as try to do good,” Edward said. “But there are certain things that are done by some of our competitors that we don’t do. Like paraphrasing text – we know we can make a lot of money if we offer that, but we don’t, because of what it would represent for our mission.”
Still, speed certainly makes it harder to be thoughtful. Many of the Silicon Valley giants that once insisted that ethics were not mutually exclusive with financial success have deprioritized or laid off their AI ethics teams in recent years as they’ve accelerated their work. Some are undermining or flat-out defying government regulations, slew-footing safeguards and cancelling tools that would offset potential harms. OpenAI even quietly shuttered its own in-house version of GPTZero’s detection tools less than a year after launching ChatGPT. “Tech companies are getting antsy about having any kind of critical research in-house,” said Luke. “I think that’s partially for liability reasons, but also because if you’re saying these technologies are the bee’s knees, and you have researchers on the payroll saying ‘well, actually they’re not,’ you can see why that would be bad for profit margins.”
On the whole, those in the field remain broadly optimistic about a responsibly built future for AI, even if that optimism can manifest as a belief that we may “transition as a species in the next step in human evolution” as we become “silicon-carbon hybrids,” in the rather ominous words of Colin Rowat ’89, a Tokyo-based senior research scientist at Rakuten’s Institute of Technology. “I don’t doubt our ability to identify these problems and figure them out in a more holistic way – it’s the scientific problem of our age,” said Jonathan Talmi ’09, who channeled his UTS-nurtured love of history last year by bringing the British Museum’s holdings to life with an unaffiliated AI-powered interface. That said, Jonathan, who previously worked at the AI firm Cohere and is now preparing to launch his own start-up, acknowledges that there are factors, such as the international AI arms race, that are out of the field’s control: “The race dynamics we’re observing between various players in the U.S. market and China complicate things.”
The good news is that bringing an ethical lens to AI development is typically at the front of the minds of the UTSers involved. “I feel responsible for the work I do, and responsible to the communities that I’m part of – whether it’s my family and my friends to people in different fields,” said Zoya. “I want to be able to talk to them openly about what I do and to be proud of that, rather than building anything that makes
my community feel unsafe.” Danielle has even taken that lens to her work on the International AI Safety Committee, which gathered leading scientists and academics from around the world to release, for the first time, a comprehensive review of the scientific literature on AI risks and mitigation. “There are scientists from the U.S., from China, from every corner of the world involved, including Nobel laureates contributing to this, and they did agree on where we need to focus our attention – not in every detail and every aspect, but they did agree in general,” she said. “I think that is a really important development that made me more encouraged.”
That report noted that the industry could address bias and foster trust through explainable AI, a process by which the decisions of a machinelearning algorithm – which can be something of a black box – can be justified afterward in plain human language, so as to foresee potential biases and impact. That’s a good start, but it’s certainly not a cure-all, said Colin, who researches explainable AI. “It’s like measuring your body mass index (BMI). That will give you some insight into your health, but you certainly wouldn’t say, ‘I’m bleeding from the head, but all good, my BMI is fine.’”
For Colin, explainable AI should be part of a broader toolkit of responsibility-minded processes: “If you’ve got someone who’s careful, these tools can help them understand better. If you have someone who’s just rushing to hit a deadline, then these tools just become graphics that developers can paste into their document to show their managers so their managers can say, ‘looks like you’ve done good work here.’” Without this opportunity to insert a thoughtful pause, companies can develop an all-or-nothing product-development approach that can actually stifle innovation. He points to one example from 2015, when it was revealed that Google Photos’ image-recognition algorithm was tagging Black people as gorillas – “and the fix to that from Google, one of the world’s most technologically advanced companies, was just to disable the search for gorillas.” Explainable AI, he said, could have allowed Google to seriously address the issue, and actually fix the world’s big problems.
And thinking about big problems? Well, that’s the bread and butter of UTS.
“We weren’t just math people or just physics people and so on; what UTS taught me was, okay, I could have an interest in a lot of different
things and have different skill sets and I can bring them together to make a contribution. I maybe didn’t understand that back then,” said Danielle. “But when you’re dealing with data bias or privacy issues or environmental issues, you need a computer scientist, but you also need other disciplines and people who are going to be thinking about it from different angles. And maybe that’s a credit to UTS.”
Colin agrees – and thinks it’s especially important that the next generation of tech workers, in particular, experience the world outside their field. “If you’ve got purely tech people who only know about code, they only have that one hammer,” he said. “To some degree, what we need for AI to hew toward the ethical is for the decision makers, who are so often from the engineering and comp-sci space, to have that interdisciplinary quality to them. And if UTS can graduate more well-rounded comp-sci and engineering people, then that is a public good.” ■
ABOVE: Colin Rowat ’89, a Tokyo-based senior research scientist at Rakuten’s Institute of Technology. BELOW: Jonathan Talmi ’09, who developed an AI interface to bring the the British Museum’s holdings to life.
ALUMNI NEWS
// On a whim, Evan Dorey ’04 did the Jeopardy! test and was invited to audition two years ago. This November he appeared on the show and won, continuing the longstanding UTSJeopardy! tradition of alumni appearing on the show.
Evan described the filming as a surreal experience – “To actually be on a set you’d only ever seen on TV before was indescribable...The best part was meeting a whole bunch of similarly minded trivia nerds from all over the continent and the fun, supportive atmosphere. Jeopardy! is competitive on TV, but it never felt that way to me amongst the contestants. Everyone wanted to win, of course, but we all wanted to have the others do well, too. You want to win because you’re great at trivia; not because others are worse than you.”
In January, Evan returned to the show for the Champions Wildcard Tournament and won his first game before succumbing in a very close semifinals round, playing what fans are calling the best game ever, which won game of the year from Jeopardy!
When not playing trivia, Evan works as a director of business intelligence for BGIS, a company that provides facility management services for banks, utilities and government. (He was recruited into the company by David Tam ’04!)
At UTS, Evan became well-versed in Greek and Roman history from his Classics team experience, and joined the Reach for the Top team every year he could, coached by Math Teacher Fraser Simpson . In 2003, he was on the team that won Nationals.
Over the years several UTS alumni have made an appearance on the show, including Simu Liu ’07, featured on the cover, who took part in Celebrity Jeopardy!
Notes on the milestones and achievements in the lives of our alumni.
There are plenty of ways to stay in touch!
www.utsconnect.ca
alumni@utschools.ca
@utschools
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University of Toronto Schools
In October, directors of the Juno Beach Centre honoured J . Drummond Grieve ’38 (1920 – 2025) with the gift of a Canadian flag that flew above Juno Beach in 2024. “It was our small way to thank this unique veteran for his service,” they said. Canada’s Second World War museum and cultural centre located in Normandy, France, Juno Beach Centre overlooks the beach where Canadian troops landed during D-Day, June 6, 1944. The Cente commemorates the allied invasion that represented a turning point for the war, as well as paying homage to the 45,000 Canadians who lost their lives in the war. (Another D-Day veteran from UTS, Don Kerr ’39 [1921–2011], played an instrumental role in raising funds to establish and develop the Centre.) Drummond served as a lieutenant in in the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals. In 1944, he volunteered to become a battalion signals officer for the 9th Parachute Battalion, 6th British Airborne Division, which was getting back up to strength after the Battle of Normandy. He served with the unit through the Battle of the Bulge and jumped across the Rhine during Operation Varsity in late March 1945. Drummond’s incredible story is also featured in a YouTube video produced by the centre, and the flag was gifted in part from a donor through the Centre’s Flag Sponsorship Program. Drummond (pictured left) passed away this year at the age of 105.
PHOTO: Juno Beach Centre Association
Jeopardy!
host Ken Jennings with Evan
// Legendary music and entertainment producer, and entrepreneur Robert (Bob) Ezrin O C . ’67 won the Governor General’s Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award in 2025 for his work in popular music, advocacy for music education and serial activism. His career has taken him around the world to create recordings, TV, film and live event production with prominent international artists such as Pink Floyd, U2, Deep Purple, Peter Gabriel, Rod Stewart, Andrea Bocelli, Taylor Swift, Alice Cooper, Edward Burtynsky, Kiss, Lou Reed, The Canadian Tenors, Aerosmith, Hollywood Vampires, Berlin and Nine Inch Nails, among many others. One of the most highly respected and sought-after producers in the world, he is also a generous philanthropist and passionate advocate for music education. “I’ve had the opportunity to work with some of my childhood heroes, and every single thing I’ve done has been a highlight on one level or another,” he said in the Governor General’s announcement. “It’s a blessing and a privilege and an honour, and I’m thankful for it every single day.” He began producing records at age 20. He co-founded music education organizations in Los Angeles, Vancouver and Texas, and is co-chair of Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation in Los Angeles, which provides musical instruments to underfunded music programs. An Officer of the Order of Canada, he has been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, received three Juno Awards and many other honours. He has recently returned home to Canada after living in Nashville, and plans to renounce his U.S. citizenship due to the current political situation.
Dr . George Trusler O .C . , OOnt ’44 , a gifted pediatric surgeon and former head of cardiac surgery at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, has been appointed to the Order of Canada for his innovations in cardiac and pediatric surgery. He formulated an algorithm to control excess blood flow to the lungs of infants suffering heart failure, and invented a technique that preserves the aortic valve. His innovations continue to save thousands of lives and brought Canada to the forefront of pediatric care. George joins 66 UTS alumni who have received this national honour. Pictured with the Honourable Edith Dumont, the lieutenant governor of Ontario.
Graham Yost ’76 , creator of the Apple TV series Silo, spoke with the Toronto Star about season two of the show. Based on the post-apocalyptic trilogy by Hugh Howey, the story is about 10,000 people living together in a 142-storey underground silo when books and going outside are banned. Graham told the Star the books got under his skin when he read them. “What the heck happened? Why do people live underground? When will it be safe to go outside?…Hugh gave us a great world and a great story…We could play within it.” Graham’s life and work was featured in the fall 2022 issue of The Root, Stories that Matter.
Throughout his career, Dr Tim Evans ’78 has served as a champion for global health, bravely forging international partnerships that address health inequities in childhood vaccinations, disease surveillance,
maternal and child health, the primary care workforce, pandemic financing and access to life-saving HIV drugs. Now, the world-renowned scientist, educator, entrepreneur, and research and policy leader has joined Concordia University as vice-president of research, innovation and impact. “Whatever the setting, Tim has shown a talent for listening and collaborating with colleagues from diverse backgrounds to get things done. He understands how local solutions can pave the way to overcoming global challenges...” said Concordia President Graham Carr, on the university’s website. Tim’s work leading Canada’s national COVID-19 Immunity Task Force was also featured in the fall 2020 issue of The Root
James Sommerville ’80, the former music director of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra (HPO) from 2007 to 2015, was honoured for his remarkable music career with the King Charles III Coronation Medal during a special ceremony hosted by
A new permanent exhibit at the University of Toronto honours the extraordinary impact and legacy of Nobel-prize winning chemist Prof John Polanyi P C , C C , FRSC, OOnt, FRS ’45, professor emeritus at the university. Videos, images and laboratory equipment, as well as a replica of his Nobel Prize, come together to tell his story in the Lash Miller Building, home of the department of chemistry in the Faculty of Arts and Science. “It’s been my good fortune to be surrounded by brilliant colleagues and other supporters throughout my life and career,”
John told U of T News. “I’m deeply humbled and grateful for this marvellous display and ongoing recognition of my life’s work.”
His groundbreaking research on reaction dynamics detected radiation released upon the collision of hydrogen and chloride molecules – the first observation of energy produced from the vibration of new molecules immediately after their formation. This work earned him the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1986 and influenced the development of advanced instrumentation in pharmaceutical research, medicine and chemical manufacturing – including the first chemical lasers. Also lauded in the exhibit is John’s advocacy work for the elimination of nuclear weapons, which continued throughout his celebrated scientific career.
“John Polanyi holds a revered place in the history of the University of Toronto and his legacy is an inspiration for all of us,” said U of T President Meric Gertler in U of T News. “This installation is a compelling expression of his achievements...”
The research wing of the Lash Miller building has also been renamed in John’s honour, and in 1994, the John C. Polanyi Chair in Chemistry was established.
Member of Parliament Filomena Tassi (Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas). “Throughout his time with the HPO, he elevated the orchestra to new heights by enhancing artistic excellence, fostering stronger connections with our community and expanding our role in music education in schools,” said HPO Board Chair Alex Muggah. During his career, James also served 25 years as principal horn for the Boston Symphony Orchestra and made appearances with many other orchestras in North America and Europe.
Daphne Xu ’10 presented the U.S. premiere of her newest avant-garde short film, Notes of a Crocodile, at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, along with Daphne’s previous works.
Shot in Cambodia, the film borrows a title and a punk sensibility from Qiu Miaojin’s classic queer novel, as it follows an unnamed woman roaming streets of a Phnom Penh in flux, encountering humans and animals as she searches for a lost friend.
Cydney Kim ’13 and her Fortuna Health co-founders saw a healthcare accessibility issue impacting millions and devised a solution. In the U.S., 90 million low-income adults, children and people with disabilities are entitled to free health care coverage through Medicaid, but applying for and renewing coverage can
PHOTO: Diana Tyszko, courtesy of University of Toronto Magazine
Still from Notes of a Crocodile
be cumbersome with website navigation and long paper forms. She joined forces with co-founders Nikita Singareddy and Ben Wesner to create Fortuna Health, a simple and easy consumer platform they refer to as “Turbotax for Medicaid,” that helps people enroll and renew their coverage. She and her cofounders have made the Forbes 30 Under 30 in Healthcare list for their venture, and raised $4.3 million in funding.
The Canadian food challenge! In the face of U.S. tariffs and political uncertainty, Aashim Aggarwal ’15 challenged himself to eat quintessential Canadian foods for 20 days, creating a series on his popular Instagram Vlog at the handle @seed.eat. repeat. From poutine to butter tarts to the Halifax donair, he toured, feasted and posted at restaurants in the Greater Toronto Area. When CBC radio’s As It Happens interviewed him about the
// Half a century ago, Dr James MacDougall ’54 was the youngest physician travelling to Kenya as part of the Canadian International Development AgencyMcGill Project to support the new medical school at the University of Nairobi. He stayed there for 12 years, helping to create undergraduate and postgraduate teaching programs in medicine and pediatrics and then working the last two years as a physician. Last year, he was invited back to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first 100 doctors who graduated from the program as the guest of honour representing the 39 Canadian physicians who volunteered. For health reasons, Jim was unable to attend but sent a video message of congratulations. He said, “They reciprocated with a YouTube link so I could enjoy seeing them all – former students now in their early seventies – and read of their incredible achievements and of the ongoing growth and contributions the graduates continue to make to Kenya’s well-being. For me, an indescribable tug at the heart strings and welcomed tears of thanks.” An artist as well as a physician, his portraiture was displayed at Gallery Stratford this fall, in his exhibit titled, Sharing Other’s Lives, along with young Ugandan artist Henry Bukenya. “The works feel similar to keeping a diary of memories that capture the essence of a moment, an event, an encounter of another soul, a precious time of sharing another life,” his artist statement said. For him, the title of the exhibit was also about sharing the experience with Henry, an up-and-coming artist from Africa, a land that greatly touched Jim’s life. In March, Jim was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal for his exceptional service to our country in both medicine and art.
project, he said: “My work has always been about highlighting small businesses and local spots, and my general focus tends to be highlighting those that are underrepresented, essentially what I don’t see in other food media. I thought this could be a fun approach at a time where I know small businesses, and all of us really are going to feel the pinch in some way.”
Self-portrait by Dr. James MacDougall
Dr. James MacDougall with Ugandan artist Henry Bukenya
IN THE MEDIA
Politics runs in the family for the Honourable William Saunderson, FCA ’52 , a former member of Provincial Parliament. For Family Day and the approaching Ontario election, a fatherson political profile was published on the TVO website, featuring his son, Brian, who was elected as a Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPP for Simcoe–Grey in 2022. The Saunderson family’s connection to politics hails back to the turn of the 20th century when William’s grandfather was elected to Toronto City Council. William Saunderson first ran for the PCs in his sixties in 1995 and served as economic development minister in the Harris government.
Canada as the 51st state? Jeffrey Simpson O .C . ’67, who for more than three decades was the national affairs columnist at The Globe and Mail, and is the author of eight books, was one of the pundits on TVO’s The Agenda. He said, “There are fundamental demographic, political, and historical differences
between these two countries. And each, in its own way, has gone on for decades and decades living beside each other with these differences and accommodating them where possible…it’s not a serious discussion in this country and will not be, no matter how many times Donald Trump trolls or tweets or whatever. It’s not going to happen.”
David Agnew ’74 , who has been president of Seneca Polytechnic since 2009, discussed the challenges faced by postsecondary institutions and students in Ontario on TVO’s The Agenda With the federal government cuts to international student visas and frozen tuition in Ontario, he described it as the “perfect storm.”
Prof Ian Brodie ’85 , the former chief of staff to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, appeared on CBC Morning Live as a commentator discussing the resignation of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the opportunities it created for the Conservative Party.
When neurodiversity is accommodated in the workplace, both employees and employers benefit, Dr . Margaret Gibson ’92 , an associate professor of social development studies and social work at the University of Waterloo, told CBC’s Just Asking Neurodiverse people have long been unfairly accused of laziness or procrastination, but really they just have an atypical way of thinking, she said.
Romero House Executive Director Francesca Allodi-Ross ’04 spoke about the holistic approach her organization takes while providing transitional housing to refugee claimants in Carleton University’s PANL Perspectives newsletter. “We welcome refugees differently,” she said. “We welcome them as neighbours, not just as tenants or social work clients. That’s the heart of what we do. It’s different from being a shelter or temporary hotel. We provide them with community as well.”
Photo by Steve Paikin, Courtesy of TVO
LITERARY NEWS
Thad McIlroy ’73 , a contributing editor at Publishers Weekly, released his book, The AI Revolution in Book Publishing: A Concise Guide to Navigating Artificial Intelligence for Writers and Publishers, in July of last year. While he did not use artificial intelligence to write the book, he did use it to translate the book into 31 languages, and create alt text to make the book more accessible to people with visual impairments. He told Publishers Weekly that the industry is still in the exploratory phase but he believes AI could drive a 20 to 25 per cent increase in revenue with expanded format offerings and improved metadata and marketing capabilities.
This Strange Eventful History, a novel by Claire Messud ’83 , made the longlist for both the Booker and Giller prizes. Described on the Booker prize website as a “work of breathtaking historical sweep and vivid psychological intimacy,” Claire’s eighth novel is a multigenerational chronicle of an Algerian-French family (based on her own) set against the backdrop of the Second World War and Algerian Revolution. The novel featured
prominently on 2024 best book and must-read lists, including a 2024 New York Times Best Historical Fiction Book, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, Kirkus Reviews, Oprah Daily and more. Claire also won the 2024 Deborah Pease Prize, awarded to a figure who has advanced the art of literature.
Atavists: Stories, a new release this spring from award-winning author Lydia Millet ’86 , is a Harper’s Bazaar Best Book Coming Out This Spring pick and one of Literary Hub’s Most Anticipated Books of 2025. Described by the Chicago Tribune as “the American writer with the funniest, wisest grasp on how we fool ourselves,” Lydia has done it again with a fast-moving, heartbreaking collection of short fiction that explores atavism, which refers to the resurfacing of a primitive evolutionary trait or urge in a modern being. “As they pick away at the splitting seams in American culture, Millet’s characters shimmer with the sense of powerlessness we share in an era of mass overwhelm,” said the publisher. Last year, her “anti-memoir” We Loved It All: A Memory of Life was described by The Washington Post as a “profound ode to life in an age of environmental collapse.” The book melds her human experiences with encounters from the natural world, including a few moments from UTS. “To yearn for recognition is to want to stamp yourself into posterity: into the now of a society, but also its then – its future past. As a teenager I shared this wish with many others. How could I be something?” she wrote. Lydia thought of acting but when she played a saucy French maid in a school musical,
she realized she was a terrible actor and found her way to writing. The rest is history! Read more about Lydia in the Spring 2021 issue of The Root : Seizing the Chance for Change.
The search for the unknown is a primal urge that has shaped the history of our species and continues to mold our behavior in ways we are only beginning to understand.
This spring, Alex Hutchinson ’93 delves into the neuroscience of novelty in his new book, The Explorer’s Gene: Why We Seek Big Challenges, New Flavors, and the Blank Spots on the Map. “Hutchison’s research fascinates…
November 15, 2025
Photo: Nola Millet
an intriguing argument for taking the road less travelled,” wrote Publishers Weekly. Alex is The New York Times bestselling author of Endure, a longtime columnist for Outside magazine covering the science of endurance, and a National Magazine Award–winning journalist who has contributed to The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Globe and Mail and other publications. A former long-distance runner for the Canadian national team, Alex holds a master’s in journalism from Columbia and a Ph.D. in physics from Cambridge.
Damian Tarnopolsky ’93 , released a collection of linked stories titled Every Night I Dream I’m a Monk, Every Night I Dream I’m a Monster, in September 2024, and was featured as one of The Globe and Mail books to read this season and in Quill & Quire. The Hamilton Review of Books wrote: “Wistful, dark, and complex, Damian Tarnopolsky’s Every Night I Dream I’m a Monk, Every Night I Dream I’m a Monster is an idiosyncratic journey through all the messy, disparate and contradictory parts of being, or becoming, a person.” He is also the author of Goya’s Dog, a
Interested in joining the Branching Out program to mentor senior UTS students?
Contact Rebecca Harrison for more details: Rebecca.Harrison@utschools.ca.
shortlisted finalist for the Amazon.ca First Novel Award.
ALUMNI AT UTS
Former UTS music teacher Ronald Royer, a music director and conductor with the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra, visited our music classes in January with renowned American composer Jeannie Pool, whose work helped pave the way for women in music. Jeannie and Ron led a workshop on composition for film for F2 (grade 8) students and spoke to S6 (grade 12) students on their music careers, emphasizing how being good at music is not enough – understanding the business is key.
Thank you to Ann Unger, retired assistant principal and Art teacher, who, along with Olivia Padiernos-Mapué ’04 and Johanna Pokorny ’04 , brought art exhibits to life as curators of the UTS Keys Gallery. Ann created the Keys Gallery in 2000 and after her retirement in 2002, continued to give back to the
school as a volunteer for 25 years. Olivia began her curatorial role with exhibitions in room 107A, and later invited Johanna to join her as co - curator. When Olivia moved on, Johanna worked alongside Ann as curator for a decade from 2014 to 2024. From rooms 107A and 137 in our old school building to the new gallery in the UTS Boardroom, many exhibits highlighting the incredible artistic talents of our community have been staged. Johanna’s final exhibit in 2024 fittingly featured a beautiful retrospective of photographic art by her mother, Atia Pokorny P ’04. “I am deeply grateful for the support and encouragement coming from UTS over all these many years,” says Ann. “I never considered it volunteering. It has always been a passion of love for me.” The Keys Gallery, now administered by the Office of Advancement, will continue with a spring show, Facial Expressions, featuring retired art teacher Don Boutros and Kim-Lee Kho ’81
No more war. The poignant words of UTS alumnus, Salvator Cusimano ’08 , resonated through the Withrow Auditorium in our annual Remembrance Day Ceremony as our keynote speaker. Since 2015, Salvator has been working with the United Nations, serving in the Central African Republic, Yemen, Malta and New York and supporting peace in conflict zones alongside veterans of various national armed forces.
Ann Unger with Johanna Pokorny ’04
The third annual 1834 Youth Debates took place in February, thanks in part to the efforts of debate coaches Sarah Harrison ’13 and Levi Tepner ’17. For six weeks, Sarah and Levi supported 16 Black students from across Ontario in an online program to prepare the students for a day of debate that brought together 100 people. An initiative of Operation Black Vote Canada, in partnership with our
school, the event featured inspiring guest speakers and an amazing day of debate. “Learning how to debate can play a pivotal role in helping students build self-confidence, communication and critical thinking skills,” said Sarah. “I can think of no better way for students to test out these newfound skills than in a tournament with their peers and their families on the sidelines to cheer them on.”
UTSAA ALUMNI REUNION
The UTSAA Annual Alumni Dinner transformed into the Alumni Reunion, which took place for the first time at the renewed UTS. Over 200 guests and alumni, ranging from the Class of 1949 to 2014, attended the event in November. Guests had the opportunity to take school tours led by current students and attend a special assembly with stunning performances by the UTS Jazz and Taiko ensembles. They also enjoyed a fireside chat with the 2024 H. J. Crawford Award recipient, celebrated author Lawrence Hill C M ’75 , led by the UTS Black Equity Committee Co-Presidents S6 (grade 12) Tyen and S6 Cici Afterwards, alumni and guests mixed and mingled and reminisced over old times in a cocktailstyle reception in the Fleck Atrium.
ABOVE: Andrew Hainsworth ’79, Susan Opler ’79, P ’14, Will Monahan ’14 (Susan’s son) and Jean Iu ’79.
LEFT TOP TO BOTTOM: UTSAA President Avanti Ramachandran ’09; UTS Principal Dr. Leanne Foster with author Lawrence Hill C.M. ’75 and Deputy Principal Dr. Kimberley Tavares; and Class of 1954: back row (L-R) John Goodings, John Elder, Robert Baker and Glenn Clark; front row (L-R) Gordon Sellery, Bill Redrupp and Donald Wood.
HALL OF FAME
In their time, they ruled the football field. The 1963 and 1969 Junior Football teams were inducted into the UTS Hall of Fame, for being the only football teams in the history of our school to win the Toronto District Intercollegiate Athletic Association York League Junior Championship with undefeated seasons. Along with their guests, 24 players attended the November ceremony, with remarks made by Principal Dr . Leanne Foster along with players Peter Ortved ’67, Noah Shopsowitz ’72,
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2025
Annual Alumni Reunion
Daytime
P ’07, Paul Crouch ’72 and Stephen McIntyre ’65 .
EVENTS
UTS spirit abounded during the holiday season. The Class of 1967 turned out in fine festive form at the Duke of York pub for a holiday luncheon, with UTS Principal Dr . Leanne Foster and Executive Director, Advancement, Martha Drake joining in the merriment. Members of the Class of 1972 gathered for a holiday luncheon at Shakey’s in Bloor West Village , reminiscing about old times with the best of friends. The Class of 1978 was full of festive cheer at The Celtic Irish Pub, where they held their holiday gathering. What a great way to get in the holiday spirit!
In April, the Class of 1961 held their 64th anniversary reunion over a buffet luncheon and drinks at The Arts and
Letters Club in Toronto. Nineteen alumni attended, with several coming from as far away as Ottawa and Kingston. Many others sent their regrets and good wishes.
In March, 23 members from the Class of 1970 joined together for a virtual reunion, receiving the latest news about school happenings from Dr . Leanne Foster and Martha Drake. They are planning an in-person reunion for the fall!
Welcome home, Class of 2024! The first Homecoming is only the beginning. Half a year after graduation, 77 members of the Class of 2024 were welcomed back to UTS for a December reception, joined by over 20 UTS staff. Their paths have diverged in many exciting directions, and we can’t wait to see what happens next.
UTS alumni trivia nerdery abounds –38 alumni ranging from the Class of 1973 to 2022 came out in-person
TOP: This year’s Hall of Fame recipients, the 1963 and 1969 Junior Football teams. BOTTOM: The Class of 1961; and (L-R) Music Teacher Dr. Jeff McLeod, Jason Fu, Music Teacher Sarah Shugarman, Aiden Wang, Carina Lai and Gianna Fung at the Class of 2024 Homecoming.
last November for UTSAA Alumni
Trivia Night . Taking top spot was 91 of a Kind (UTSAA Past-President Aaron Dantowitz ’91, Mark Ho ’91, Karen Chan ’91 and Patrick Feng ’91) closely followed by a tie for second between the Class of 1978 (Steve Craig ’78, Laurie McLean ’78, Penny Harbin ’78, Tim Sellers ’78, Allison MacDuffee ’78 and John Rose ’78) and Summer of ’96 (Karl Schabas ’96, Shaun Doody ’96, Amanda Martyn ’96 and Ilan Muskat ’96).
Many UTS alumni are thriving in Bay Street finance and legal careers – and frosty, snowy weather couldn’t keep them away from our first-ever UTS on Bay Street event in January. Nearly 50 of our alumni, ranging from the Class of 1977 to 2023 came out to the gathering, hosted at Torys LLP thanks to Jeremy Opolsky ’03 , who is a partner there. Inspiring remarks were given by
new UTS Alumni Association President Avanti Ramachandran ’09, UTS Board Chair Peter Buzzi ’77 and venue host Jeremy. In a wonderful atmosphere of congenial camaraderie, vital crossgenerational networking took shape, proving that the UTS connection really is for life!
UTS at The Darkest Dark – 13 alumni and their families attended a production of The Darkest Dark at Young People’s Theatre in Toronto followed by an exclusive backstage tour. Based on the book by Commander Chris Hadfield and UTS alumna, Kate Fillion ’82, P ’16 , the play is set in the summer of 1969 just prior to Apollo 11 landing on the moon and focuses on the struggle of a young Chris overcoming his fear of the dark.
Even temperatures dropping into negative double digits didn’t deter alumni from coming out to the Calgary UTS Alumni
Branch Event in February. A friendly, vibrant group of UTSers, ranging from the Class of 1953 to 1988, gathered for a night of bonding and reminiscing at the Calgary Petroleum Club. Dr Leanne Foster and Martha Drake shared updates on the new UTS Strategic Plan and recent student endeavours. These alumni may be far across the country but the fondness they still hold for our school is living proof of the strength of the UTS connection.
WHAT’S NEW WITH YOU?
The Root would love to hear from you at alumni@utschools.ca
(Moving? Please share your new address and contact info with us so we can keep in touch!)
TOP: Trivia Night 2024, and UTS at The Darkest Dark BOTTOM: UTS Calgary Branch Event and UTS on Bay Street.
IN MEMORIAM
CHARLES (CHAD) BARK
’44 1924–2024
Charles (Chad) Bark possessed both brains and brawn. At UTS, he was known for his legendary prowess on the football field and hockey rink. His father, a huge sports lover, built an ice rink in their backyard, which became a gathering place for UTS students, hosted by the Bark brothers, Chad, John Bark ’47 and Donald Bark Q C ’44.
Chad left UTS in 1943 without graduating to enlist in World War II. Joining the ranks of the Signal Corps, he immersed himself in wartime intelligence, creating and deciphering
codes. He also took part in the liberation of Holland.
Married to his wife Lyn for 73 years, Chad worked in insurance, at Transport Ontario, Veterans Affairs, the Canada Unity Council and as a Glenview Presbyterian Church elder. He became one of the infamous ‘Baldy’s Boys,’ a spirited group of UTS alumni who attended the school when A.C. (Baldy) Lewis was headmaster from 1934 to 1944 – and who continued to luncheon together for decades.
Chad remained committed to UTS in extraordinary ways, serving five years on the UTS Alumni Association Board of Directors, including one year as president. A loyal donor, he also served on the Preserving the Opportunity campaign cabinet.
As a veteran, he was a two-time guest speaker at the UTS Remembrance Day Ceremony and regularly attended the
ceremony and other UTS events such as the Annual Dinner, UTSAA Golf Tournament and more, year after year. The legacy of Chad and his brothers lives on at UTS through the establishment of the Walter Bark Memorial Award, in memory of their father, for M3 or M4 (grade 9 or 10) sportsmanship.
An avid golfer, in his retirement Chad was a snowbird in Destin, Florida. He passed away peacefully in Alliston in his hundredth year, with family by his side. Predeceased by his wife and one son, he leaves behind three children, eight grandchildren and seven greatgrandchildren.
T DOUGLAS KENT ’47, P ’73, ’79, ’81 1929–2024 UTS was always an integral part of Doug’s long and full life of 95 years. Doug was not the first in the family to attend UTS –he was preceded by his older brother, George ’44. Then, three years after Doug joined UTS, his future brother-inlaw, John N Shaw ’50, joined UTS. As a student, Doug was actively involved in UTS life – he played the trumpet in the orchestra and band. Doug was always quick with his wit and smile so it’s no surprise that next to his yearbook graduation photo, his interests were listed as “basketball, tennis, badminton and Havergal. He is a rabid addict of hot jazz.” In his final earthly years, Doug could name just about any jazz or big band artist from the ’40s and ’50s that was streaming on the Stingray music channel, as well as the album name and whether the tune was published on the A-side or B-side of the record. Doug and wife, Patricia (Pat), had five children –three of whom attended UTS. Doug served as president of the UTS Parents’ Association for 1978 and 1979. He remained an avid supporter of UTS long after his kids were no longer students –
Patrick Hendra ’83 NOVEMBER 2024
the UTS Office of Advancement records show that he donated every year since their oldest records dating back to 1980. Read Doug’s full obituary online at arbormemorial.ca.
– Ian Kent ’73 , C Stuart Kent ’79 and Susan Troke (née Kent) ’81
JOHN BOWDEN CLU, CFP, Ch FC ’48, P ’79 1930–2024
A unifying force within our community, John “Butch” Bowden ’48, P ’79 gave his lifelong enthusiasm and support to UTS, seeking to uphold our tradition of excellence by ensuring our school is financially accessible to all who qualify. Over the years, his efforts benefitted hundreds of students who have been able to attend UTS through the bursaries that John helped establish. Even as a UTS student, John was an outstanding leader, committed to school activities, scholarship and athletics, for which he was awarded the Silver Nesbitt Medal. Following UTS, he attended Trinity College at the University of Toronto.
At a critical juncture, John stepped in as chair of the Preserving the Opportunity bursary campaign, which raised $15 million in the nineties, an unheard-of success for a high school at the time. His fundraising expertise also played a key role in 1980 for the firstever UTS bursary campaign, with Jack Rhind ’38 . A ubiquitous volunteer at our school, John served as an inaugural member of the UTS Board’s Advancement Committee, as a director of the UTS Alumni Association and as a grade representative for UTS Parents’ Association. For the Class of 1948 , John was the glue that brought them together as year rep from the beginning and at every significant milestone, including creating a bursary fund
to celebrate their 60th anniversary. He received the H. J. Crawford Award from UTS and an Arbor Award from U of T for his exceptional contributions to both institutions.
Highly organized, John enjoyed more than 65 years in a very successful life insurance career that extended into financial planning. Passing away in his 95th year, he leaves behind his wife Lois to whom he was married for 71 years, as well as four daughters, including Elizabeth Bowden ’79, 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. At UTS, he will be remembered for the integral role he played in the history of our school.
DON BORTHWICK ’54 1935–2025
Don
Borthwick ’54 is remembered as a luminary of our community, whose profound leadership touched the heart of our school in transformative ways.
At the core of Don’s foundation lay an essential dignity and integrity that underscored his unique abilities to listen to our community and bring people together. An active volunteer at the school, Don served as president of the UTS Alumni Association from 1995 to 1999 and as a director from 1993 to 2012. He also took on the paid role as executive director of the UTS Alumni Association from 1999 until his retirement in 2008. Under his leadership, the Preserving the Opportunity campaign raised $15 million to establish a student bursary endowment fund for UTS in the nineties. This endeavour fundamentally changed financial accessibility at UTS and continues to enable our school to provide bursaries to more than 100 students a year. His enduring commitment to UTS was recognized with the H. J. Crawford Award by the school and the establishment of the H. Donald
Borthwick Student Activity Fund by the UTSAA. The fund has supported countless student endeavours over the years.
Before working at UTSAA, Don made his mark in advertising, rising to senior executive roles.
A star athlete and leader at our school, Don was the captain of a very successful UTS hockey team, and also excelled at football. After UTS, he attended Victoria College in the University of Toronto. He carried lifelong passions for sports, particularly golf, and volunteering for his community, and retained strong friendships from his UTS days. A family man, he leaves behind Mary, his devoted wife of more than 50 years, five children and 11 grandchildren and great grandchildren.
UTS is in Don’s debt. With grace, humour and determination, he always had the good of the school in mind, and his generosity, dedication and love for UTS will live on in our memories and our gratitude for all he accomplished on behalf of our school. ■
LOOKING BACK
This year, we brought back the cheer! We hadn’t forgotten but over the last few years the UTS Cheer has not been as prevalent as it should be . Three spirited alumni who work at our school – Emma Jenkin ’03, Charline Wan ’12 and Thomas Nachsen ’16 – took up the mantle for this time-honoured tradition at the 2024 opening assembly, decked out appropriately in UTS blue . The sounds of the cheer resounded through the Withrow Auditorium for the first time, echoing the cheers of all those who came before
Themistocles, Thermopylae
The Peloponnesian War! X squared, Y squared H2 SO4 French verbs, Latin verbs Ancient history UTS, UTS, schools of varsity! GO BLUES
This version has evolved from the original, but school spirit is as strong as ever .
The UTS Cheer hails back to the earliest days of our school, found in The Annals circa 1914–1916 This year, school Co - Captains Avi and Nathan often concluded assemblies and events with the UTS Cheer! Brainy and spirited, it’s still quintessential UTS more than a century later .
