“the social safety net isn’t giving people the support they need,” eden schwartz says, “and with the housing crisis and inflation, things are becoming even worse.” 

eden, who grew up in toronto, is currently a community outreach worker at the orillia public library.

“the position appealed to me because it was brand new and i could shape it according to the community’s needs,” she says. “i also wanted to get out of toronto because i love hiking and biking and being out in nature.”

social workers have become more common in libraries as people increasingly turn to them for information about housing, food insecurity, and substance use. people are also relying on libraries in greater numbers for shelter and washroom facilities.

eden’s path to social work may seem a bit unorthodox. before going to lakehead, she earned a ba in environment and development from mcgill university.

“climate change is one of the biggest problems of my generation, which is why i chose mcgill’s program. it was while there that i learned about eco-psychology, which looks at the intersection of mental health and the environment.”

eco-psychologists support individuals who’ve been devastated by catastrophic events—like losing homes to earthquakes—as well as people suffering from chronic climate change anxiety and sadness about the disappearance of parts of our natural world.

while at mcgill, eden also volunteered with their student nightline.

“it played a part in my decision to study social work,” eden says, “but i’d always been curious about it—not just one-on-one therapy, but also macro-social work aimed at helping communities. this encompasses activities such as taking part in environmental protests or women’s marches. it’s about ‘social’ work.”

after completing her social work courses at lakehead, eden did a placement with the salvation army in toronto as part of her degree requirements. she joined the charity’s emergency disaster services department where she researched ways to provide better psychological first aid to people in the aftermath of disasters. 

“debriefing someone after a trauma is complex. if it’s not done well, it can cause more harm than good,” eden says.

she spent the last part of her placement at a salvation army women’s shelter. then, after graduation, she became a community services crisis worker at toronto’s woodgreen community services before joining the orillia public library in october 2022.

“i do a mix of programming and one-on-one direct services to help individuals access community services, such as mental health and housing services. i also train staff to respond to issues that come up when people visit the library.” 

eden is especially proud of a recent $20,000 grant she and a co-worker secured from the shoppers foundation for women’s health to combat period poverty. the funding is allowing the library to stock their bathrooms with pads and tampons provided free of charge and to assemble kits containing pads, tampons, and health information that are available at the library and other orillia locations.

although eden is a skilled social worker, she thinks it’s a mistake to look solely to her fellow professionals and government agencies to solve societal challenges.

“it’s even more important to seek out the opinions of people who’ve had lived experiences with things like opioid use and housing insecurity, but often they’re ignored instead of listened to,” eden says.

“i’d like to see that change.”

last july, emmalee (emm) agnew and terry milne took their one-year-old son cedar on his first yukon expedition—a voyage snaking along the pelly river past mountains where wolf packs, moose, and grizzly bears roamed.

it was glorious, but it wasn’t easy.

“imagine a beautiful summer where the sun shines all day and all night and you’re trying to put your baby to sleep in a hot tent that feels like a greenhouse,” emm says. “we had a lot of sleepless nights on that trip.”

since then, they’ve been on shorter outings closer to their whitehorse home and the couple is planning to take cedar on another long expedition this summer.

“we have the highest of highs and the lowest of lows on those trips,” terry says. “it forces us out of our comfort zone.”

pictured right: terry, emm, and cedar
“i want to give a huge shout out to lakehead professor dr. julie rosenthal,” terry says. “she put so much energy and effort into creating incredible outdoor experiences. i was so thankful to have her as a professor, mentor, and friend.” 

despite the hardships, they’re well prepared for the wilderness. both terry and emm received honours bachelor of outdoor recreation and bachelor of education degrees in 2013. emm also completed a bachelor of science, focusing on natural resources, in 2012.

but how did these two lakehead grads end up making their home in canada’s far north?

several lakehead classmates originally from the yukon often talked about how amazing it was.

“then, the winter after we graduated, an outdoor education gig in whitehorse came up and we both applied for it,” terry says.

neither of them got the job, but they decided to move anyway.     

“the following january, we packed up my great-grandma’s ford focus—filled with venison we’d harvested in thunder bay—and left,” emm says. 

their gamble paid off. they’re now teachers in the city of whitehorse—terry at porter creek secondary school and emm at golden horn elementary school. 

“it’s tucked away in the woods and has a big focus on skiing, hiking, and getting children out on the land starting when they’re five years old,” emm says.

pictured left:  emm walking in a river.

lakehead’s partnership with charles sturt university in australia allowed emm to study there during her third year of university. “on campus, we lived in mud houses with composting toilets and used an eco-friendly hot-water system that used the sun to heat the water.”

still, it’s a bit surprising that two people who grew up in southern ontario ended up somewhere so remote. emm’s parents are dairy farmers in the ottawa valley and terry’s family had a hobby farm not far from peterborough with highland cattle and draft horses.

emm and terry, though, felt an attraction to the wild at a young age.

“every summer, my family visited my great-aunt and uncle in kenora, ontario,” terry says. “i discovered that i loved the north and being outdoors. then, in grade 11, i found out about lakehead’s outdoor recreation program.”

emm’s first contact with the wilderness came through her high school’s outers club as well as through outdoor research programming the school offered called osprey.

“we did projects like chickadee banding,” she says. 

this, combined with summer jobs such as tree planting and working as a ministry of natural resources firefighter and ontario ranger sparked the idea of studying outdoor recreation. 

“also, one of my older sisters, kelsey, raved about lakehead’s outdoor recreation program,” emm says. 

during their time at lakehead, a two-week trip to northern ontario’s vast wabakimi provincial park was a highlight for emm and terry, but for terry, it held particular significance.

“it was really magical. my dad was sick with cancer at the time, and i didn’t know if i should go, but my parents convinced me that i should. my dad passed away while i was in wabakimi, and throughout the trip, i had experiences that connected me to him.”

terry was reminded of a past family vacation to kenora when he and his father paddled across a lake to explore an eagle’s nest. 

“often, on the lakehead wabakimi trip, i’d wake up in the morning and there’d be an eagle flying overhead. it was like having the warm presence of my dad with me.” 

pictured right: terry on an expedition.
after graduating from lakehead, emm (hbor/bsc’12, bed’13) worked as a forest firefighter in ontario and terry (hbor/bed’13) as a raft guide in jasper, alberta.

emm and terry are now well settled in their teaching careers and enjoying instilling confidence in young people.

“i’m very fortunate to run outdoor programs for grades 9-11 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 , including canoeing, backpacking, whitewater rafting, and water rescue trips,” terry says. “these programs respect first nations ways of doing and learning and empower youth to explore their territory.”

terry has also created the wilderness initiatives for leadership development (wild) program for grade 11 and 12 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 , which gives 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 the certifications needed to apply for outdoor guiding jobs.

“at the end of february, my wild 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 co-led a bison hunt and they’re now planning their own year-end expedition.”

“his passion and dedication to wild is incredible,” emm adds. “terry is much more than your average teacher.”

emm is now in her seventh year at golden horn where she’s taught phys ed, music, and outdoor education as well as grade 2 and 3 classes.

“this year, i’m providing one-on-one and small group learning assistance for 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 in grades 2, 4, 6, and 7 in reading and writing skills development.”

it’s not only the grandeur of the yukon that keeps terry and emm there.

“the first people to drop off food at our house when emm left the hospital after having cedar were two of my 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 ,” terry says. “not many 17-year-olds would do that—it’s those kinds of connections that make yukon home for us.”

a few months ago, clifford mushquash was on the edge of red sea in the egyptian city of sharm el-sheikh.

he was attending the united nations’ cop 27 climate change conference as a member of the delegation sent by kairos (a canadian ecumenical organization that supports ecological justice and human rights). clifford—a master of public health student specializing in indigenous and northern health and a member of pays plat first nation from sioux lookout, ontario—says that cop 27 gave him a different way to look at health issues. 

“it was a phenomenal experience that will influence the work i do at the community level for a very long time to come. 

the talks and sessions i went to were so fascinating, including a water session in the canadian pavilion led by indigenous women. i was also able to sit in on some of the climate negotiations.”

pictured right:  kairos for the love of creation delegates representing the democratic republic of congo, south sudan, colombia, kuwait, palestine, and canada, arrive at cop27. “i was pinching myself when i found out that i’d been selected to go to because i’m new to climate justice conversations,” clifford says.

kairos chose clifford because he’s certified to lead their blanket exercise, an initiative kairos developed to encourage truth and reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous people. clifford describes the blanket exercise as a participatory workshop that explores the history of turtle island, an area that extends from the arctic to mexico. 

pictured left:  clifford (in orange shirt) leads a sharing circle following the kairos blanket exercise at naama bay, sharm el-sheikh, egypt. 

“it’s a story of loss, violence, and exploitation as well as a story of resilience and strength that’s presented in a non-judgmental, objective way,” clifford says. “participants are put into the place of the people of turtle island and blankets are used to represent the land. every exercise ends with a sharing circle discussing what we as individuals can do to advance reconciliation.”

clifford became a facilitator in 2018 and says that it’s made him better able to understand his family and his clients. 

his concern for others emerged early—clifford was an active member of many youth and community groups. as an adult, he’s volunteered with organizations including the rotary club, the canadian cancer society, the ontario hiv network, the outside looking in mentorship program for indigenous 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 , skate canada, and the john howard society. his strong sense of compassion is similarly evident in his career path. prior to his lakehead studies, clifford worked in the mental health and addictions fields doing administrative and frontline work. 

“i’ve been employed at health canada, the meno ya win health centre hospital in sioux lookout, the sioux lookout health authority, and an emergency shelter.” 

clifford decided to build on his expertise by enrolling in two lakehead degree programs and, in may 2020, he received a bachelor of arts in sociology and an honours bachelor of social work. he was also able to balance school with employment as an administrative assistant in lakehead’s indigenous language teacher’s diploma program. “i enjoyed helping 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 from across the north who are committed to revitalizing indigenous languages,” he says.

it was while doing his social work degree, however, that a professor suggested clifford consider lakehead’s master of public health program after reading a paper clifford had written about health inequities in the north. 

“i wasn’t sure it if was the right degree for me,” clifford says, “but elder gerry martin told me that creator never gives us a journey we aren’t prepared to undertake. i also liked that it looks at health issues from a broad perspective, including food security, poverty, and housing.” 

once clifford finishes his master’s degree, he’s committed to advancing the health of first nations peoples and communities. “wherever that happens to be,” he says, “that’s where i’ll go.” 

silas young was a third-year commerce student when the covid pandemic was at its darkest. 

the crisis spurred him to ease people’s loneliness and isolation by founding a non-profit called assist (assisting international 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 together) so that he could provide meals and a sense of community for international 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 on lakehead’s thunder bay campus.

pictured left:  silas (on right) lends a hand at the 2021 welcome home dinner for lakehead international 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 .

pictured right:  in december 2022, assist was able to host a sit-down dinner for 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 at the chanterelle restaurant. “yutong liu, a master of science in kinesiology student at lakehead has helped me run the dinner every year,” silas explains. “she was essential to its success this year.”

“the main thing we do is host a welcome home holiday dinner at the end of the fall term—most international 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 can’t afford to go home for the holidays, and they’re missing the love and support of their families,” he says. 

juggling volunteer work and schoolwork comes easily to silas. it’s the reason he was given the 2022 robert poulin award for outstanding citizenship—an honour presented annually to a full-time lakehead student. he also received the 2022 ingenuity award from lakehead’s business incubator, ingenuity, which mentors lakehead 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 as they take their start-up ideas from concept to launch.

“as a young person, volunteer work is the best way to get out in the community and find responsibilities that enable you learn,” says silas, who now serves on the ingenuity board.

pictured left:  silas grew up in a small town in newfoundland, except for his kindergarten year when his family lived in thunder bay. silas’s happy memories of northwestern ontario later convinced him to apply to lakehead for his university studies.

soon after arriving in thunder bay from newfoundland, silas connected with business professor dr. mike dohan who introduced him to enactus lakehead, the local chapter of an international entrepreneurship club that uses business as a catalyst for positive social and environmental change.

“that started everything,” silas says.

he arrived at a crucial point in the club’s history according to alyson mackay, the manager of ingenuity.

“over the years, the enactus club had lost some of its steam, but silas revived it thanks to his strong leadership skills.”

when he became club president in his second year, silas increased membership numbers by recruiting 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 from different faculties—like nursing and the sciences—instead of exclusively from the business faculty. he also helped a club member secure lakehead’s first enactus canada accelerator grant.

in addition, silas launched a financial literacy workshop series for indigenous 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 called getting financially lit because, he says, “financial literacy gives you the potential to do what you want to do, and indigenous youth face more obstacles than non-indigenous youth.”

“some strides are being made to improve financial literacy in canada, but for marginalized and at-risk groups, we’re still far off,” silas adds.

the getting financially lit project placed second both regionally and nationally in the annual enactus competition.

“we beat the university of toronto team even though we only had 10 team members and they had 200.”

silas’s financial literacy work hasn’t focused solely on the young. he and chris morrill, who is currently a master of science in management student at lakehead, started online financial literacy training for canadians over the age of 65.

since graduating from lakehead in 2022, silas has been working as a business and writing instructor at oshki-pimache-o-win (oshki)—an indigenous institute committed to increasing postsecondary education completion rates for nishnawbe aski nation people and other learners.

“oshki is like an extended family, which is especially important for 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 coming from remote communities,” silas explains.

he’s also continuing to pursue his educational goals—silas spends evenings and weekends studying for the immigration and citizenship law graduate diploma offered by queen’s university.

“it’s a one-year online program that will allow me to become a licensed immigration consultant. once i’m licensed, i plan to start an immigration consulting business.”

in the meantime, silas enjoys volunteering for local events and participating in the st. john’s ambulance therapy dog program with his dog piper.

“it’s fantastic. we go to the lakehead library and the student wellness centre and wander around campus so that 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 can cuddle piper.”

mature student. immigrant. mother. wife. these are all words sandy falcon has used to describe herself. the people around her also know her as a compassionate friend and selfless community leader.

in the middle of covid and her graduate studies at lakehead’s orillia campus, sandy started unknown neighbours. it’s a non-profit that helps temporary foreign workers in canada. her goal was to reach out to people who are often lonely and vulnerable and to assist them with accessing legal, social, and health services.

in november 2021, for instance, unknown neighbours made life a little easier for mexican and jamaican workers arriving in simcoe county to work on christmas tree farms. sandy and her colleagues greeted them with welcome bags filled with personal care items and non-perishable food as well as information about community resources. in addition, they encouraged the public to donate winter coats and workwear to the labourers, many of whom were unprepared for the frigid canadian winter.

the organization—which operates in the simcoe, york, dufferin, and grey-bruce counties—offers foreign workers a central location where they can meet their peers and unknown neighbours and forge a sense of belonging.

sandy herself is originally from ecuador. her family settled in canada when she was just a year old, although she spent a lot of time in ecuador throughout her childhood. by the time sandy finished high school, however, she was living in toronto’s low-income jane and finch neighbourhood.

“postsecondary education wasn't a possibility for me,” sandy says, “i had to get a job right away.”

she worked hard for many years, but she also yearned for a more fulfilling life so at the age of 35, the mother of four quit her job as an office administrator to earn a law clerk diploma at georgian college in barrie, ontario.

“i loved being at school, however, i soon realized that i didn’t want to be a law clerk,” sandy says, “so i applied to lakehead's criminology program.”

then in her first year, she chose an experiential learning course in political science that allowed her to volunteer with a non-profit called dress for success.

“it supports women who are unemployed or reentering the workforce by providing business clothes, training, and mentoring to get them comfortable to go on interviews and start their positions,” sandy says.

she continued to volunteer with the non-profit after the placement was over and she’s now the chair of the barrie chapter of dress for success. it was an experience that prompted sandy to enroll in lakehead’s master of social justice program, which she completed in june 2022 with first class standing. 

pictured at right: sandy falcon (ba’20/hbasc’20/ma’22) says that she hopes to maintain her connection with 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 .

given her academic achievements and community spirit, it made perfect sense that sandy was selected to be the 2022 voice of the class and speak on behalf of her fellow 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 at lakehead orillia’s convocation ceremonies, but she herself was shocked.

“hearing that i was someone to look up to really floored me. i couldn’t believe that i was chosen,” sandy says.

she’s continuing her relationship with lakehead and recently worked with fellow social justice grads and 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 to train city of orillia staff on fostering equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace.

right now, sandy is most excited about being hired by the red cross—the largest humanitarian organization in the world—as the lead for a pilot project that supports older people.

“my goal is to help people,” sandy says. “that’s what i always told anyone who asked me what i wanted to do when i grew up.”

read more inspirational news and stories in champions of change—lakehead’s 2021-22 annual report.

make the sentence above link to the annual report website: //www.hsbcwebinars.com/championsofchange

even as a child, brian adams felt a personal obligation to do whatever he could to protect the environment from the destruction caused by humans.

now he’s the co-founder of salient energy, a start-up company supporting a rapid transition to clean energy by providing a scalable alternative to lithium-ion with affordable zinc-ion batteries.

brian’s love of nature is part of the reason he chose to study at lakehead where he earned a chemical engineering technology diploma, an honours bachelor of science in chemistry, and a master of science in chemistry. he also wanted to move far enough away from his hometown of mitchell, ontario, so that he wouldn’t be tempted to return every weekend, while allowing him to appreciate everything northwestern ontario has to offer.

“being an outdoorsman, i loved my time in thunder bay, particularly ice fishing,” he says.

brian’s training with professor aicheng chen started him on his path to creating a better battery.

“i received a tremendous foundation in electrochemistry at 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 ,” he says.

after graduating, brian went to the university of waterloo to get a phd in chemistry, which is where he met salient energy’s co-founder, ryan brown. it was near the end of his phd that brian started exploring aqueous, or water-based, batteries that could be produced in an open atmosphere.

pictured right: rendering of a prismatic cell format battery that salient plans to produce when they go into full-scale production. they are currently producing pouch format batteries.

“after seeing some early performance results on the zinc-ion battery, i was hooked and knew that this is one alternative battery that the world needs,” brian says.

the pair developed a technology for zinc-ion batteries that can be recharged thousands of times and launched salient energy in 2017.

since then, they’ve grown from only three employees, including themselves, to 30 full-time employees with a 24,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in dartmouth, nova scotia, and a team in oakland, california. the north american market will be their starting point and they anticipate doubling or tripling their workforce in the coming years to meet demand.

“we plan to scale up the manufacturing of zinc-ion battery cells and modules by setting up gigafactories. this is the only way for this battery technology to have a meaningful impact,” brian says, adding that batteries are good for the environment because they are accelerating the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.

pictured left:  brian adams says that “the engineering diploma that lakehead offered attracted me because i was indecisive about going to college or university when i was in high school.”

salient batteries could be used in several different ways, but generally they are best suited for stationary energy storage applications rather than electric vehicles or consumer electronics.

one application would be as backup power in homes instead of gas generators, which will also benefit the environment by not using gas. another application is as commercial batteries for “peak shaving,” which levels out peaks in electricity use.

“with a large battery and predictions of times of high electricity usage, companies can use the battery to cut down on the amount of electricity required from the grid,” brian explains.

this would save businesses massive amounts of money on electricity bills and benefit grid utility companies because “peak” electricity loads put a strain on the infrastructure, often causing outages when cables and transformers are not large enough to accommodate the electric current.

read more inspirational news and stories in champions of change—lakehead’s 2021-22 annual report.

//www.hsbcwebinars.com/championsofchange

by donna faye

today, sharon johnson (ba, indigenous learning, 2008) is known for her commitment to raising public awareness about missing and murdered anishinaabe women in northwestern ontario.  

she’s no longer the shy person who was intimidated by the thought of speaking to the media after the first full moon memory walk in 2005. “i was afraid,” sharon says. “but i agreed to do it.” 

pictured right:  sharon holding the full moon memory walk flag at the location on the neebing-mcintyre floodway where her late sister was found. (photo credit: red works photography)

since then, sharon, from the seine river first nation, has organized the walk every year with help from other women in memory of her younger sister.

on february 13, 1992, sandra johnson’s body was discovered on the frozen neebing-mcintyre floodway in thunder bay. she was 18 years old. the thunder bay police have still not found the person responsible for sandra’s murder.

“despite only making up 4 per cent of the canadian population, indigenous women and girls represent 28 per cent of homicides perpetrated against women in 2019 and are 12 times more likely to be murdered or missing than non-indigenous women in canada.”

-statistics canada

in the years following her sister’s death, sharon didn’t want her face and name made public out of fear that the person responsible for her sister’s death was still at large.

then in 2005, local activist lynn sharman invited sharon to a meeting with some people from 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 and other organizations to help plan an event to raise awareness about violence against anishinaabe women.

they agreed to organize a memorial walk during the grandmother moon, the full moon in september, which also coincided with sandra’s birthday, september 26.

“i chose to do the memorial during the full moon because that’s when women do ceremonies. it’s a healing time for women. during the full moon ceremony, we honour grandmother moon and ask for guidance to know what we need to do.”

pictured left: participants in the 2010 full moon memory walk came together to raise awareness about the high rates of violence against indigenous women. (photo credit: red works photography)

but the group stopped meeting for the summer. then, the evening before the full moon in september, sharon called sharman.

they decided to go ahead with the walk. that evening sharman made signs. sharon called and emailed friends and relatives.

sharon says about 35 people came out to walk the next day. “i knew most of them, and some others joined on the day.” 

“i had no idea that it was going to grow into something bigger.”

the walk became an annual event and grew to include an annual valentine’s day walk in february and even a memorial concert for a couple of years before the covid-19 pandemic.

sharon started studying indigenous learning that fall at 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 . while at lakehead, she participated in class and campus events to help raise awareness about violence against women, including being a regular guest speaker for the annual take back the night walk.

organizing events like the full moon memory walk have been important for healing, not just for sharon but also for others who have lost loved ones to violence.

“at first, i was doing it in memory of my little sister,” she says. “i thought we need to do this for me, my family, that it would be something healing.”

“then i realized it wasn’t just for me and my family. i started to meet many family members who had experienced the same violence who needed that help and support. because i was touched by this violence, i knew what it was like. so, when someone told me, ‘i lost my niece,’ or, ‘i lost my mom, and this is her name,’ i couldn’t just turn my back.” 

find information about the next full moon memory walk or valentine’s day memorial walk on facebook.

by brandon walker

in 2018, lakehead alum sarah kielek-caster (basc’13) learned that she needed a kidney transplant after a workplace injury.

doctors diagnosed sarah with chronic kidney disease caused by accidentally inhaling organic solvent due to a malfunctioning fume hood at sarah’s former workplace. 

around the same time, another lakehead alum, megan perin (basc/bed’15), heard singer selena gomez discuss receiving a kidney donation from her friend, actor francia raisa. after doing some research, megan decided to become an angel donor—someone who donates an organ to a stranger.

“i knew it was something i felt comfortable doing for someone, so i decided to look online to see if anyone was in need of a kidney,” megan explains, who attended lakehead orillia’s concurrent education program, majoring in interdisciplinary studies with a focus on psychology and anthropology. 

that’s when megan saw a gofundme post looking for a donor—written by sarah’s sister. 

sarah will never forget when her sister called to say they had a potential donor. a few weeks later, the transplant coordinator at the toronto general hospital confirmed that megan was a match. 

“i was in complete disbelief that a total stranger was willing to save my life,” sarah says. “i still cannot begin to articulate my feeling of gratitude for megan and her decision to donate an organ to me.” 

after the surgery, it took sarah four days to learn how to walk again and two days after that she was able to leave the hospital. 

megan was glad to help. “i always feel like my best self when i help someone out in any way—so i was proud of myself for being there for her.” 

although they were strangers before the surgery, megan and sarah have since become friends. 

“i couldn’t be happier to have her in my life,” sarah says, adding that she is now healthier than she’s ever been. 

sarah, who earned an honours bachelor of arts and sciences in interdisciplinary studies at lakehead orillia, is currently working as a program analyst with the ontario ministry of agriculture, food and rural affairs. 

“because of megan’s decision, i can enjoy all aspects of my life and take nothing for granted.”

megan, who’s now teaching kindergarten at the simcoe muskoka catholic district school board, was in hospital for three days after having one of her kidneys removed. two weeks later, she felt normal—so normal that she hiked the trails at algonquin provincial park.

if you’re thinking about being an angel donor like megan, “don’t be afraid to get the facts about organ donation,” she says. megan did a lot of research before deciding to donate a kidney. “if it feels right to you, then do it.” 

she also informed her immediate family members of her decision. megan encourages alumni ezine readers to register to donate their organs and tissues after they die. 

“my perspective is that when you’re gone, you have no use for your organs. whereas thousands of people in canada would be so grateful for a chance at a normal, long, and happy life. one organ can really make a big difference.”  

today, in ontario, there are over 1,600 people waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant. this is their only treatment option, and every three days someone will die because they didn’t get their transplant in time.

you can help by registering your consent for organ and tissue donation. go to: https://beadonor.ca/

sean petrus has helped lift more than 10 long-term drinking water advisories across northwestern ontario.

as a senior project manager with colliers project leaders, sean has overseen the construction of water treatment plants in first nations communities—many who’ve gone years without drinkable water.

“i love making positive changes in the region i grew up in,” says sean, who is from thunder bay.

it’s not only water treatment plant projects that he’s skilled at managing. he’s been in charge of the construction of schools, healthcare centres, housing projects, administrative facilities, and wastewater treatment plants. 

“i make sure that the best engineers and contractors are retained to ensure that capital projects are built on time and on budget, while overseeing the entire construction process on behalf of the client,” he says.

“most of the credit, however, goes to the first nations who retain me to manage these projects,” sean says. “they’re out there advocating for, and coordinating, these developments.” 

it’s a far cry from sean’s original career ambitions. 

he studied business administration at lakehead with plans to work in the financial sector, possibly as a stockbroker.

at the end of his third year, though, sean decided to switch to civil engineering.

“i couldn’t see myself working in downtown toronto. i wanted to be in northwestern ontario, so i decided that civil engineering would be a good fit.”

his first venture into this area was as a project manager with frecon construction, an ottawa company that had contracts with the department of national defence at the armed forces base at petawawa, ontario.

after a year in ottawa, sean headed to the alberta oilsands where he was a field engineer on a multi-billion-dollar construction site, where he oversaw the construction of heavy civil earthworks projects including the building of roads, tailing dams, and mechanically stabilized earth retaining walls.

“we moved a lot of dirt,” he laughs.

since then, sean has tried his hand at an even broader range of endeavours.

he’s been a quality control coordinator at the detour lake goldmine north of cochrane, ontario, and managed large-scale drilling projects to support the construction of 407 toll roads in southern ontario, rapid transit projects, and toronto’s new east-west subway line.

“i was part of a team that designed geotechnical instrumentation to monitor the subway line to make sure that, as they tunnelled through the earth, the existing infrastructure didn’t collapse,” sean says. “this is when i really got into project management and decided it was what i wanted to do with my life.”

while racking up engineering experiences, sean also managed to finish his remaining lakehead business courses and received his bachelor of administration degree in 2016.

every project that he takes on comes with unique challenges.

“in 2019, i was fortunate enough to be able to work with the shoal lake #40 first nation on their drinking water project,” he says. 

it required a complicated water distribution system—several kilometres of marine water lines had to be installed on the bottom of the lake. the outbreak of the covid pandemic not long after construction began added to the difficulties, and extensive safety protocols had to be developed.

despite this, the shoal lake water treatment plant won the ontario public works project of the year award for small municipalities and first nations communities —and sean was delighted.

“collaborating with first nations on meaningful projects in northwestern ontario is what i find most fulfilling,” he says.

by donna faye

anything can be collectable, according to cameron macdonald (badm’17), the owner of the cave collectables in orillia.

books, records, cards, and plush, for example.

“it’s up to you,” says cameron. “anything that is valuable or sentimental to the collector. other people may see a monetary value, but to you as a collector, that shouldn’t matter.”

cameron’s passion started when he was a child, collecting pokémon and yu-gi-oh! cards.

“it began as something i did with my dad. he would take us to card shows at convention centres.”

although some cards sell for millions of dollars, cameron says, as a kid, you don’t think about that.

eventually, he started to dream of opening a collectables store one day.

born in brampton, cameron spent his teenage years at wasaga beach, which he considers home. after high school, he went to george brown college in toronto for pre-business and advanced financial planning.

after graduation, he transferred to lakehead’s orillia campus, allowing him to be a little closer to home and family.

“it’s a great school,” cameron says. “as a transfer student, i was only there a year and a half, but that time was meaningful, and i made lifelong friends.”

lakehead built on his pre-business studies and had a significant influence on his next career steps and would allow him to land the kind of fulfilling work he was looking for.

“the people and atmosphere at lakehead drove me to not give up on pursuing the position of financial advisor as a career option.”

one week before convocation, cameron interviewed for a financial advisor position at scotiabank, a five-minute drive from lakehead. they offered him the job on one condition – that he finish his degree. he graduated in the spring of 2017 and started working in may. he was there for four and a half years and was promoted to senior financial advisor.

but during his university studies and career in banking, cameron never lost sight of his childhood dream.

“i always kept the big picture in mind,” he says. “i started with savings i could put together, and now it’s just mind-blowing when i look at what we’ve accomplished.” the store opened at its downtown orillia location in october 2021 to both in-person and online shopping.

the cave has something to offer customers of all ages looking for either vintage or modern collectables, including nfts, or non-fungible tokens, the latest arrival on the collectables scene.

while 70 per cent of their customers are adult collectors, they do see younger customers as well.

“a lot of kids come in. we teach them about grading and starting a collection. and we give them branded merchandise like stickers.” 

cameron says his hope for other 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 like him is to see that anything is possible. “if you’re passionate about something, don’t give up.”

to learn more visit thecavecollectables.com.