Shifting perspective on higher learning

 

I spent much of my life with an aversion to higher learning, academia. Putting it out there, I was an abject failure at university. I entered the University of Saskatchewan on a pre-med path but after one semester realized it was not for me. I transferred to the arts side of things but never got my footing. Most of my energies were being diverted to acting and producing theatre at St. Thomas More College. After two years I said goodbye to my university life and entered the workforce.

Working at a post-secondary institution for 15 years, I was exposed to many kinds of academics. Some were very generous and passionate, others were less so. Some were downright nasty. My aversion grew in those years and grew even more when I was passed over for excellent opportunities only because I didn't have a few letters after my name. That made me downright resentful, mistrusting, and unappreciative of universities, higher learning and those who reverentially boasted about their degrees. 

That all changed last week as we sat in the Chan Centre of the Performing Arts on the UBC campus in Vancouver witnessing our son Ben's graduation with a Bachelors of Design in Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urbanism. My perspective shifted so dramatically that I felt compelled to write the President of UBC, Benoit Bacon.

Hello President Bacon,

My wife and I attended our son’s graduation from UBC last Thursday, ceremony 7 of 10. Ben Thomas was the very last grad to cross the stage that day having earned his Bachelor of Design in Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urbanism (with honours).

 To be honest, I’ve held an unfounded aversion to academia for many years. It probably was rooted in my own inability to succeed at university some 40 years ago, and opportunities that were lost in the years that followed because those in hiring positions discounted me because I didn’t have letters after my name. I think - no, I KNOW that I didn’t have a full understanding or appreciation for higher learning. That changed during last week's ceremony.

 As the short paragraphs were read about each of the graduating Phd students, I realized for the first time that academia is not just about deep learning, it is also about striving for new discoveries and changing the world. Each of those individuals who crossed the stage focused their entire beings in creating some new technology, process or insight. We found ourselves talking about several who stood out after the ceremony. For 40 years I was misguided about the role of universities and higher learning. It feels nice to have a shifted perspective.

 Thanks for your leadership, and for giving such energy and enthusiasm to each of the 10 ceremonies you presided over last week.

I really didn't expect a response, though one arrived the same day. He graciously thanked me for taking the time to write and sharing my reflections on the event and my shift in perspective.

"Like you I am always blown away and humbled by the work our students do across so many important subjects," he wrote.

"There is no doubt that the university is not perfect, being a human endeavour, but at its core it remains our best hope for a better world."

I didn't understand the essence of higher learning before. I'm beginning to grasp it now. Ben and his talented colleagues are going to make the world a better place.