orillia CAMPUs CEREMONY

Saturday Morning (June 7, 2014)

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Today, we are celebrating Lakehead University’s 50th Convocation.

And the eight graduating class of Lakehead University’s Orillia Campus. 

Convocation is a wonderful time to reflect on who we are and what we have accomplished together.

Today will be the first time in the history of the Orillia campus that degrees will be awarded to graduates of the Honours Bachelor of Arts & Science’s Environmental Sustainability program.

The Environmental Sustainability program was the first new program created at the Orillia campus.

Since then, new programs in criminology and media studies have been developed.

Our innovative partnership with Georgian College is flourishing and will be bringing more new programs to Simcoe County.  

Over the last half century, our students have infused this school with a youthful spirit.

And as we reach this new milestone, Lakehead is being energized by a multiplicity of ideas and cultures.

Our students converge on Orillia from Central and Southern Ontario, and the gta; from the east coast, the west coast, and all points in between.

They come from every conceivable background, each carrying their own unique aspirations.

Many of them come from the original peoples of this land.

Many of them are the children or grandchildren of immigrants who sought a better life in this country.

And, increasingly, many of those choosing Lakehead arrive from other countries.

I count myself among them.

I was born in Canada but raised in Mexico, the home of my mother’s family.

Spanish was my first language.

When I returned to Canada at the age of 16, it was a huge culture shock.

I lived the immigrant experience of most new Canadians –

I missed the comforting landmarks of my childhood, the familiar food, and the easy laughter of my relatives.

What got me through this?

The support of my family and the creation of a second family — one woven together at university with fellow students, friends, educators, and mentors.

I began to realize that having an international perspective was an incredible asset — one that enriched me and gave me the skills to adapt to changing situations.

That is why Lakehead is reaching out to the world.

We currently have students from 46 nations at our campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay. 

We recognize that collaboration is essential to Canada’s well-being because countries are now linked by their common need to foster economic and environmental sustainability.

Lakehead’s mission is to ensure that our graduates flourish in this swiftly changing world where education has become a vital currency.

And we are succeeding.

Our small class sizes, one-on-one interaction with professors, and emphasis on independent thinking lay the foundation for promising careers because we are teaching our students how to think, not what to think.

Katelyn Weel, an Environmental Sustainability student graduating, today, understands the difference this makes.

She spent two years investigating biofilms – or slime to non-scientists – in Lake Simcoe and Lake Couchiching.Katelyn’s real-world experience led to a summer job in Norway as a field technician.

She collected and analyzed soil samples as part of an exciting project to discover better fertilizer alternatives.

Engaging in innovative research is an intrinsic part of the Lakehead experience.

In fact, Lakehead was declared the number one university in Ontario for research intensity, and number two in Canada, for universities of our size in the annual ranking of Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities.

Our Lakehead Orillia faculty have played a pivotal role in this story.

They are not afraid to ask big questions.

Interdisciplinary Studies Professor Valerie Hébert, for example, explores how societies re-build themselves in the aftermath of devastating violence.

Valerie looks  at the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide, and other atrocities because they reveal essential truths about both the lightness and the darkness in human nature.

She encourages her students to connect historical events to present day debates and asks Why does it help us to know this?, and What can we do with this knowledge?

Last September, Valerie’s research received a major boost when she was awarded a ‘Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada’ grant.

She is studying the growing awareness of human rights following colonial brutality in the French Congo.

Lakehead University’s research reputation is one of the reasons why the number of international students has skyrocketed from 100, when I first came to Lakehead, to almost 500.

And within three years, international students will make up 10% of our student population.

And we are at a turning point.

Last month, Lakehead signed a historic agreement with three Mexican indigenous universities that will enable students and faculty to flow back and forth between Canada and Mexico and participate in intensive academic programming and research.

Of course, most successes are not achieved by any person, alone, and Lakehead Orillia has been fortunate to have outstanding supporters.

Advocates like the honourable Mary Anne Chambers, who has received an honorary Doctor of Laws, today, have stood behind us from the very beginning.

As you have heard from Dr. Bennet, While Mary Anne was serving as Ontario’s Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities; she had the vision and tenacity to push for a new campus in Orillia.

And for that, we are very grateful, because we have changed since then, and we have become better.

Lakehead Orillia’s evolution also continues with enhanced opportunities to study outside of Canada.

Students now have the chance to learn in Italy, Korea, Singapore, Australia, Finland, Sweden.

This is because we want all Lakehead students to be citizens of the world — to allow our common humanity to connect us.

Two 3^rd–year Orillia students have taken this philosophy to heart:

Jennifer Rankel, an Education student who studied at our campus in Cortona, Italy;

And Conor Jones, who attended the Umeå School of Business and Economics, in Sweden. Conor has said that he never regretted his decision for an instant because, “Stepping outside of our culture and into the day-to-day life of another community and country gave me a whole new perspective on things.”

Conor and Jennifer’s willingness to take a risk and embrace the unconventional is characteristic of Lakehead students – whether they are from Brazil or BARRIE, SIMCOE COUNTY or Saudi Arabia.

I’ll leave the final words of this speech to Katelyn Weel, who described how Lakehead Orillia shaped her values and aspirations when she said, “I came into the environmental sciences program thinking, I like nature. I came out of it thinking, I want to work towards making agriculture more sustainable.”

I wish every graduands, here, strength and resilience as you begin the adventure of transforming yourselves and the communities you choose to call home.

Congratulations to you all.

Thank you.