The Next Step in Responsible Mineral Exploration
Susan, Bob, Jamey, Ian, and Mary Craig grew up skiing with their dad near the shores of Lake Superior. Their father John – affectionately known as “Big Johnny” to his countless colleagues and friends – loved the outdoors.
John Craig was a teacher at Thunder Bay’s Hillcrest High School and the coach of the school’s downhill and cross-country ski teams.
Those family outings and ski trips to Banff influenced Susan Craig’s career path. Today, she’s a geoscientist and mining consultant based in the Yukon who spends time in some of Canada’s most rugged landscapes.
She learned many of her skills as a Lakehead student – Susan graduated with a Master of Science in Geology in 1991 and a Bachelor of Education in 2001.
And she’s not the only Lakehead University alum in the Craig family – John’s son Jamey earned his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 1980 and John’s granddaughter Sara received a Doctor of Medicine in 2014. Erin, another granddaughter, is currently studying business at Lakehead and competes on the University’s Nordic ski team.
Now, Susan and her siblings are honouring their father, who passed away in 2012, by helping Lakehead students.
“The new John R. Craig Memorial CESME Award is in memory of our father who not only was a passionate educator,” Susan explains, “but also someone willing to help out and make a difference in people’s lives.”
The award will be given annually to two graduate students with Lakehead’s Centre for Sustainable Mining and Exploration (CESME). The students will focus on advancing one of CESME’s key objectives – fostering engagement with First Nations and Métis communities to ensure responsible resource development.
Recent discoveries of gold, nickel, chromite, and graphite in Northern Ontario have made it essential that industry and government work together with northern communities to meet infrastructure and social development challenges and lay the foundation for economic prosperity.
Focusing on the human aspect of resource development is something that John Craig would have stood firmly behind.
He was a man whose sense of integrity and compassion for people shone through at an early age. He gave back to his community as a dedicated boy scout and, in 1940, John put his education aside to proudly serve his country in World War II. At the time, he was an outstanding athlete and a student at the University of Winnipeg. When the war was over, John returned to university, graduating in 1948.
“This scholarship symbolizes Dad’s respect and recognition of the importance of interaction with local communities,” Susan says.
Lakehead University would like to express its gratitude to the Craig family for their generosity and for their commitment to the vision of the Centre for Excellence in Sustainable Mining and Exploration.
Contributing to the John R. Craig Memorial CESME Award will directly benefit a student’s educational and professional career. Please contact Philanthropy Director Kathryn Davidson at 807-343-8899 for more information.