HSC Review Spring 2021 by Hillfield Strathallan College

HSCReview

Where I Grow Into Where Into My My

Take part in a full day of events and celebrations for all members of the HSC community, your families and guests. It’s time to reconnect and reminisce as we honour those classes ending in ‘4 and ‘9, in addition to the 2018 Athletic Hall of Fame honourees.

The magazine for the Hillfield Strathallan College community

Best Self

and Alumni Athletic and House Games Pancake Breakfast and Barbecue Lunch catered by The BBQ Gourmet n Hektor’s Home Run 1KM & 5KM Family Fun Run n HSC Community Tennis Tournament n Student Visual Arts Exhibit n Pine/Yre Student Council Charity Car Wash n Campus Store n Kids Zone Activities n Early Education Open House n Trojan Hospitality Zone n Vendor Village and Minute to Win It Tables n Campus Tours led by Admissions & Student Ambassadors n Athletic Hall of Fame Ceremony followed by Reunions Mixer

HSCReview

PATRON Jeff Paikin ’80 has poured his heart into supporting HSC. He’s also a lot of fun.

n Complimentary

Spring 2021 2019

attend a virtual open house. For more information

Spring 2019 2021

THE

n Student

Visit Visit www.hsc.on.ca/learnmore www.hsc.on.ca/learnmore to to a 1:1 admissions meeting For morebook information, please contact: Barton ’03, Alumni Relationsor Officer book a virtual virtual 1:1Bianca admissions meeting Visit www.hsc.on.ca/learnmore to or 905.389.1367, ext. 117 alumni@hsc.on.ca attend a virtual open house. For information attend a virtual open house. For more more information book a virtual 1:1 admissions meeting or Photo gallery of last year’s event! galleries.hsc.on.ca/homecoming2018 please contact admissions@hsc.on.ca please contact admissions@hsc.on.ca

The magazine for the Hillfield The magazine for the StrathallanHillfield College community Strathallan College community

The Game Changer

Tiger-Cats owner Bob Young ’72 has had a wild ride in business and sport

STRATEGIC PL AN

JOURNEY

www.hsc.on.ca/hoco2021

ONE COLLEGE. FOUR SCHOOLS.

ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES. To set a clear path forward, it’s important to understand where we stand. Purposeful and sustainable learning environments

personalized learning

Joyful Engaged Inclusive

Community

resilience and wellbeing

g n i m o c ome Hil

llege thallan Co lfield Stra ES TA BL

19 01 IS HE D IN

vir tual

2021

Learn more at www.hsc.on.ca/strategyhsc

WHETHER YOU’RE NEAR OR FAR, 2021 HOMECOMING IS HAPPENING RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE! Get ready, because celebrations are coming to you! This year, you can join in one or all of HSC's fun-filled homecoming traditions no matter where you live.

TUESDAY MAY 4

Pancake Breakfast Grab your favourite pancake mix and get cooking. Flavours, shapes, designs – there is no limit on your creativity!

WEDNESDAY MAY 5

Hektor’s Home Run Run, walk or wiggle, print off your running bib and get moving! Don’t forget to share your photos with us.

THURSDAY MAY 6

Family Trivia hosted by the Parents’ Guild Get your thinking caps on and test your knowledge on a wide range of topics including science, geography, animals, movies and more! Show your house spirit and come dressed in your favourite HSC gear.

MAY 3 – 7

Reunions Calling all graduates of years ending in ’00, ’01, ’05 and ’06! Join your fellow classmates on Zoom to celebrate milestone reunions throughout the week of May 3 - 7. Get dressed in your house colours or HSC gear and login to reconnect with fellow alumni and faculty. Keep an eye on your inbox for your class year’s invitation.

MAY 3 – 7

Showcase of the Arts Make sure you’re following HSC on social media to enjoy this College-wide, virtual art exhibition featuring the artistic talents of students from all grades.

a whole college –inclusive and connected Building on the success of Towards 20/20, our parents, leadership, faculty and board members have been busy surveying, brainstorming and prioritizing what matters most to our community. Today, we’re finalizing an action plan that will enhance HSC for years to come.

Ι #hschoco2021

QUESTIONS? Bianca Barton ’03 Ι Alumni Relations Officer Ι alumni@ hsc.on.ca

Contents

Features

14 The Patron Jeff Paikin ’80 may not be as famous as his sibling Steve,

but his contributions to HSC and the community make him a star. He’s also a lot of fun.

22 Doctor of Humility Infectious diseases specialist Dr. Shilpa Jain ’06 has always been a 100-per-center, but you won’t hear it from her.

Departments

26 The Film Maverick Matt Holton ’04 loved doing things for a laugh at HSC. Now he’s a successful ad man and budding film producer.

30 Immersed in Art Margaret Lindsay Holton ’74 creates vivid works in virtually

College Life

Top Honours

Lives Lived

Giving

Where the Grads Are

every medium, from painting, prose and poetry to film, furniture and fonts.

34 AAmanda Venture Capital Champion Robson ’10 is helping to change the game for Silicon Valley tech investment firms.

37 The Other Tragic Pandemic During the final stage of the First World War, three military men

associated with Highfield school fell to the deadly global virus then known as the Spanish Flu. This is what we know about them.

The Alumni Award of Distinction The Alumni Hall of Excellence Stellar Students Great Grads Perfect Prefects HSC Lifers

Magic in the Classroom

SPRING 2021

Transform the legacy of connection into a legacy of giving. DOES YOUR HOUSE HAVE THE MOST SCHOOL SPIRIT? HSC’s house colour competition challenges families, alumni and parents of alumni to tap into their house spirit and ma e an impact on the uture o illfield Strathallan College. Calling all Birch/Earn, Cedar/More, Maple/Tay and Pine/Yre members, past and present! The time has come to rally together and do what you do best: drum up excitement and support for HSC! Every dollar donated will e counted toward your house a filiation. Our goal is to raise $1.75 million for HSC’s endowment by 2024 and at the end of it, we will celebrate the house with the most contributions in traditional HSC fashion. To learn more visit www.hsc.on.ca/caseforsupport

Donate today at www.hsc.on.ca/donatenow

Never miss a moment.

@hillfieldstrathallancollege @hillstrathalumni

@HillStrath

@hillstrath

@hillfield-strathallan-college

Masthead HSC Review is published by the Advancement and Communications Office of Hillfield Strathallan College. We welcome your comments and suggestions. Please contact Zahra Valani at 905-389-1367 ext. 162, or communications@ hsc.on.ca. Visit our website at hsc.on.ca.

Editorial Director

Text and Photography

Cover

Katelyn Galer

Bianca Barton ’03, Alex Berry, Patricia Hluchy, Diane Jermyn, Bruce McDougall, Mirza Noormohamed, Kevin Patrick Robbins, Paul Sanderson, William Vipond Tait, Wandering Eye Photography, Barbara Wickens, Berton Woodward

Kevin Patrick Robbins

Editorial Adviser Berton Woodward

Design and Production Director of Advancement & Communications Zahra Valani

Hambly & Woolley Inc. www.hamblywoolley.com

SPRING 2021

Messages

A Spirit of Generosity

THIS PUBLICATION IS ONE OF THE GREAT WAYS THAT HSC CONNECTS WITH ITS BROADER COMMUNITY TO SHARE STORIES OF SUCCESS happening in our halls every day and

to recognize those who have contributed so much to making HSC a leading Canadian independent school. The top honour that the Board of HSC can bestow on any community member is that of College Patron. It is a rare recognition for extraordinary contributions to HSC, often over a lifetime. In this issue, we profile our latest recipient, Jeffrey Paikin ’80. In February of 2010, a much more youthful me was nervously seated at the end of a very large board table in the Hamilton Club to interview for the position of HSC’s Head of College. After delivering my opening remarks about why I felt I’d be a good candidate for the role, I asked if there were any questions for me. Mr. Paikin, part of the search committee, put up his hand and said, “Yeah, I’ve got a question for you. How are you going to run the school if you look 14 years old?” I couldn’t help but laugh and think, if that is the first question, this is my kind of school. It’s supposed to be fun! Many times since that first interaction with Jeff, I’ve witnessed him do to others what he did to me that day: put them at ease so they could be their best self. That is Jeff in a nutshell. He always does what YOU need, not what HE needs. Jeff is widely known throughout the Canadian Accredited Independent Schools (CAIS) for both his work as HSC Board Chair and chair of Transformation HSC—one of the most successful capital campaigns ever at 4

HSC REVIEW

By Marc Ayotte Head of College

a Canadian school—and also as the chair of the CAIS board. People in CAIS ask me all the time, “Is Jeff still involved at HSC?” My response is always, “Jeff will always be involved.” When they ask what he does, my response is simple: “Everything.” It’s that spirit of generosity that I see every day echoing across our campus and beyond, coming to life in the actions of HSC students and alumni. As you’ll read in this issue, the members of our community share more than just experiences. They share the ideals that contribute to a better world: integrity, respect, community, determination and individuality. I am forever in awe of HSC’s collective impact and hope you’ll enjoy reading the many meaningful moments shared in this issue of HSC Review. And, to my great friend Jeff Paikin, on behalf of HSC, I say thank you and congratulations. May you continue to inspire the next generation of students to become the servant leader that you are.

Photo by William Vipond Tait

Jeff Paikin ’80 showed me HSC would be my kind of school

Messages

When HSC Stepped Up

Photo by William Vipond Tait

In the past year, we saw the true character of our community

THERE IS NO DOUBT WE WILL LOOK BACK ON 2020 AND 2021 AS BEING AMONG THE MOST CHALLENGING PERIODS OF OUR LIVES. While we all share in the struggle of this pandemic, one thing we can rely on is the strength of HSC’s community. I’ve taken great pleasure in witnessing the true character of our community and in seeing how we continue to make a difference—albeit virtually—through the most trying of times. Come what may, the HSC community always steps up. If your children attend HSC, you know full well that the College did not miss a beat during the pandemic. HSC@home was such a resounding success that other schools are now using it as the model of efficiency and effectiveness. You will also be aware that the HSC families hit the hardest by the pandemic have peace of mind knowing their children will remain at the College, owing to the generosity of the Emergency Bursary Fund—and, of course, the generosity of the HSC community. Like many in our community, I’ve taken comfort in the energy, enthusiasm and resilience of HSC and its people. As part of this truly special institution, the friendships we made during our time at the College have not just endured—they have sustained. Our Alumni Committee has also worked hard to adapt during these times. A special thank you to Bianca Barton ’03 and Zahra Valani for their support. The virtual Remembrance Day, Carol Service and Trivia Nights have been wellattended, and have injected much-needed levity and good cheer. I am reminded of the words of our School Prayer, which the HSC community has embodied so elegantly in the past 12 months: “…to give and not to count the cost… to toil and not to seek for rest; to labour and not to ask for any reward….” Thank you, HSC community—I am so proud to be part of this.

By Sue Owen ’85

President, HSC Alumni Association

“HSC families hit the hardest by the pandemic have peace of mind knowing their children will remain at the College.” SPRING 2021

College Life

2020 2019

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College Life

2020 2021

HSC REVIEW

Behind the Screens HSC made a quick pivot to learning at home—and everybody, including students, came up with innovations Stories by Barbara Wickens WHEN THE 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR GOT UNDERWAY IN SEPTEMBER WITH THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC STILL WREAKING HAVOC, HSC drew on many of the same traits it works to instil in students—such as flexibility, adaptability and resiliency. While particulars differed, all four schools adopted a new attendance framework in which on-campus learning was voluntary. Parents could decide on a week-byweek basis whether their children would physically attend class, learn remotely or adopt a hybrid model combining the two. The goal was to continue providing students with an engaging education while ensuring everybody’s wellbeing through strict health and safety protocols. The framework builds on lessons learned after the Ontario government abruptly closed schools province-wide on March 17, 2020. At the time, little was known about the virus that causes COVID-19, vaccines were not yet on the horizon and nobody could predict how long the school closure would last. Many expected it to be weeks, not months. Even so, HSC quickly pivoted to remote learning, thanks to faculty and staff who spent March Break fast-tracking a new plan, HSC@home. It enabled teachers to use a range of remote learning strategies and educational apps to fulfil students’ needs. As well, faculty with relevant expertise held virtual tutorials to familiarize their colleagues with the latest concepts in e-learning. From the start, HSC@home was considered a work in progress and facilitated feedback from students, parents and teachers. Their input contributed to ongoing improvements to the technology and operating systems.

Photo by William Vipond Tait

College Life

Senior School teacher Michael Moore says the lessons he learned while teaching online full-time in the Spring really paid off in the Fall term. “I felt much more comfortable delivering a math lesson through Zoom,” says Moore, who teaches Grade 10 math and Grade 12 calculus. “Using the technology has become second nature.” In fact, Moore says he’s discovered a number of online resources and math apps that he will continue using however he delivers lessons. He also welcomed the addition of breakout rooms, a Zoom feature that can split a tutorial into separate sessions allowing private studentteacher conversations or collaborative problemsolving in small groups. Another widely appreciated addition to the HSC@home toolbox is the document camera, which allows users in different locations to simultaneously see the same image on digital devices. Montessori School Principal Danielle Hourigan ’82 says it has become an important

Junior School teacher Lisa Mitchell uses a SMART Board to lead a synchronous lesson online for HSC@home students.

tool for including students at home in classroom activities. Students in class, for instance, can work with at-home learners on peer projects or shared materials. This virtual connection means children can keep on enjoying group learning, Hourigan says. The technology also facilitates group readings and one-on-one lessons—not to mention plenty of other uses probably not in any instruction manual. Junior School teacher Carleigh Price cites the example of her Grade 1 students’ scavenger hunt. With the document camera on a rolling cart, a newcomer was guided through the school by a girl at home. “My students surprise me daily with how innovative they can be,” says Price. Middle School Principal Adrian Hoad-Reddick says he’s impressed with how teachers adapted to changing circumstances while keeping their students engaged with project-based learning. The music department, for instance, developed a new curriculum to replace wind instruments with percussion instruments, i.e. large plastic buckets. “The resourcefulness of the teachers has been outstanding,” says Hoad-Reddick. “It’s taken a lot of organization, but they’ve really stepped up.” When the Ontario government closed schools a second time, HSC was ready. The December announcement came after the start of the holidays but, on the last day before the break, students had taken home everything they’d need to return to fulltime virtual learning in January. Hourigan says that with best practices already in place, the second closure was much less daunting. “HSC had planned for a variety of scenarios and everybody at HSC was extremely well prepared.” SPRING 2021

College Life

The Joys of Outdoor Learning

HSC students are increasingly using their own sustainable landscape for education WHEN IT COMES TO CONNECTING WITH NATURE, HSC STUDENTS DON’T HAVE FAR TO GO.

Some can take just a few steps outside their classroom door. There they can encounter six old apple trees that offer hints to the property’s history as a fruit orchard. An oak savannah and a collection of Carolinian trees at the northern limits of their range reflects the complex interplay of climate and plant biology. A pair of mature maple trees provide sap for syrup in winter and welcome shade in warm months. Even so, much of the 20-hectare campus was once little more than a typical schoolyard with paved areas abutting buildings and grass-covered playing fields beyond. In recent years, however, a succession of environmentally friendly projects has created ever more inviting spaces for year-round outdoor learning. A box pond on stilts, for one, offers an up-close view of wetland plants. A series of raised-bed gardens, fun to plant and even more fun to harvest, double as archeological dig sites and First World War trenches for hands-on social studies. What’s more, HSC’s commitment to sustainability and purposeful learning isn’t limited to standalone projects. Everything, from the overall look and functioning of the landscape itself down to the micro-organisms in the soil, is benefiting from critical thinking and a focus on positive outcomes.

Middle School students dig in to a lesson on plant life and sustainability thanks to HSC’s expanding outdoor learning initiatives.

The fruits (and flowers) of outdoor learning at HSC are in full bloom.

HSC REVIEW

It all started with a key inquiry, “How can we improve biodiversity on campus?” Students, among others in the HSC community, have taken part in the search for answers. Over the years, they’ve consulted outside experts, conducted research and brainstormed projects for restoring natural habitat. Students have even learned to identify invasive weeds and harvest seeds from native plant species so they can pull out one and plant the other. Still, even if students do little more than simply take in their surroundings, John Hannah has a passion for ensuring they have regular opportunities to get outside. The Grade 6 teacher and science specialist is a driving force behind outdoor education at HSC—and not only because he’s an ardent environmentalist who hopes to inspire environmentally responsible citizens. “Over 1,000 published studies show that every measurable marker of childhood development—mental acuity, creativity, resiliency, physical and emotional health and wellbeing, you name it—is improved by direct exposure to nature,” says Hannah. This past year, teachers and students needed little convincing to spend more time outdoors as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to hold sway. In the Spring 2020 term, remote learning was the only option, but starting in September many students were back on campus attending class full- or part-time. Initially, heading outside could be a spur-ofthe-moment decision, such as when one Junior School teacher gave her students an al fresco lesson in handwriting as they sat on their yoga mats. Outdoor classes soon became so popular it became necessary to book a space beforehand. Still, that didn’t stop Hannah from witnessing what he describes as “a traffic jam” when one group of students doing a Turkey Trot, one assessing habitat for species at risk, another group looking for tree species named in the poetry they were reading, and some groundskeepers all converged on the same locale. Proper social distancing prevailed, but it was still an “aha moment,” Hannah says. “Seeing that made me appreciate what a critical time we’re in and how important the landscape has become to everybody’s wellbeing. It’s more important than ever that we look at all our activities through a lens of school-wide access, subject integration, environmental stewardship and sustainability.”

College Life

An E-Week Staycation

With camping and day trips ruled out, students turned to the ecosystem on campus

Photos by William Vipond Tait

OUTDOOR EDUCATION WEEK—A.K.A. E-WEEK—HAS BECOME A BELOVED SEPTEMBER TRADITION AT HSC.

In previous years, Middle School students in Grades 5 and 6 made regular day trips, and some overnight excursions, to the nearby Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG). Working with the school, RBG’s experts developed and delivered age- and stage-appropriate programming intended to promote curiosity about the natural world. Students in Grades 7 and 8 ventured further afield, spending the week at Camp Timberlane in Haliburton where outdoor education company Alive Outdoors provided programming tailored to focus on experiential education and personal leadership development. In September 2020, however, the COVID-19 pandemic demanded a new approach to E-Week. HSC’s 20-hectare campus became the setting where innovative thinking enabled RBG and Alive Outdoors to deliver activities that were both engaging and respectful of health and safety protocols.

Middle School students leap into adapted E-Week activities on HSC’s sprawling outdoor campus.

E-Week has traditionally focused on community building and pushing children out of their comfort zones, says Jessica Setzkorn, Vice-Principal of School Life. “We had to find new ways for our students to collaborate and build community during the pandemic,” she says. RBG, which is also a research facility, helped the Middle School’s younger students to become citizen scientists and naturalists studying the campus ecosystem. This included exploring the medicinal uses of plants and more hands-on activities like planting a new biodiverse border with 17 species of native plants. For its part, Alive Outdoors left its canoes and kayaks behind. Grade 7 and 8 students were kept busy with activities designed to sharpen listening skills and to foster trust, respect, cooperation and group problem-solving. In one such exercise, a blindfolded student had to navigate a “minefield” of cones by following a partner’s instructions. Setzkorn says that although some students missed going camping, the feedback on E-Week 2020 was overwhelmingly positive. SPRING 2021

College Life

HSC REVIEW

BSA members (from left) Demi Otubaga, Fola Ayibiowu, Oyin Aderibigbe, Peo Boitumelo and Mowa Ayibiowu wear their dashikis with pride to mark Dashiki Day—a celebration of Black culture and a day to expand HSC’s conversation on diversity.

A Meaningful Mission The Black Students Association has received strong support AS HSC’S FIRST CULTURAL AFFINITY GROUP, the Black Students’ Association (BSA) is

determined to set a positive example. The BSA originated with a small group of students who, amid their busy schedules, found time to meet informally over lunch. As a minority in HSC, they were looking to build bonds as a community. Events in spring 2020 motivated them to take their next step in acting collectively. Black Lives Matter was gaining momentum as both a movement and a global rallying cry as thousands took to the streets to protest racial injustice. When the teens approached HSC, they received immediate support to form the BSA.

Photo by William Vipond Tait

“ We want to be as impactful as possible.”

College Life

Lawson Hall By the Numbers

Since its upgrade in 2017, the Lawson Hall cafeteria is more popular than ever. Known for its range of dishes, from “Breakfast for Lunch” to the Felafel Bowl, it serves some

The association has multiple objectives, including comradeship, providing a safe forum to discuss difficult topics, education and outreach. Its members soon teamed up with another newly formed group, HSC News, to make a stunning 20-minute video articulating teens’ stance against racial injustice. In the Fall term, the BSA began opening some of its online meetings to all HSC students interested learning more about Canada’s diverse communities. The best-attended session examined the difference between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation, says BSA president Oyin Aderibigbe. But whatever the topic, the focus is on inclusion and engagement, and holding truly meaningful discussions. “We want to be as impactful as possible,” says Aderibigbe. The Grade 12 student says she and other graduating members of the executive committee have been mentoring younger students so the BSA will carry on with activities that she hopes will inspire other affinity groups to form. Antheia Cadette-Blasse, one of the BSA’s two teacher advisers, says HSC wants all its students to reach their full potential and she’s proud of the way the association has taken that message to heart. “Being hopeful is the only way to move forward.”

235,000 meals every year.

Here are more of the ingredients that go into Lawson Hall’s recipe for success:

570

sittings per day

bushels of apples used per year

12,500

kitchen staff

400

seating capacity

eggs cooked per year

19,000

litres of milk consumed per year

And key foods are sourced locally Dairy products are purchased from 134-year-old, farmer-owned Hewitt’s Dairy in Hagersville,

Black Students Association Student Members of the Black Students Association President Oyin Aderibigbe Vice President Peo Boitumelo Vice President Fola Ayibiowu Media Executive Fehin Awobodu Events Executive Mowa Ayibiowu Finance Executive Anne Ajani

38 km from HSC.

Apples are purchased from Lincoln Line Orchards, now run by the Bosman family,

22 km from HSC.

The chicken is all free-range, from family-owned Woodward Meat Purveyors in Oakville,

30 km from HSC.

SPRING 2021

College Life

A Moment in History

Grade 4 students created a time capsule about experiencing the pandemic SAY THE WORD “HISTORIAN” AND A 10-YEAR-OLD PROBABLY DOESN’T SPRING TO MIND. But

some Junior School students have, in fact, made a unique contribution to the historical record of the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to their work on the Grade 4 Time Capsule. The assignment was to use photojournalism to visually document what it was like to live in a time of social distancing. Students, then learning remotely, were asked to tell their personal stories via a self-portrait that included items that were especially important to them or helped them cope.

Junior School students (pictured from left) Sophie Munce, Adam Mourra and Ana Green Kopeck share snapshots of themselves alongside the electronics, sports equipment and art supplies that helped them stay busy during the pandemic.

Photos submitted by families

“The idea was that people seeing the photos 30 years from now will know what this pandemic was like through the eyes of a 10-year-old.”

In addition to learning about visual composition and uses of photography, the project helped the students put the pandemic in historical perspective, says curriculum coordinator Kathleen Collins. “They were very aware that people will one day look back on COVID-19 the way we study the 1918 flu pandemic,” says Collins, referring to the notoriously lethal outbreak that killed untold millions at the end of the First World War. “The idea was that people seeing the photos 30 years from now will know what this pandemic was like through the eyes of a 10-year-old.” The artistic results exceeded all expectations, she says. As part of their design thinking process, the students brainstormed, asked inquiry questions and reflected deeply. To help determine the look of the finished product, they sketched out how they planned to display and frame their items. They included favourite books, art supplies, toys like Lego, and lots of balls, hockey sticks and other tools for outdoor play. The students clearly valued maintaining their wellbeing during the pandemic, Collins says. The photographs, she adds, “caught the essence of each child.” And they won’t have to wait 30 years to see them again. Collins has promised to remind the contributors of their creations when they graduate from Grade 12.

HSC REVIEW

College Life

The Zen of Kids’ Own Kits

The Montessori School came up with inventive solutions to maintain its hands-on environment

Photo submitted by Montessori School

FEW ASPECTS OF HSC SCHOOL LIFE HAVE ESCAPED BEING AFFECTED BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC —including the Montessori School’s special curriculum.

Based on educational concepts pioneered by Maria Montessori, the school offers an environment where everything the students see, do and touch encourages them to learn through experimentation rather than instruction. Manipulating specially designed objects in a selection of shapes, sizes and materials, for instance, helps children learn about more abstract concepts such as multiplication or division. But stringent new health and safety protocols posed a challenge to this sort of hands-on learning. Teachers want to make the best use of their time teaching, not repeatedly sanitizing the shared items, and their storage bins, every time different children handled them. The school decided to create personal boxes of Montessori materials and tailor the contents to the individual learning needs of each child. That way, the kits would require less frequent cleaning and also be readily available for home use in the event of a shutdown. After some creative brainstorming, the staff set to work replicating Montessori materials by hand and computer. They also collaborated with Jeff Osinga, a senior member of the maintenance staff, who listened to their requirements and contributed some inventive solutions of his own. Osinga recycled wood he already had in his workshop, cutting scores of pieces into the desired shapes and then carefully sanding each one to prevent slivers. This included wood from the school’s Zen garden, which he’d dismantled earlier for space and hygienic reasons. “It’s amazing how well we’ve been able to adapt,” says Principal Danielle Hourigan ’82. Indeed, the Montessori staff were so pleased with what they’d achieved that they shared their ideas and project details in a workshop for 85 Montessori schools across Canada in July.

Jeff Osinga, senior member of HSC’s maintenance staff, displays some of the items he and the Montessori faculty created to send home with students in the event of a campus closure.

The school decided to create personal boxes of Montessori materials and tailor the contents to the individual learning needs of each child.

SPRING 2021

Photo by

HSC REVIEW

Jeff Paikin ’80 may not be as famous as his sibling Steve, but his contributions to HSC and the community make him a star.

Photo by

By Berton Woodward

Photography by Kevin Patrick Robbins

THE FUN BROTHER SPRING 2020

you punch “Jeff Paikin” into Google—with the quotes, so it’s just him—you get around 1,140 results. If you punch “Steve Paikin” into Google, you get a little under one million. “Yeah,” says Jeff, “he’s usually more longwinded than me.” “Ha,” says Steve. But it’s important to look more closely at those listings. Steve Paikin ’78 is undeniably the better known to the public of these two HSC brothers, having been host of various TVO programs, including The Agenda with Steve Paikin, since the 1990s, as well as moderator of seven federal and provincial election debates and an officer of the Order of Canada. But Jeff Paikin ’80 is the one who, as Steve is the first to point out, has the long Google list denoting his generosity and involvement in the community. And who may be the bestknown Paikin among leaders, fundraisers and volunteers at HSC. “I look at what he’s been able to accomplish and I truly just marvel at it,” says Steve. “The great thing about it is not just that he’s built a fabulous business, but that he has used that foundation as a platform from which to

OPPOSITE Jeff’s first day of school with brother Steve and their mother Marnie, September 1966.

champion all sorts of causes that he really cares a great deal about, including Hillfield Strathallan College.” So this is a story about the Younger Paikin, the one who, despite feeling a bit overshadowed academically by his brother at HSC, excelled at sports, became Head Boy and went on to major success with a Burlington-based home-building business, New Horizon Development Group, that is increasingly focused on sustainability. He’s a great storyteller, too. If you ask him about all his contributions to the community, he typically starts with a joke. “My answer to that is, it’s a birth defect,” he chuckles. “My parents, my grandparents, my great-grandmothers, they were all contributors. They had a strong sense of community.” And another polished, but heartfelt, line: “If ever you want to feel really good about yourself, do something really good for someone else. So in some ways, it’s a selfish thing, because helping others makes you feel really good about yourself, and it works really well.” It is a long list of feel-good projects: Patron of Hillfield Strathallan College (the highest level of recognition), former chair of the HSC Board of Governors and chair of countless HSC committees, a major supporter of St. Joseph’s Health System, 2013 Hamilton Distinguished Citizen of the Year, former organizer of the annual B’nai Brith Sports Dinner, and a stalwart of such charities as the Children’s Aid Society, Joseph Brant Museum, Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation, Burlington Performing Arts Centre and the Eva Rothwell Resource Centre. To name a few. In the case of HSC, where his name is on Paikin Heagle Court gym, it’s a love affair. “I took so much from the school that as an adult, I chose to join the board when I was asked so SPRING 2021

The Life of a Patron Jeff Paikin knows all about his generous peers Jeff Paikin is a newly minted Patron of HSC, the highest honour for the school’s supporters. Due to COVID-19, he hasn’t had much opportunity to hang out in person with his peers. But he’s known the other four living Patrons for years. And being Jeff Paikin, font of HSC lore, he has warm stories about all of them. Michael DeGroote Hon. ’09

One is about Michael DeGroote Hon. ’09, the Patron whose legendary generosity has transformed Hamilton. Jeff, who was chair of the board at the time, says the campaign that ultimately led to the building of the Michael DeGroote Senior School had its roots in a simple mailout that reached the man who had earlier given a record $105 million to McMaster University. “It started with him getting the standard, tick-the-box fundraising flyer—you know, $50, $100, $500, or Other,” says Jeff. “And he sort of mailed it back to the school and said, ‘You can’t be serious. You’re not asking me for 500 bucks!’” That led to a much bigger discussion, and the idea of a multi-million-dollar matching campaign for a new building, based on a gift of $10.5 million. “The money raised was still only half the campaign—he inspired the rest of the community to match the biggest donation in

I could give something back. And we’re still not even—I still have more to give for all that I took.” Both he and Steve, the only Paikin kids, are HSC Lifers, and it’s easy to see why—they lived right around the corner, near Garth and Fennell. “It was great for me,” says Jeff, “because when basketball practice ended and everybody had to run to the bus, I’d get to stay and shoot with the coaches and teachers for another half hour. I could just walk home.” In the early days, his dad, Larry Paikin, was working in the family business, Paikin Steel, founded by Sam Paikin, Jeff’s grandfather, whose own father had arrived in Hamilton from Europe in 1907. Larry took over after Sam died in 1961 and a few years later teamed up with a steel18

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the history of Canadian independent schools,” says Jeff. “That’s what he’s all about—making everybody better, not just putting his name on the wall. He’s made a profound, profound difference in my children’s lives with his generosity at that school.” Gary DeGroote ’74

Then there’s Gary DeGroote ’74, Michael’s son and a fellow Patron. “He is one of my school volunteer mentors,” Jeff says. “He’s done so much for the school. They were incredibly generous donors, both Gary and his family, but he chose to put his time in because of what the school meant to him.” Gary was also instrumental in getting Jeff’s name on a wall. “He did the nicest thing that anyone has ever done for me,” says Jeff. The basketball court, he recalls, was where most of his best sporting memories at HSC came from. So when the new gym was built, “Gary donated the funds to name the court after my family and the family of a fellow teammate of mine to honour our commitment to basketball and to the school.” That, of course, is the Paikin Heagle Court. “And I just have never been able to say a proper thank you to him because it’s such a crazy meaningful thing that he did—I can’t put it into words.” He treasures “the relationships you have when you are on the board with the people you used to be afraid of as a student”—such

Judith King-Siganski ’62

as headmasters, whom he later helped hire. He has worked with Patron and former board member Judith King-Siganski ’62 countless times over the years, including on search committees. “You think of all the things that we’ve all done together for the love of the school and the benefit of the students,” he says. There is also a sense of family. “Judith sat with me at my second and third daughters’ graduations at my request because she taught my wife in nursing school. You know, life goes way back and comes full circle.” Joyce Young ’43

And he remembers his fourth fellow Patron, Joyce Young ’43, as part of a dynamic couple when the school was fundraising in the 2000s. Bill Young ’35, her late husband and also a Patron, “was my all-time HSC hero, because he did everything completely selflessly. He just wanted to get the job done with quiet dignity and class. And the two of them, they met at the school. She’s just a phenomenal human. He’s a cherished piece of the history.” During the celebration of life after Bill’s passing, Joyce’s family handed out his martini recipe. “I thought, here’s a guy who did it right.”

— Berton Woodward

industry buddy to create Ennis-Paikin Steel. “Over time it became a great model partnership, one for me to follow with my own partner in my own business,” says Jeff. “I got to witness the two of them firsthand, like going to school.” Jeff even has an HSC story about Larry, now 87, who continues to run an offshoot of Ennis-Paikin Steel that buys and sells used locomotives and railway equipment. In 1979, Larry was an HSC board member and it was suggested he take over as chair. But the next in line was a woman, Leila Ryan. “And my father said, if you think you’re going to run a board where I get to go to the top because I’m a man, and she doesn’t, even though she’s more capable and in line, I don’t want any part of it. And to their credit, they decided, that’s absolutely right. So we had the first woman chair of the board in the history of the school.” The Paikin genealogy is not complete without mention of the influence of Marnie Sibulash Paikin. Though she did not have a professional background beyond an honours BA, and early on was mostly at home with the boys, their mom ended up becoming, among other roles, chair of the governing council of the University of Toronto, a founding board member of McMaster

University Medical Centre and acting chair of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.—for four years—as well as a major supporter of the Hamilton arts community and Jewish charities. “Her life’s accomplishments are quite staggering, frankly,” says Jeff. “It culminated with her becoming a member of the Order of Canada.” All of which means Jeff entered HSC amid some high expectations, especially coming up two years after marks-magnet Steve. “He’s a great guy but he was a hard guy to follow,” Jeff says. “You’re given every opportunity to do things well, because that’s the expectation when you follow him, especially in the classroom or on stage.” But Jeff was a very different Paikin. He remembers, for a tribute to a retiring

“In some ways, it’s a selfish thing, because helping others makes you feel really good about yourself.”

SPRING 2021

The Steve and Jeff Show They fought a lot growing up, and they still match wits Ask the Paikin brothers by email about interviews, and this is what you get: Jeff: Happy to have Steve included in this…it always makes me look good when being compared Steve: Happy to slander my brother any time. And Steve again: As much as I’d like to, I don’t have an hour. And my brother’s not worth it anyway. For nearly 60 years, two of HSC’s most prominent graduates have been having fun sparring. By their own accounts, they followed quite different paths at the school—Steve the brain and stage performer, Jeff the sportsman and personality—but it was after school that they literally sparred.

teacher, pulling out his Grade 2 report card. “I could not believe what I was reading. She was quite frank and straightforward with the comments,” he laughs. “Like, if he ever applied himself, he might get better marks, or, he should settle and sit still—the kind of things that are probably too true and maybe not said enough today. I always felt like there was something more interesting to do than sit and do homework—like, go play road hockey with my buddies.” And it was in sport that, as Jeff says, “I found my niche.” The basketball team was on the rise as the hockey team faded, and Jeff plunged in. Then, in Grade 12, he overcame his father’s objections to football, as long as he was simply the kicker. And boy, did he kick. In a crucial Grade 13 game against rival St. Andrew’s, he kicked three punts of over 80 yards each, which effectively decided the game for HSC, a thrilling upset. That was also the year he was elected Head Boy by his peers, thanks to his popularity. “That was bar-none the greatest year of my life for so many reasons,” Jeff says. “Fantastic memories and a really, really great experience.” The St. Andrew’s game was a big part of that. “And then, of course, you get to go to the headmaster’s office when you’re not in trouble, which was a new experience. Because I’d been there before, just not for these reasons.” He draws a veil over what got him there in earlier times. It was also the year he attended a Hamilton Tiger-Cats evaluation session for high school football players. After finally getting a chance to kick a couple of long field goals, he was approached by a coach from Mount Allison University in Sackville, N.B., who needed a good kicker. Jeff, excited to be recruited, checked out the college and found it had a good 20

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Steve: “We lived together from 1962 to 1978, and I’m telling you, the town was not big enough for the both of us. We had a very loving but violent relationship. We were extremely competitive with each other. We fought, physically, pretty much every day.” “Pretty much every day,” agrees Jeff. “He would be doing his homework and I would be feeling attention-deprived, because I didn’t have the ability to sit at a desk at home after sitting at my desk all day at school, so I would go to bother him. And he would punch me. So that would be my way to get him to pay attention.” But both men remember, pretty much the same way, how that ended once Steve was in university and Jeff, in late high school, was getting a lot bigger. Jeff: “He came home and we actually had a fight—like, a fight-fight—and I think we realized somebody is going to get hurt. So we came to the realization that the party’s over and if we’re gonna fight, we’re gonna yell at each other.” Steve: “When I stopped growing but he kept growing, I had the good sense to understand that it was time to have a less violent, more nurturing relationship with him.” The nurturing has continued, but so has the verbal jousting. Jeff remembers that his university buddy and now CBC News star Ian Hanomansing came to his wedding. “So Steve was the second-best newsman there.” Or noting that Steve broadcasts on government-owned TVO: “As long as you and I keep paying taxes, he gets to work.” For his part, Steve discloses that one of the reasons Jeff was sent to the headmaster’s office was because at lunchtime he wrote bad words on a little wooden ice-cream spoon, targeting another student. “I think he got a bit of a tongue-lashing there.” But he concedes that when their dad took them, as young adults, to softball on the weekend, Jeff is not wrong when he says: “Steve would have his copy of The Economist to read on the bench between innings to keep up on things, and I just thought, You know what? I’d rather be spitting sunflower seeds and talking to the boys.” Give Steve the final word: “It’s interesting how that’s a metaphor in some ways for our respective careers. He was back-slapping and socializing with all our teammates. And I had my nose in The Economist magazine, reading up for future interviews and stuff I’d need to know for my job. And it’s funny how he’s gone into a line of work where people skills are hugely important. And my line of work is more about research and studying facts and all of that. That had not occurred to me before but it’s true.” — Berton Woodward

business school. He went, emerging after “a great four years” with a B.Comm in marketing—but not before getting into the record books. In his freshman year, he was listed as third in the country for his punting average. He is still No. 21 on the Atlantic University Sport all-time list for career punting yards. After university, he joined his father’s company, but when Ennisteel Corp., the larger group involved, decided to go public, Jeff peeled away and started a house-building firm. He also did a stint in Los Angeles, where his new wife Andrea Tkaczyk was studying for a master’s in nursing, and then returned to start New Horizon in 1993. He had learned a lot about structures in the reinforcing steel industry and was eager to get into all aspects. “I was going into these developers’ offices where they were starting with a flat piece of dirt and ending up with a big built building. That excited me a lot.” He soon teamed up with developer Joe Giacomodonato as his partner, and the two have been together for almost 25 years—long enough for Jeff to insist that Joe put his three kids through HSC. That’s Rachel ’13, Holly ’15 and Josh ’18 along with Jeff’s trio—Natasha ’13, Alexa ’15 and Sasha ’17. Jeff jokes that the two of them had to find business fast to keep all their kids in school. Natasha now works with him managing the company’s marketing. New Horizon has built single family homes, townhouses, condominiums and commercial spaces over the years, but Jeff says the market is changing. His company largely builds condos now, because it’s so hard to assemble land for Jeff in 2014 with daughters (left to right) Natasha ’13, Sasha ’17 and Alexa ’15

new single-family homes. “When I started, that was 90 per cent of what you could buy, maybe 95. Today, it’s probably 25 per cent. It’s a different world.” His buildings are also notable for the geothermal heating and cooling system under many of them. Known as geoexchange technology, it’s better for the environment and cheaper for the homeowner, but more expensive to install. Solar panels are also starting to sprout atop his buildings. Why does he go to the extra expense in a highly competitive industry? “For the same reason that I bought a hybrid car, and then I bought a Tesla— because my kids started teaching me every day to be better about this stuff. It’s going to be their world, and it’s our responsibility to maintain it in a way that’s worth giving over to them. It’s not all about the dough every time you do something.” He has a similar response on whether his community work is good for business. “Quite frankly, if the house or the condo I built is priced right, in the right location, nobody cares if I sat on the hospital board or if I was the chair of HSC—they’re going to buy the house. There are careers where that is an important part, and thank goodness it is, because it helps communities find volunteers. But zero per cent of my motivation was for my own career.” In fact, he is very down to earth about his desire to support HSC. “For starters, it taught me right from wrong. It’s a simple thing to say, but it’s the most valuable lesson anybody can ever learn in their life. And a lot of where I think I learned”—he’s chuckling now—“was on some of those trips to the headmaster’s office. Now, a great majority of the time, I think I choose right. You learn to be a good teammate, to win and lose. You’re learning to be part of something that’s bigger than you and yet know you have to make your contribution to the best of your ability.” He remembers taking his wife to the school one summer to see whether it would suit first-born Natasha. They ran into a former teacher and coach of Jeff’s, hung out with him for a while, and by the end, Andrea said, “I don’t care if we have to mortgage the house— we’re sending our kids here.” The moment touched him, Jeff says. “It’s a really great way to remind yourself how lucky we’ve been to be part of this phenomenal community. It’s just something I’ll cherish forever and ever.” These days, the school has every reason to cherish Jeff Paikin. SPRING 2021

22 | HSC REVIEW

Infectious diseases specialist Dr. Shilpa Jain ’06 has always been a 100-per-center, but you won’t hear it from her. By Patricia Hluchy

SPRING 2020 | 23

I INFECTIOUS DISEASES SPECIALIST DR. SHILPA JAIN ’06 IS THE SORT OF HIGH ACHIEVER WHO NEVER GLORIES IN HER ACHIEVEMENTS. So says Ora

Morison ’06, who has been a best friend since they were in Grade 2 at HSC’s Montessori School and assigned to collaborate on a poem about protozoa (sample lines: “They can live in your body and that’s where they split,/A place they live is in your spit”). “At school, friends would joke that Shilpa’s report card listed a long line of 100 per cent, 100 per cent, 100 per cent, next to each course,” recalls Ora, a Toronto lawyer. “And it was true! I think Shilpa somehow scored even higher than 100 per cent in a course when she got a bonus question right on an exam. However, none of this ever got to her head. She is humble and down-to-earth and still much more likely to ask you about yourself than to talk about herself.” Shilpa started at HSC at age two-and-a-half, racking up numerous awards over the years, including the prize for Grade 12 chemistry and a Governor General’s Academic Medal. And after serving as a prefect she was chosen to be Head Girl in her final year. Another best friend from HSC days, Yasemin Diamante ’06, says she and Ora have urged Shilpa to “brag more about herself, at least to her closest friends. We didn’t hear about awards she’d won as a student and a doctor until years later, when her parents mentioned them. And she’s the type of person who will tell you that she works ‘at the hospital’ or ‘in medicine’ rather than proclaiming that she’s a doctor.” A native of Hamilton now based in Toronto, Shilpa has been a physician at Mississauga’s Trillium Health Partners since April 2020. And the excellent academics at HSC did play a role in her settling on medicine as a career. 24

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“I felt that all my teachers were real people, very down to earth, and I definitely had support and encouragement,” says Shilpa, the daughter of an engineer father and dietician mother who immigrated to Canada from India in the 1970s. “It was easy for me to go down the science path. There was no lack of resources, and they would offer advance classes, though there was no pressure to take them. I took advanced-placement chemistry.” Shilpa is thankful for the opportunity HSC provided her to participate in a variety of non-academic activities, such as field hockey, rowing, acting in the school play, band and Model UN. But what she values most are the friendships she established there. Her pals say uncommon generosity is probably Shilpa’s most outstanding character trait. “I know she decided to become a doctor because she truly is a kind-hearted person who genuinely enjoys helping others,” says Ora. Observes Yasemin: “Shilpa is the type of person who often tends to put her love and care for others above herself.” Shilpa had considered other career possibilities until she realized, she says, that “I really wanted that one-on-one patient care aspect, and that’s what I love about my job. It can obviously be challenging for many reasons but there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing. It really comes down to being able to have that sort of impact with a patient—to see things through from start to finish and hopefully be a source of comfort to them.” After getting her bachelor’s degree in medical sciences at Western University, Shilpa studied medicine at McMaster. She has also been a post-graduate resident in internal medicine, and then a post-graduate fellow in infectious diseases and transplant infectious diseases at various other Canadian universities. In her current job, many of her patients are immunocompromised because they have undergone organ transplants, suffer from cancer, or take medication for conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease that can suppress the body’s immune system.

“I really wanted that one-on-one patient care aspect, and that’s what I love about my job. It can obviously be challenging for many reasons but there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing.”

Photo submitted by Shilpa Jain

In recent months she has also attended to people with COVID-19 because of the emergence of treatments that can help some of the virus’s victims. One is the steroid dexamethasone, which can dampen the inflammatory response to the virus in some patients. The other is the antiviral remdesivir, which may help COVID-19 sufferers who are on smaller amounts of oxygen (Donald Trump was given the drug). Is it nerve-wracking to be in contact with COVID-19 patients? “We’re in full personal protective equipment when we treat them so I feel relatively safe that way,” Shilpa says. “And almost, in an ironic way, you feel safer with them versus all the other patients who may have it but you don’t know. There’s a lot of exposure to other patients where you’re wearing a mask all the time but not always full PPE. The feeling at the hospital, or at least for myself, is that this has become a normal part of our life now, and I don’t tend to think about my own personal risk day-to-day anymore.” What Shilpa does feel strongly about is compassion for her patients and their families in these coronavirus times, with restrictive visitor policies. “It’s given me some real perspective in terms of how fortunate I am to be able to go to work every day, and to be healthy. One of the most difficult parts about working during the pandemic has been watching patients go through whatever illness they’re going through without being able to have their family members there with them.” Shilpa’s concern for the wellbeing of others extends to doctors-in-training. When she was a post-grad resident in the internal medicine program at Western’s Schulich School of Medicine, it struck her that residency is a “time of high burnout,” she says. “It can be really easy not to prioritize your physical and mental health, and I was noticing that in myself as well as in speaking with some of my classmates.” As a result, and with the support of her program, Shilpa created a committee for resident wellness that still exists. In recognition, Western in 2017 created the annual Shilpa Jain Resident Wellness Award to honour a post-grad resident who shows leadership in promoting wellbeing among his or her peers.

Shilpa has also contributed to several research projects, but never as the team lead, and she would eventually like to oversee her own infectious disease studies. To that end, she is working on an executive master’s of public health at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, for which she won a merit scholarship, and which she hopes to complete by August or September this year. “The thing about infectious disease even in the nonimmunocompromised host,” she says, “is that there are still so many questions and a lot of things I’m curious about.” Shilpa is doing her master’s thesis on a bacterium called Nocardia which sometimes causes infection in solid organ transplant patients. She is reviewing the charts of patients at Emory Healthcare in an attempt to determine what the risk factors are for getting the infection. In her free moments, Shilpa spends time with her husband, neuro-ophthalmologist Rahul Sharma, and with family and friends. “Although she lived in Ottawa and Atlanta over the past few years, it was rare for Shilpa to miss her friends’ and family members’ major milestones,” says Yasemin. “She was always willing to fly home for the birthdays of her nieces and nephews or her friends’ children.” But she would never, of course, draw attention to it. SPRING 2021

THE FILM MAVERICK

Matt Holton ’04 loved doing things for a laugh at HSC. Now he’s a successful ad man and budding film producer. By Bruce McDougall

SPRING 2021

Before COVID-19 shut down public gatherings throughout the world, Underplayed was accepted by film festivals South by Southwest, in Austin, Texas, and Tribeca, in New York City. Then, in a year when TIFF reduced the number of films on its schedule to 50 from its customary 350, festival organizers selected Underplayed as its closing production. The movie was screened at a drive-in facility for 1,000 people at Ontario Place, followed by a live performance set with Rezz. As Matt and his team now negotiate with a major studio to acquire and distribute the film throughout the world, he gives credit to HSC for helping him to harness the passion that drives him to this day. “HSC provided the tools to identify my strengths and weaknesses,” says Matt, who entered the school in junior kindergarten. “I really struggled at math, for example, but the staff realized that there were other things I was good at and felt passionately about. Passion is a key ingredient to success. It keeps you re-inventing yourself.” Friendships mattered as much as academics for Matt, especially when he entered high school. In Birch House, he met Scott Metherell ’04, who became Head Boy in his final year and remains a close friend more than 15 years later, “I was Mister Follow the Rules,” says Scott. “He was Mister Skirt the Rules.” Attracted to a girl in their class named Brittney McCarter ’04, Matt admits he “stole” her car and parked it in the school apple orchard, “just to get her to notice me and embarrass her in class.” The plan worked. Eight years later, they were married.

W WHEN A MOVIE CALLED UNDERPLAYED MADE ITS WORLD PREMIERE LAST SEPTEMBER AT THE TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, it marked another

step for Matt Holton ’04 along a 20-year path that began with a handheld camera in the hallways of Hillfield Strathallan College. Selected as the closing film in TIFF’s 2020 program, Underplayed explores the struggles of female DJs to assume a more prominent role in the male-dominated industry of electronic dance music. “When we interviewed DJs for other projects, we heard about sexism in the industry and the struggles that women went through to get heard,” says Matt, group business head at Anomaly, a leading ad agency in Toronto. Among Billboard’s top 100 DJs in 2019, he adds, only five were women. When Matt and his collaborators at Anomaly pitched the idea of a film to their client, Bud Light, the company agreed to produce it. Matt then attracted executive producers Taj Critchlow and Julien Christian Lutz, who works under the name Director X and whose credits include music videos by performers like Drake, Jay-Z, Kanye West and Rihanna. With director Stacey Lee, Matt travelled the world to interview DJs like Alison Wonderland, Tokimonsta, Rezz and Australian twin-sister duo Nervo. They also interviewed Mark Ronson, a BritishAmerican musician, DJ, songwriter and record producer who has collaborated with artists such as Amy Winehouse, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars. “After the first cut, l realized we had something pretty special,” says Matt. 28

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Stills from Matt’s film, Underplayed

Some of Matt’s work done with client Budweiser

“When he was in school, you knew he’d rather be outside,” says Scott. “But he also made people laugh. If Matt was in the class, the teacher would say, not this guy again.” With two other friends, Matt and Scott shot a short video of a chase scene for their Communications Technology class. Matt and two others dressed in work clothes borrowed from the janitorial staff and chased Scott through the school halls and onto the roof. When their film was screened before an audience of parents and students, “people laughed,” says Scott. “They liked it.” Matt found particular inspiration in a class conducted by Jeremy Johnston on Writer’s Craft. Scott remembers the last line of a poem that Matt wrote in the class: “Check my shoes. They’ll be improper.” “He was never proper,” Scott says. “When everyone was supposed to wear regular black shoes with his uniform, Matt would be wearing black Nikes.” After graduating in 2004, Matt and Scott spent a year in Whistler, B.C. “I deferred my acceptance to Queen’s,” says Scott. “Matt applied to university from Whistler, which was pretty impressive. A lot of people go out west and decide never to come back.” Back in Ontario, Matt and Brittney began a more serious relationship. “Everything just fell into place,” he says, “and we realized we should have figured this out a lot sooner.” After studying communications and mass media at Brock University, Matt landed a job through a friend of his father with Air Whistle Media in Burlington, but went back to school a year later to study advertising account management at Centennial College. “That gave me a boot in the bum to get a job with an agency,” he says.

Married now to Brittney, Matt worked for two years in Toronto for Grip Limited, where his clients included Budweiser. When the beer company moved its account in 2012 to Anomaly, a global agency with offices in Europe, Asia and the U.S., but a new presence in Toronto, Matt moved with them. “In fact, Budweiser was their only account,” he says. “It was a pretty big jump. They interviewed me at the Thompson Hotel, because the company had no office space yet.” On his first day with Anomaly, Matt was one of about 10 employees in the office, which occupied half a floor of a building at Spadina Avenue and King Street, and the only one with an understanding of the beer industry. “We used to put our coats over the chairs to make it look like more people worked there,” he says. Anomaly now employs 170 people on three floors of the building, and Budweiser has become the leading beer brand in Canada. Along the way, Matt was involved in rebranding the concert venue at Ontario Place, on Toronto’s waterfront, as Budweiser Stage. Rejuvenating the facility “took a ton of effort,” he says, and contributions from stylish partners such as Weber’s burgers and the Drake Hotel. Matt and Brittney moved back to Hamilton six years ago, where they now live with their two children, Hendrix, two, and Finley, four. In 2020 they enrolled Fin in junior kindergarten at HSC, where she will become the fourth generation of Holtons to attend. “My grandfather, Charles C. Holton, started at Strathallan in the one year when the school admitted boys, before converting back to an all-girls school,” says Matt. Charles then joined the family business, National Paper Goods, in downtown Hamilton. “His son, my uncle, went to HSC as well, although my dad went to Nelson in Burlington. And Brittney went to HSC for high school, so the school’s close to our hearts.” Thanks in part to a nudge from HSC, Matt says he works at “my dream job, at the intersection of popular culture and commerce. Every day is different. One day, I’m helping to launch a beer brand, the next day I’m securing the services of some tier-one musicians and on the third day I’m working on packaging design. I can be creative, but I also understand the business model of Fortune 500 companies. “And it all began at HSC. It was my years there that helped me to get a job in this crazy industry.” SPRING 2021

From my vantage boudoir point of West of Centre — or Left of Centre — or Right of Centre — depending if you politically gaze on or out or in at I watch the continual movement, surge ebb and flow of urban, suburban, rural humanity course along the young blood of this my Canadian civilization

Imme In Ar My own beating heart heaves harmoniously alternating panic with patience adjusting to nuances of mechanic and organic insurgence I peel a plumb purple grape plucked from the cluster bounty of my small garden and pop its full bodied ripeness into my mouth, then after crave that mysterious envelope of skin

HSC REVIEW

This shocking discovery

Margaret Lindsay Holton ’74 creates vivid works in virtually every medium, from painting, prose and poetry to film, furniture and fonts. By Diane Jermyn Images courtesy of Margaret Lindsay Holton

ersed t SPRING 2021 | 31

THE NIAGARA REGION HAS ITS OWN RENAISSANCE WOMAN IN MARGARET LINDSAY HOLTON ’74. Author,

poet, painter, photographer, documentary and dramatic narrative filmmaker—she slips easily from one medium to another, finding her voice in a lifetime of artistic ventures. She has never liked to be bored. “Sometimes the painting is stronger, or the photography is stronger, or the writing is stronger,” says Lindsay. “The pursuits I adore are a tricky business to sustain you, so that’s partly why I bounce around a bit and create quite a mélange of different things. It’s the best way to keep myself afloat.” Known for her “naive-surreal-folkabstract” style in oil or acrylic—a moniker an art critic bestowed upon her while regarding one of her large butterfly works—Lindsay has been painting for 40 years now, participating in over 100 exhibitions in Canada, the United States and Europe. Much of her work focuses on nature and environmental themes, as featured in her book, CANADADA: A Painter’s Nature, published by her own artist’s press, Acorn Press Canada, in 2011. Lindsay is also an exhibited pinhole and photo-collage photographer, using found cardboard boxes and tins to make her own pinhole cameras. While she never formally took art or art history—she would have considered that a luxury while studying English literature and philosophy at the University of Toronto—she has always been fascinated by colours and lines. Additionally, she is the designer of a typeface, the Lindsay font, still in use for the multi-awarded board game, Carcassonne. 32

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“My dad was a furniture maker in Hamilton later in his life and my mother was a water colourist, so those very strong influences inform how I perceive the world,” she says. “My own painting style evolved as a kind of balance to the rigour of furniture design.” Indeed, Lindsay’s accomplishments encompass fine furniture design, including curio boxes and display cabinets at the Royal Ontario Museum. Following a string of jobs in publishing and the film industry, she began apprenticing with her father, the late Luther Janna Holton. She eventually started her own Toronto-based design company, MLH Productions, in 1978, which she ran for 14 years. Painting became her way to relax. “It’s a very different type of discipline,” she explains. “It was exciting to pick up a brush and just paint with verve and vigour, and not have to be constrained by the ruler.” Looking back at her body of work, Lindsay muses that she always comes back to writing. She has authored three novels in addition to numerous books of poetry, prose, social history and photography. Her output also includes over 40 short documentary films and a dramatic narrative short film, The Frozen Goose, based on her own short story set at the end of the First World War. She scripted and directed the film herself, producing it on a tight budget of just over $10,000. Shot in Burlington, Milton and Westfield Heritage Village, it debuted at the Art Gallery of Burlington in 2016. “The writing underscores everything, because of how the mind works,” says Lindsay. “It’s a journey of developing, nurturing, exploring and expanding my own mind. My first big step was a novel that I wrote while working as an English tutor in Spain, which was published in 1985 under a pen name, and then I waited 15 years before my next work, called The Gilded Beaver. “When I was writing my third novel, Trillium, I suddenly felt I had the time to devote to a larger written work. The painting went to the back burner.”

Note: Margaret Lindsay Holton is not related to Matt Holton in the previous story

Trillium, a family-centric historical novel published in 2018, will be of particular interest to Hillfield Strathallan College and Hamilton-area people, as it is set in Niagara wine country. It recently became available as an audiobook on iTunes. “The story revolves around three very different families whose lives become interwoven through various alliances, unfolding over nearly 250 years from 1756 to 2001,” Lindsay explains. “The connection to Hillfield Strathallan is that in the latter part of the story, the Hartfords, who own a peach farm, have two daughters who are sent to private school in Hamilton, which is really a calling card to HSC. I just drew on my own experiences there, remembering how it was during the 1960s and 70s.” Lindsay loved her own years at HSC, which she attended from grades one through eight, initially when it was Strathallan girls’ school located in downtown Hamilton. Her father and two brothers are HSC alumni, and various uncles and aunts, plus a niece and nephew, have been students as well. She remembers Strathallan as very small at that time, and how huge the open campus and playing fields seemed when it amalgamated with Hillfield up on the Mountain. Some of her fondest memories are when the school put on annual plays. “I had a wonderful role as the crocodile in Peter Pan,” Lindsay recalls. “My big stage debut was to shout ‘Tick tock!’ at the top of my lungs. I have so many fun memories of HSC. “It was a very formative time and I loved everything about it—the uniform, the girls, mingling with the boys on the bus because it was only girls in the classroom. We all got to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses really well as we went forward together every year as a class. Sixty-odd years later, I’m still in touch with a large number of them.” In retrospect, Lindsay most appreciates the school’s intent to create wellrounded individuals, by encouraging them as girls to apply reason, logic and rhetoric to the language of life, to express and state their minds. Another strong point was the outstanding sports indoctrination that developed a healthy respect for competition. “There were winners and losers but we all got along,” she says. “I played right wing in field hockey and I liked playing that position a great deal.

“We’d get quite raucous out there—girls running around up and down the field whacking sticks at each other. But it was the game and it was fun. In that kind of competitive team sport, you develop a relationship with the other girls where you rely on each other and act as a team. It’s good training for just moving ahead in the world.” The roots of Lindsay’s influences go back even further. Born at St. Joseph’s hospital in Hamilton in 1955, she grew up on a small rural sheep farm, more of a hobby farm since her dad was in business in Hamilton. She adored her parents, recalling her dad as a sterling example of a man and her mom as a fantastic storyteller. Her mom still lives on the farm. “Since childhood I had access to the outdoor world with lots of space, which imprinted itself very profoundly,” says Lindsay. “I was lucky to have been brought up in a house where storytelling was part of our daily gathering and that there were always stories to tell, usually about incidences on the farm or within the family. We shared stories, we ate together. It’s just part of my upbringing.” As an artist, she recognizes that it’s very difficult to make your way solely as a writer or painter, especially within Canada. “My words of recommendation for anyone wanting to pursue an art career coming out of school is just know that it’s not an easy life,” she says. “You have to do it because you love it. There can be no other reason.” And Lindsay loves it. SPRING 2021

A VENTURE CAPITAL CHAMPION Amanda Robson ’10 is helping to change the game for Silicon Valley tech investment firms. By Alex Berry

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WHEN COWBOY VENTURES APPROACHED AMANDA ROBSON ’10 TO JOIN THEIR PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA-BASED VENTURE CAPITAL FIRM, the first thing recruiters asked her was

whether or not she was a team player. “They were looking for someone who cared more about the team’s success than their own,” she recalls. “That’s what drew me in.” Today, Amanda’s work as an early-stage investor for Cowboy has landed her a spot on Forbes’ 2021 list of Top 30 Under 30 for Venture Capital— an achievement she humbly credits to the strength of her team. Since starting her career in tech investing in 2016, Amanda has been at the helm of a range of milestone deals, including backing 6 River Systems, a robotics company that was acquired by Ottawa-based Shopify for $450 million in 2019. “I had no idea I’d end up in venture,” Amanda admits. After graduating from the Ivey School of Business Honours Business Administration program at Western University, she took a job in banking in Toronto. “I realized early on that I wanted to be in the tech ecosystem and that most of the big tech-focused banks were based in California,” she says. So she took a leap of faith and moved west after being hired off of a cold call. “I found out much later that the man who championed me at that firm was Canadian, funnily enough. He recognized the need for more female representation at the firm so he helped give me a shot.”

Despite what many may perceive about the tech world, Amanda speaks passionately about a changing tide in her field. As she sees it, the culture shift away from a boys’ club is in part thanks to her boss Aileen Lee. Noted as one of the first females to raise her own fund, Lee is listed on Forbes’ 2020 list of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women alongside U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris and New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern. In addition to being the founder of Cowboy Ventures, Lee started All Raise, an organization dedicated to providing female founders and funders with access, guidance and support to accelerate their careers and move the industry forward. “She’s done more for women and minorities in our industry than anyone,” says Amanda. “If you looked at most venture capital funds prior to the formation of All Raise, many didn’t have a single female investor or partner, and now most of them do.” Amanda currently co-leads All Raise’s VC Champions program, an initiative that pairs aspiring female as well as under-represented male up-and-coming investors with top senior partners in the industry for mentorship. The program helps to welcome them into networks they may otherwise not have access to. “Our goal is to give them the same advantages that male, and predominantly white, investors have had for so long,” she says. Amanda believes venture capital is the ideal host for diverse perspectives. “Our industry relies on having a unique view on how the world will function in the future,” she explains. “Having people from diverse backgrounds with a mix of life experiences helps us better understand nuances in different markets and identify innovative products that feed future demand. I feel so lucky to be part of a team that spends a lot of time and effort moving the needle on diversity for the entire industry.” SPRING 2021

T And how much of her role requires technical expertise? Amanda makes a clear distinction between investing in technology and creating it: “In my opinion, investors don’t need to know how to build the product. Rather we need to assess signals from the market and know where there are potential gaps and assess who is best equipped to fill them.” Sometimes, she notes, peers with an engineering background can rely too much on their own experience and make the mistake of deferring to only what they know about tech development—which is often outdated or limited. “Technology moves so quickly,” she says. “If I became an expert in school or at work on the latest architectures, my knowledge would quickly become outdated.” Instead, she tries to constantly evolve her knowledge and develop frameworks that can assess new technology. “I’ve also thought a lot about how valuable my education at HSC has been to my career,” says Amanda. She points to the unique skill set required to work in venture. “My job is very unstructured and in order to be successful you have to be proactive in figuring out how to do things on your own.” Going through HSC’s Montessori School, Amanda learned to think quickly and find ways to adapt to challenges independently. It helps, too, that she’s always had a mind for math and finance. “There were definitely social pressures to not like math or be good at it, but Mr. Moore made math cool,” she says, remembering posters in Michael Moore’s classroom that showed images of people who found career success because of math. Amanda talks about the other edge that HSC gave her. “When I was a student, HSC added a finance class to the Senior School which gave me exposure to concepts that I later realized many of my classmates at Ivey didn’t know. It gave me a bit of a leg up.” 36

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“WHEN I WAS A STUDENT, HSC ADDED A FINANCE CLASS TO THE SENIOR SCHOOL WHICH GAVE ME EXPOSURE TO CONCEPTS THAT I LATER REALIZED MANY OF MY CLASSMATES AT IVEY DIDN’T KNOW. IT GAVE ME A BIT OF A LEG UP.” Regardless of her educational experience, it’s evident that Amanda knows what she’s talking about when it comes to emerging software. Recently, she launched The Open Source Software Startup Podcast with ex-technical founder turned angel investor Timothy Chen. In it, they interview opensource community leaders and founders from a range of companies digging into topics that will help others who want to start companies using freely available computer code. “We started the podcast because we realized there are a lot of really early stage founders who want to use open-source software for their company but have a lot of open questions about how to do it properly,” Amanda explains in the first episode. Open-source companies and products are said to embrace and celebrate principles of open exchange, collaborative participation, rapid prototyping, transparency, meritocracy and community-oriented development. The phrase “the open source way” covers both the business strategy as well as the technical route for building software. Some might say it’s an apt descriptor for Amanda’s own approach to investing. Take a quick scroll through her Twitter feed and you’ll see just how important networking and cross-collaboration are to her. There’s no doubt that Amanda is a true team player.

THE OTHER

TRAGIC

PANDEMIC During the final stage of the First World War, three military men associated with Highfield school fell to the deadly global virus then known as the Spanish Flu. This is what we know about them. By Douglas Harrison ’78

SPRING 2021

The original school that became Hillfield Strathallan College was the boys’ school known as Highfield, founded in 1901 and located at the foot of the Mountain between Bay Street South and Ravenscliffe Avenue. The First World War broke out only 13 years after its founding, and many recent graduates of Highfield joined up. Towards the end of the war, a deadly influenza pandemic began spreading across the world. It was dubbed the Spanish Flu because, due to wartime censorship, its terrible toll was only openly reported from neutral Spain, where the king was a sufferer. In fact, the virus was detected early on in the United States, Britain, France and Germany, and its true source has never been definitively established. It is now referred to by health and academic institutions as the 1918 flu pandemic. Here, Douglas Harrison ’78, a Toronto-based lawyer, commercial arbitrator and mediator, draws on a range of official sources to tell the story of three men associated with Highfield who tragically fell to a virus estimated to have taken as many as 50 million lives worldwide. 38

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Geoffrey LynchStaunton

Charles Gwyn

Victor Gordon Tupper

THE REMEMBRANCE DAY SERVICE AT HSC INCLUDES A RECITATION OF THE NAMES OF THE HIGHFIELD OLD BOYS WHO DIED IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR. Many died in battle,

like 2nd Lt. Geoffrey Lynch-Staunton in a cavalry charge near Basra in Mesopotamia (now Iraq) in March 1917, or like Maj. Charles Gwyn and Capt. Victor Gordon Tupper at Vimy Ridge in France one month later. Some were shot down or drowned at sea. Many died of wounds in military hospitals in France and Belgium. As we deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is interesting to note that three of the school’s First World War dead succumbed to the virulent flu pandemic that ravaged the world from 1918 to 1920. They were Duncan MacDougall, George Victor Robinson and Charles Sparling. All three died in Canada during a single week in October 1918. Duncan MacDougall was born in May 1894 and attended Highfield from 1903 to 1906 and again in 1907-08. He was the son of Maj.-Gen. James C. MacDougall, a veteran of the Boer War in South Africa, who had commanded the Canadian Training Division in France in the First World War and also served as the assistant adjutant-general of the Canadian Corps in Ottawa.

Charles Sparling

The grave of Duncan MacDougall

The Robinsons’ home

The grave of George Victor Robinson

After leaving school, Duncan studied art in Paris for a number of years. On October 4, 1918, he enlisted in Ottawa as a signaller with the Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force, which was heading to Vladivostok to help the White Russians with their fight against the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War. Duncan, however, never reached Siberia. On October 12, he became sick. Five days later, on October 17, less than two weeks after he enlisted, he died of a combination of flu and pneumonia at age 24. He is buried in St. James Anglican Cemetery in Gatineau, Quebec. HSC alumni and parents of a certain age will remember Robinson’s department store, which stood next to the CIBC building on James Street South facing Gore Park in downtown Hamilton. That store was founded by G.W. Robinson in 1899 and his son was George Victor, known as Victor. Born in April 1894, Victor attended Highfield from 1904 to 1910. The family lived in an elegant red brick home at the southwest corner of Ravenscliffe Avenue and Aberdeen Avenue in Hamilton. His younger sister Kathleen, known as Kitty, married Robert McBride of the Ross & McBride law firm. Victor was married to Nellie, from New Bedford, Massachusetts. When he enlisted with the Canadian Army in June 1918, he listed his occupation as advertising manager. He was assigned to the Signal Corps. On October 19, 1918, two days after Duncan MacDougall died, 24-yearold Victor Robinson died of the flu at his parents’ home while on leave from training at Camp Petawawa. He is buried in the Hamilton Cemetery, on York Street across from Dundurn Castle. Unusually, he is commemorated three times—on the family gravestone, on a small cross beside it, and on a Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone beside the cross. Lastly, Charles Sparling was born in 1881 and grew up in Toronto. He did not attend Highfield as a student. He went to Upper Canada College, and then to Trinity College at the University of Toronto. He became an ordained minister of the Anglican Church of Canada, and was the minister at St. Mark’s Anglican, on Bay Street South in Hamilton, opposite Central Public School. He was married to Mary Elizabeth MacPeak and they lived at 292 Bay Street South, between Markland Street and Herkimer Street.

During the school year of 1917-18, Charles was a visiting master at Highfield. According to The Highfield Review, he had a happy, cheerful disposition and was very popular with the students. In May 1918, he enlisted and became an army chaplain and honorary captain. The school gave him a “hearty sendoff, with a handsome present to remind him of their love.” He served with the Canadian Army Chaplain Service, based first at Barriefield Camp and then at Petawawa. In October 1918, he was stationed at Camp Niagara, a training facility at Niagara-onthe-Lake. Among his duties was attending to soldiers who had become ill with flu. Not surprisingly, Charles himself became infected. On October 26, 1918, at age 37, he died from it and is also buried in the Hamilton Cemetery. The war itself ended shortly afterward, on November 11, 1918, and until recently that pandemic was largely forgotten. If you are a rabid hockey fan, you might have known that the Stanley Cup was not awarded in 1919 after members of that year’s two competing teams, the Montreal Canadiens and the Seattle Metropolitans, became ill with the flu. Now, because we ourselves are facing a similar medical emergency, the 1918 pandemic is back in our consciousness. It is worth recalling that it touched our school community as we remember three who gave their lives in the First World War. SPRING 2021

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In Service of Others For retired officer and military lawyer Christopher Waters ’72, the journey to higher learning started in the trenches WHILE MANY ALUMNI SAY THEY GREW UP AT HSC, retired lieutenant-

colonel Christopher (Chris) Waters ’72 actually did. “I grew up behind the boiler room at the original Hillfield School campus in Westdale,” he says. Chris’s father, Stuart Waters, came to Canada from England with his wife Helen in 1954 to take a teaching position at Hillfield School. At that time, Hillfield offered on-campus accommodations, with cottages for faculty and their families and a house for the Headmaster. One might imagine that having a teacher for a father and your home on school property would inspire a passion for learning, but Chris admits that was not quite the case. “I had difficulty in school,” he recalls. “I wasn’t a particularly good student and I wasn’t very interested in learning at the time.” After leaving Hillfield, Chris joined the Canadian Armed Forces and found he was well suited for service. He credits his time at the school for preparing him for a rewarding career in the military. He recalls being able to use his Latin studies to quickly pick up new languages during deployments around the world and adds, “I never had a problem wearing a uniform everyday— it’s something I’ve done since I was in kindergarten.” Initially trained and employed as a reconnaissance patrolman, Chris participated in exercises and operations across Canada and in Australia, Norway, Germany and Cyprus. While the job fuelled his love of travel, he was less enthusiastic about having to “dig trenches in the rain and camp outside in the winter.” He describes his early years in the military as being an education of sorts. “I was earning a more informal, but equally valuable, education.” In his first 28 years in the Forces, Chris rose through the ranks to become an officer and was employed as an armoured reconnaissance troop leader, an armoured squadron commander and a higher headquarters senior staff officer.

Alumni Award of Distinction The HSC Alumni Award of Distinction Program celebrates the achievements of alumni in our community who have lived the aspirations of the Hillfield Strathallan College vision and developed into global citizens who have in effect bettered the world around them.

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Photo by Paul Sansderson

“There is no straightforward path. Some people, like myself, do better when they go to school later in life. There is a lot of learning that can happen outside the walls of a school.” It wasn’t until he was in his thirties that Chris found his way back to school. “I sat as a member of a court martial in Germany in the 1980s and that was an eye-opening moment for me,” he says. The injustices and abuse he witnessed during his deployments motivated him to pursue a law degree, first earning a BA in economics and political science from the University of Manitoba and then his MBA and LLB from the University of New Brunswick. After finishing law school, Chris joined the Office of the Judge Advocate General as a military lawyer. In this role, he was deployed twice in Afghanistan as the senior legal adviser to the commander of the Canadian contribution to the International Security and Assistance Force, first in Kabul

Christopher Waters ’72

(2005) and then Kandahar (2009-2010). He is one of HSC’s highest ranking alumni and the only graduate since the Second World War to serve with the Canadian Forces in a zone of conflict. Since retiring from the military in 2014, he has earned his PhD from Queen’s University where today he continues a teaching career as an adjunct lecturer in law. What wisdom can he offer graduating HSC students? Chris reflects on his own career trajectory. “There is no straightforward path,” he says. “Some people, like myself, do better when they go to school later in life.” As Chris sees it, going to university or college should not be a box-ticking exercise and he stresses the value of travel: “There is a lot of learning that can happen outside the walls of a school.” SPRING 2021

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Thought Leader

Computer and marketing expert Douglas Frosst ’82 helps the world’s tech companies craft their messaging while helping HSC put on a show WHILE MANY OF US SCRAMBLED IN MARCH OF 2020 TO SET UP A HOME OFFICE, Douglas Frosst ’82

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Douglas Frosst ’82

role was not easy, but the amount of travel it required was hard on me and my family.” Given the pace of technology, it’s no surprise that Douglas is a lifelong learner. At 42, he went back to school and earned a master of applied science degree in technology innovation management from Carleton University. Since then, he and his partner have run their own technology marketing consulting practice, South River Partners, where they provide strategy, messaging and thought leadership for high-tech companies around the world. Being able to dictate his own schedule gives Douglas time to help others in his community, often using his tech skills to help organizations with tasks like computer support on online registration. At his church, he helped move the parish online for remote services during the pandemic. Being backstage at many HSC plays and musicals has also influenced his volunteering. “I’ve run sound and lights for many school and community performances, and we’re revamping our church lighting and sound to improve experiences for people watching from home.” When he reflects on his career so far, Douglas sees power in trusting your gut. “I live by the old adage that it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission,” he says. “Many of my greatest achievements have come from forging ahead with an idea I knew would prove beneficial, even if others doubted me.”

“ Many of my greatest achievements have come from forging ahead with an idea I knew would prove beneficial, even if others doubted me.”

Photo by Paul Sansderson

was going about his workday as normal. “I’ve done business from home for 25 years,” he explains over Zoom, “so none of this is new to me.” And, unlike many of us, Douglas is not one to struggle with the technical difficulties that often come with remote work. Douglas spent the early part of his career in computer programming and software development before moving to technical marketing and product management for remote-access networking—the technologies that allow many to work from home during the pandemic. “I credit HSC for fuelling my interest in computers,” says Douglas. He describes the computer lab that was built during his final years in Senior School as “quite advanced for the early 1980s.” The job of programmer was not on the radar of many high school students at that time, but having access to a computer helped Douglas find his niche early on. After a few years studying computer science at the University of Waterloo, Douglas worked for a number of high-profile companies writing personal computer software programs before finding his way into marketing and product management. His experience at HSC again played a key part in propelling Douglas forward. Chuckling, he recalls a day when he was working as a programmer and got pulled into an important meeting. “It just so happened that the product manager had quit unexpectedly and the company needed someone to present software we were building to an important client. Being an HSC graduate, I was in the habit of wearing a suit to work, so, naturally, out of all the computer programmers, I was best suited for the gig.” From that fateful meeting, Douglas expanded his passion for strategic marketing and communications across a number of product management roles before heading up the executive thought leadership group for Cisco Systems’ CEO and C-suite team. “It was a fascinating role where we were collaborating with experts from a wide range of industries,” says Douglas. “My decision to leave that

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Andrew Hammond ’98

The Art of Risk

Andrew Hammond ’98 has forged a successful career in strategic risk management while keeping HSC close to his heart

Photo by Mirza Noormohamed

AS SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR ENTERPRISE RISK AT THE ROYAL BANK OF CANADA, Andrew

Hammond ’98 spends a lot of time thinking about what-ifs. “Most of my job entails understanding and planning for various outcomes of a rapidly evolving market,” Andrew explains from his office in downtown Toronto. But even the best-laid plans can oft go awry, especially in 2020. Like most of the world, Andrew and his team worked tirelessly to account for the ripple effect of COVID-19 in its early days. “The pandemic certainly added a new list of considerations to our strategic management,” he says. And as he describes the unprecedented impact of the virus on macroeconomics, it’s clear Andrew deeply enjoys his work—a career his 17-year-old self would probably never have predicted. “I was an arts kid at HSC,” says Andrew with a laugh, admitting that he was never much for economics while in school. Favouring theatre and music classes, Andrew graduated from HSC and earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in technical theatre production from Ryerson University. He spent several years working for a variety of non-profit organizations focused on the arts and education, including the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum and the National Ballet of Canada. “My roots at HSC played a significant role in the direction of my career,” says Andrew, remembering what drew him towards a job in finance. “In our early twenties, my [now] wife Nora ’98 and I were both working in the arts,” he recalls. “The unpredictability of our schedules kept us apart and we were starting to think about our future as a family.” Seeking a steadier line of work, Andrew pursued an MBA in finance from the Schulich School of Business at York University and landed a role in Group Risk Management at RBC quickly after graduation. “I can thank HSC for that leg up,” he says, remembering how

a referral for the position came from a good friend and fellow HSC alum. Today, with more than 15 years of financial and risk management experience, Andrew lends his expertise and knowledge to HSC’s Board of Directors as well as the Finance and Risk Management Committees. A big champion of HSC and frequent volunteer, it’s no secret that HSC holds a special place in his heart. “I’m very aware of the opportunities and advantages that HSC helped set me up for in life,” he says. “I feel it’s only fair that I do everything I can to support the College’s continued ability to provide those same opportunities to as many young people as possible.” As a gesture of their support, Andrew and Nora recently made a donation in loving memory of former HSC English/drama teacher Bryan Wylie and music teacher John McGuirk, both of whom recently passed away. With their contribution, the Hammonds established the Inspirational Teacher Fund, in support of HSC’s endowment (see page 54). “We can’t think of a better way to support the legacy of HSC,” they wrote in a letter to the community. “The creation of this fund provides donors an opportunity to enhance the education of HSC students while also paying homage to the dedicated educators who have made the HSC experience such a meaningful one for so many over the years.” Andrew and Nora hope that the fund will help make an HSC education possible for students who may not otherwise have the opportunity, as it is intended to support the endowment fund’s objective of nurturing a more diverse and inclusive student population. Though scenario planning plays a big part in his professional endeavours, Andrew recognizes that in life, plans aren’t always necessary. “It’s okay not to know what you want to do for the rest of your life,” he says. “I like to think I’ve gotten to where I am by following my passions and being open to exploring all opportunities that present themselves.”

The Alumni Hall of Excellence The Alumni Hall of Excellence celebrates alumni who embody and promote the ideals of Hillfield Strathallan College. By honouring this distinguished group of alumni, the College continues its tradition of inspiring others through the legacy of alumni who have come before them

SPRING 2021

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Science on the Brain A personal bond motivates Rachel Lacroix ’16 in her neuroscience research

FOR MOST HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH A PASSION FOR BIOLOGY, university studies

leading to medicine are often the logical next step. Rachel Lacroix ’16 counted herself among that group when she set out to pursue a bachelor of science degree in biology from Western University. “I thought my only option was to go into medicine,” Rachel says. She remembers being a bit lost in her program at first, feeling uninspired by the pre-med courses she was taking. “I wrote my MCAT because that was what everyone else was doing, but I didn’t feel motivated by the thought of becoming an MD.” It took her some time, but by her third year, Rachel realized she could make a go of a career in science in a way that excited her—through research and lab work. “I have to thank Mr. Dawn for inspiring my love of the lab,” Rachel says of HSC science teacher Chris Dawn. When most of the other students were cringing during dissections, Rachel was in her element. “I love the creativity of working in a lab and being able to test my own ideas through research,” she says. For Rachel, the decision to specialize in neuroscience was an easy one because of a family connection: “My brother Michael lives with autism and I was always curious about how environmental factors and genetic variations interact to impact neurodevelopment, leading to a spectrum of diverse abilities.” During her time at HSC, Rachel served as chapter president of the Best Buddies program—a student-led group devoted to creating opportunities for one-to-one friendships and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. At Western, her advocacy for those in the neurodiverse community continued with participation in the university’s Autism Awareness Club and as part of Western’s Orientation Program. “I’ve always felt it was a privilege to grow up alongside my brother because he taught me so much about living with compassion and respect for others,” says Rachel. It’s evident from her long list of volunteer positions that lessons from her 44

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brother have played a big role in her drive to help others. No stranger to HSC, Rachel has visited frequently since graduating, sharing her experience in the pursuit of science with current students and offering insight to educators on curriculum ideas. Today, Rachel is focused on completing a master’s degree in neuroscience at the University of Calgary, where she is among the first to investigate the effects of glyphosate-based herbicides, widely used around the world in products such as Roundup, on facets of neurodevelopment in an autism genetic background. “My goal with this research is to be able to give back and provide those living with autism greater understanding of their experiences,” she says. Looking to the future, Rachel speaks confidently about wanting to earn a PhD and continue her career in scientific research: “I hope that whatever I do going forward, it has a positive impact on people’s lives.”

“ My goal with this research is to be able to give back and provide those living with autism greater understanding of their experiences.” The Alumni Hall of Excellence The Alumni Hall of Excellence celebrates alumni who embody and promote the ideals of Hillfield Strathallan College. By honouring this distinguished group of alumni, the College continues its tradition of inspiring others through the legacy of alumni who have come before them

Photo by Mirza Noormohamed

Rachel Lacroix ’16

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Interested in alumni events? Keep an eye on your inbox for monthly alumni trivia nights! Join your fellow alumni and test your knowledge against your peers. House prizes for the top three winners each trivia night! each out to lumni elations ficer ianca arton at alumni@hsc.on.ca and make sure your information is up to date so you don’t miss any future events!

Top Honours

The Alumni Association Leadership Scholarship is given to selected Grade 9 students who embody the College’s Mission, Vision and Values, especially through outstanding leadership potential.

Studious and In Sync

A Champion for Team Spirit

Hitting the Right Note

It’s not always easy to know what makes you happy, but for Naiya Amin, sharing her love of dance with others brings her joy twofold. “Volunteering with The Dance Ability Movement and helping kids with special needs move their bodies in fun and safe ways is really rewarding,” she says. Her passion for dance translates to the ice rink where she’s a talented synchronized skater with a number of awards to her name. When she’s not on skates or the dance floor, Naiya is an honours student with a talent for public speaking. Her self-professed “passion for learning in all areas” keeps her busy at HSC, where has served as a leader in the concert band and as a math olympian. In the coming years, Naiya will no doubt make many meaningful contributions to the HSC student body, both in and out of the classroom.

It takes more than physical talent to be a winning athlete and Matthew Bear is proof that teamwork can go a long way in bringing home a trophy. A gifted hockey and soccer player, Matthew has learned early on the importance of sportsmanship. “Through hockey and soccer, I have been able to gain many valuable experiences that have made me a better person and leader,” he reflects. For their campaign to raise money and donations for the Salvation Army, Matthew’s hockey team was one of three in Canada to be named to Scotiabank’s Heroes of Hockey program. In his role as Birch House captain last year, Matthew worked with the leadership team to organize school events and run monthly house meetings. His list of leadership roles also includes serving as an ambassador representing HSC to potential students and their families. When he’s not championing the spirit of HSC, Matthew can be found behind home plate as an umpire for little league baseball teams in his community. “I love to pass along my knowledge to kids who are just learning the game.”

Inquisitive, creative and thoughtful. Those are just a few of the qualities that make Nirvaan Grewal a deserving recipient of a leadership award. A devoted cellist, Nirvaan has achieved his level 8 from the Royal Conservatory of Music and has played with the Hamilton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra since 2017. In addition to his musical pursuits, Nirvaan is a gifted scholar, having won numerous math and science competitions during his elementary school years. He’s also an active team player and has been a member of a number of school teams, including soccer, volleyball, flag football and track and field. Speaking like a true role model, Nirvaan aspires to take on more leadership roles at HSC, and says, “My goal in Senior School is to share my knowledge with others and to develop confident leadership in both academic and extra-curricular areas.”

Naiya Amin

HSC REVIEW

Matthew Bear

Nirvaan Grewal

Photos by William Vipond Tait

Singular Students

Top Honours

Great Grads

The Warren Daikin ’78 Alumni Award of Distinction Graduate Scholarship is given to one or more departing students who epitomize the nature of service and leading by example.

Keeping His Options Open William Assad ’20

A Welcome Addition

Left Photo by William Vipond Tate; Right photo by Edge Imaging

Lucie Osborne

Every year since she was six, Lucie Osborne ’24 has ventured out into the woods each summer for a sleep away camp on Lake Temagami. “I enjoy the responsibility of meal planning, cooking, packing and unpacking gear,” says Lucie. Her appetite for adventure and her natural leadership qualities carry over into her academic and curricular pursuits. An honours student with a passion for theatre and sport, Lucie joined HSC as a Grade 9 student in the fall of 2020 and is eager to make the most of the College’s cocurricular activities. In sixth grade, Lucie was asked to represent her school during WE Day and has continued to participate in charitable initiatives including organizing donations for local food banks and helping teach kids at the martial arts studio where she trains. “It’s an excellent opportunity to share my knowledge with younger students while helping me improve my own techniques.”

William Assad ’20

Now studying at University of Toronto

EVEN IN THE BEST OF TIMES, the first year of university can be a big adjustment for students. Will Assad ’20 was among the cohort of University of Toronto freshmen embarking on their undergraduate studies smack dab in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. “It wasn’t what I envisioned for my first year at university,” Will admits. “It’s been challenging and rewarding all at once.” It is abundantly clear from his time at HSC that Will is driven to achieve. Not only was he Academic Prefect his senior year, he was a gifted athlete, top-tier student and reliable peer tutor to many of his schoolmates. His list of co-curricular activities included HSC’s Model UN, Alpine Ski Team, Swim Team, Cross Country and Jazz Band among others. He turned a photography hobby into a full-fledged business at just 15 years old, earning experience shooting lifestyle and marketing photographs for a number of clients in the GTA. Despite the limitations of life during the pandemic, Will has kept busy with his studies. “Virtual learning has meant I have the flexibility to manage my own time and in some cases that means spending three weeks working to solve one math problem!” Though his interest in math and science led him to study for a degree in computer science and astrophysics, he’s frank about his plans for the future. “I have still yet to find one subject area that really pulls me in,” he says. “I chose to do computer science because it merges my love for math and science, but I don’t see myself working in it in 10 years. I plan to use my education to become an expert in another field. That is why I also study astrophysics, a field that can open a lot of doors for me in the future.” SPRING 2021

Top Honours

Perfect Prefects These 14 students are this year’s leaders across Hillfield Strathallan College. From reading to dinner companions, here’s what they’re into.

Myles McArthur

Male Athletic Prefect and Head Boy

Dream job

Accountant/statistical analyst for a sports team

Favourite HSC activity Basketball

Currently reading

A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout

I’d love to have dinner with…

Fehin Awobodu

Diversity Prefect

Dream job

CTO of Nike

Favourite HSC activity Volleyball team

Currently reading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

I’d love to have dinner with… Steve Wozniak

Mark Cuban or Jeff Bezos

Middle School Prefect and Head Girl

Dream job

I like kids, sports, biology and socializing

Favourite HSC activity Rugby

Currently reading

Little Fires Everywhere

by Celeste Ng

I’d love to have dinner with… Melinda Gates

Doctor

Favourite HSC activity The IDEA Club

Currently reading

This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay

I’d love to have dinner with… Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughan (NASA mathematicians)

Dream job

Favourite HSC activity Model UN

Currently reading Half of A Yellow Sun

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I’d love to have dinner with… Kerry Washington

HSC REVIEW

Dream job

Olivia Calbeck

Anywhere I can use my skills to benefit others :)

Senior School Prefect

Oyinloluwa Aderibigbe Service Prefect

Mowa Ayibiowu

Arts Prefect

Neurosurgeon or professional singer/ songwriter

Favourite HSC activity Track and field, wind symphony, art club

Currently reading

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

I’d love to have dinner with… John Stamos

Photos by William Vipond Tait

Kaitlyn Treleaven

Top Honours Simona DiClaudio

Sara Qadoumi

Dream job

Female Athletic Prefect A job where I can use my strengths to do something I love!

Favourite HSC activity Snowboarding team!

Currently reading

Academic Prefect Medical/health professional

Favourite HSC activity Reach for the Top

Currently reading

1984 by George Orwell

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

I’d love to have dinner with…

Kishore Jaiswal

Jacob Rudolph

Dream job

Favourite HSC activity

Currently reading

I’d love to have dinner with…

Aveda Mancini

Miki Simkins

My grandfather

Junior School Prefect Physician

Soccer team

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Arsène Wenger (former Arsenal manager)

Spirit Prefect

Dream job

Ruth Bader Ginsburg or Rosalind Franklin—tough choice :)

Chapel Prefect

Prime Minister Slo pitch

The Tyranny of Merit by Michael Sandel

Living: Banksy. Deceased: Machiavelli

Media Arts and Public Relations Prefect

Being able to travel for a living (and getting paid GOOD money)

Dream job

Favourite HSC activity

Currently reading

I’d love to have dinner with…

Katelyn Matsumoto

Victoria Watson

Dream job

Favourite HSC activity

Fall rugby

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Tom Holland OR Michelle Obama

Wellbeing Prefect Psychologist Ski team

Currently reading

Work in advertising in Japan Stage crew

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

William Shakespeare

Montessori Prefect Architect

Volleyball team, Card Game Club

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

Currently reading

I’d love to have dinner with…

John Mulaney

Home Body by Rupi Kaur

Gordon Ramsey

SPRING 2021

Top Honours

Naseem Anvari

HSC Lifers 2020

Every year as we celebrate the graduating class at HSC, we say goodbye to a group of students we know as “Lifers”. These students joined the College at the start of their education and have been part of the HSC community throughout their school years.

Julien Cameron

Paul Drakos

Will Fraser

Alexander Gacesa

Dylan Holmes

Jeevan Kapoor

Ethan Karmiol

Kate Masliwec

Brynn Mercer

Sebastian Morillo

Passages

Aidan Bennett

Ben Boudreau

Cole Cameron

Matthew Cherubin

Luke D’Ambrosi

Jazmin DeJong

Nickolas Goater

Lillian Guy

Bryan Heddle

Portia Leggat

Mathew Maradin

Braden Marshall

Claire Stipsits

Sophie Stipsits

Cameron Nicholas Van de VrandeCampbell

SPRING 2021

Passages

Lives Lived ALUMNI

SUZANNE “SUE” FRASER ’39, known for her kindness, generosity and warmth; loved to travel with late husband Alistair, former vice-chair of the investment firm that became ScotiaMcLeod; wife, mother. On December 4, 2020, at 98.

GEORGE A.C. SIMPSON ’44, lawyer known for his joie de vivre, tremendous curiosity, intense enthusiasm, and support for his family; that family includes daughters Nancy Greenwood ’76 and Janet McIntyre ’79 and son Bruce ’82, as well as late brother Benjamin ’41 and nephews and HSC Alumni Executive members David ’73 and John ’75; partner for more than 50 years at what is now SimpsonWigle Law; memorialized as wanting to express gratitude for friends, relatives and colleagues, including wife Mary Ann, “who have walked with him and enriched his journey through life; singing, dancing, whistling, drinking, praying, cooking, serving, litigating, Out of the Cold, woodworking and watching the sun go down over the years in Southampton”; husband, father; grandfather. On October 26, 2020, at 92. PATRICIA JOAN INGRAHAM ’46, devoted mom and one of five alumni siblings; survived by sister Elizabeth ’39 and predeceased by sister and former Governor Fannie ’34, brother Kenneth ’34 and brother Gordon ’36, a former Governor; wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother. On February 15, 2020, at 90. DR. DONALD WARREN ’52, former chief of staff and former chief of medicine at Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver, B.C.; internal medicine specialist known as “Doctor Bow Tie”; studied at University of Toronto, moved to Vancouver, met wife Elizabeth; after retirement, remembered his life as “50 years I spent learning and practising in that wonderful world of trying to help people while enjoying their stories, families, recoveries, and their lives”; husband, father, grandfather. On April 9, 2020, at 82. MARY AIRD RUTHERFORD (NÉE BAILLIE) ’55, poet and researcher known for her curiosity, courage and zest for life; excelled in sport and academics at Strathallan School and was “queen of the springboard” growing up, as she wrote in her poem “The Dive”; married CBC director and producer Jack Rutherford in 1965 and worked as chief researcher on The Pierre Berton Show and supervisor of research services at TVO; moved with Jack to Washington, D.C., in 1968 and stayed through the turbulent Watergate era until 1976; became research editor of the respected Imperial Oil Review in 1980; turned to poetry on retirement in 1993, with poems shortlisted for the 2005 CBC Literary Awards; wrote in “Primum Vivere”, part of her collection Engagement Calendar released by Inanna Publications in 2013: “You have fathomed the whirlpool’s eye, cannot wish away / the fear. Yet a whirling fills your spirit with such thirst. / Primum vivere. You know you must begin again.”; wife, mother, grandmother. On July 19, 2019, at 81. 52

HSC REVIEW

DOUGLAS WIGLE ’58, former Governor; son of Claribel “Sis” Wigle (née Holton) ’35 and dad to John ’96, and Douglas; worked in the graphic arts industry; husband, father, grandfather. On January 8, 2021, at 79. DR. R. LAIRD JENNINGS ’62, dentist in Dundas, Ont., for 43 years, a Venice, Florida, retiree and ultimately a hospice resident who wrote his own obituary, including: “Can you imagine enjoying being a dentist! My love of red cars and living in the country for 23 years were the most special to me. We loved club life. The Thistle Club, Tamahaac, Hamilton GCC, Venice GCC, Caledon Mountain Trout Club, and the Beavers all bring back such happy memories. I loved playing tennis, doubles squash, fly fishing, golf (sometimes), skeet shooting and river drifting. What a blast!”; married to Joan Jennings (née Angus) ’64, “aka Snowy, Chester, Mrs. Fields, the rock of my life since 1965”; father to Sarah Jennings-Hendrie ’88 and Stephen Jennings ’90; brother of Mary McKeon ’64, Barbara Lazier ’67 and Maggie Dickinson ’72; grandfather of current students Liam and Matthew Jennings. On February 24, 2021, at 78. JUDITH LYNNE “JUDI” BANTING (NÉE WEBB) ’65; lively mom and homemaker remembered for her radiant smile and generous measure of good sense as well as strong opinions she was not afraid to make known—though always in a non-confrontational, considerate manner; met her first and only love, David, during a sock hop at the Young People’s dance at his church, went steady for five years and married him when he was in his last year of dentistry at the University of Toronto in 1967; moved to London, Ont., in 1970 where she stayed for 50 years; one of her finest moments, she delighted in recalling, was when a female colleague of David’s at a university gathering asked her: “So what do you do?” Judi looked right into her eyes and impishly replied: “Just about anything I want.”; that included sewing, knitting, macramé, cake making, vegetarian cooking, bridge, doll making and studying genealogy, not to mention puzzles, music, Chardonnay, gourmet dinners with friends, reading, live theatre and driving a golf cart; wife, mother, grandmother. On May 15, 2020, at 74. WILLIAM HAMBER ’97, known for a big heart and his love of Kilcoo Camp, a private camp for boys in Haliburton; son of Sydney V. Hamber ’62, former Governor and longtime Hamilton real estate executive who died in 2017, and Jane (née Margesson) ’68; brother of Becky ’98. On June 23, 2020 at 42. KYLE CONNELLY ’07, known as a life-long learner in science and the arts, inspired by his time at HSC including with teachers Dr. David Moffat and Dr. Greg Burton; after attending Queen’s University, continued his passion for playing, singing and writing music and sharing his countless “nuggets of knowledge”; brother of Chloe ’10 and Clarisse ’15. On December 8, 2020, at 30. NIKOLAS MIHAJLOVIC ’08, remembered as polite and kind; brother of Aleksandar ’05, George ’09 and Daniel ’13. On March 25, 2020, at 30.

FRIENDS

GERTRUDE “TRUDIE” WEAVER, matriarch of the Weaver family that has strongly supported HSC; parent with Morley Weaver of Judy Suggett ’65, Murray Weaver ’66, a Builder, former Governor and former Trustee, and Margaret Corrigan; wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother. On July 7, 2020, at 104.

Passages

RACHEL PAIKIN, HSC matriarch known to nearly all as Bubbie; volunteer and career woman known as a happy gardener, an enthusiastic lover of birds, an intuitive cook, a voracious reader and a jolly soul; mother with the late Wolfe Paikin of Builder and former Governor Tamara Paikin Nolan and Auby Paikin; grandmother of Faculty member Nora Hammond (née Nolan) ’98 (married to Governor and former Trustee Andrew Hammond ’98), Ned Nolan ’00, Kennedy Nolan ’03 (married to Faculty member Laura Nolan [née Siverns] ’03) and Rachel Nolan ’05; great-grandmother of current students Patrick and Declan Hammond and Molly Nolan; a cousin by marriage to Steve Paikin ’78 and Jeff Paikin ’80 (see page 14). On February 14, 2021, at 99. JAMES “JIM” FALCO, former Governor; son of a Sicilian immigrant, left school in Grade 8 to join the family cheese business but went on to start two successful businesses of his own, Ontario Rendering Co. and Dundas Valley Foods; father with Joyce of David ’77, Christopher ’79 (married to Dr. Anna Butler ’79), Dr. Barbara Falco-Kazemi ’81, Elizabeth ’82 and Paul ’85, and grandfather to Graeme ’09, Julia ’11 and Laura ’15 Falco, and Yasmin ’08, Mina ’10 and Cyrus ’13 Kazemi; husband, father, grandfather. On October 26, 2020, at 98. DR. HERBERT MILES JENKINS, former Governor and longtime behavioural psychology professor at McMaster University; born in New York City and a PhD graduate of Harvard University; moved to Canada in 1963 to work at McMaster, which granted him an honorary degree in 2009; husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather. On September 5, 2020, at 96. ADRIANO SPALLACCI, patriarch of the family whose gift built the Spallacci Gym; immigrated from Italy in 1956 and started Spallacci Homes in Hamilton; with wife Anna Maria had five children—Diana, Frank, Vivian, Rudi and Loren—who each sent at least some of their children to HSC, including Krizia Scattolon ’08 and Adrian ’09, Natalia ’10, Silvia ’12, Alessio ’15, Sabrina ’17, Simona ’18 and Matteo ’19 Spallacci; husband, father, grandfather. On January 14, 2020, at 90.

STAFF

MARIA LA MANTIA and GIUSEPPE “JOE” LA MANTIA, former cleaning staff couple who died in hospital within two days of each other; both were born in Racalmulto, Sicily, but met in Hamilton in the early 1960s after emigrating separately to Canada; married for 58 years; parents, grandparents. On December 28, 2020, at 80 (Maria); on December 30, 2020, at 85 (Giuseppe). GEORGE “JOE” BROUILLARD, former cleaning staff; known for his sense of humour, friendliness and love of country, gospel and bluegrass music; husband, father, grandfather. On December 29, 2020, at 84. JOSEPH “JOE” PARTITO, former bus driver; known for kindness, compassion and warmth; a talented athlete in his youth; husband, father, grandfather. On October 20, 2020, at 79.

LUCY KISWAY, former part-time Senior School teacher (2002-03) who loved fashion, volunteering and travelling the world; taught high-school science; wife, mother, grandmother. On January 30, 2021, at 74. KIM WEAYMOUTH, former lead groundsperson; horticulturalist and auto mechanic; memoralized online by co-workers as “such an asset to HSC, both at campus and beyond”, “always engaged in HSC’s purpose and promise” and “part of the fabric of HSC [who] made it a better place through his care and attention to detail”; known for a big heart, his sense of humour and living by his own rules; husband, father. On July 2, 2020, at 67.

A MISSION FOR QUALITY

Colin Campbell, HSC’s Board Chair from 1975 to 1977 and a Governor (1970-83), Trustee (1983-94) and Honorary Life Member of the HSC Corporation, died on July 5, 2020 at 88. Here HSC’s former Head remembers Colin’s critical contributions to the College. By Barry Wansbrough Head of College 1969-1995 Colin Campbell was a parent of three children at the school at a time of great challenge in consolidating its new Mountain campus, meeting a large corporate debt and growing both program and enrolment. He joined the Board of Governors under Bud McKay, starting on the maintenance committee chaired by Roy Robertson. His day job was keeping the Dofasco foundries running, no small challenge in itself. He was a confidant of Dofasco’s president, Frank Sherman, a former HSC parent. Dofasco had a major community service commitment, and Colin coordinated essential Dofasco help, particularly in keeping the school furnaces rebricked and firing, and especially the replacement of the corridor doors, all 34 of them, so that when the stronger students bumped into them, the students fell down, not the doors. Colin led a strong line of the family: daughters Robin ’75, a Governor General’s Academic Medal winner, and Tamara ’79, and son Ian ’85. His brother Ian joined him as a parent, board member and major member of the maintenance committee. Colin was a key supporter of the idea that the school should be top-quality or disband. That was the mission of the time. During his Chair tenure the first major new building materialized, known as the New Gym then, later dedicated to Mike DeGroote, College Patron, before the amazing new DeGroote Senior School complex appeared. This ‘New Gym’ was opened by Old Boy Sir Edwin Leather ’33, then Governor of Bermuda, in 1977. Clusters of community supporters who are only there to get things done punctuate HSC’s history. Colin was an HSC Builder, a leading member of this key cluster, and he truly epitomized what HSC stands for: Learn with Joy. Live with Purpose. Thank you, Colin Campbell.

SPRING 2021

Giving

2020

–

2021

Magic in the Classroom The Inspirational Teacher Fund helps honour HSC educators while enhancing student life

Giving

By Alex Berry

HSC REVIEW

PARENTS LEARNED A LOT IN 2020 AND, FOR SOME, the biggest lesson was the value of a great teacher. Luckily, we have many at HSC. For more than 100 years, the energy, expertise and dedication of our faculty has distinguished our College above all else. We owe a lot of the magic of HSC to the quality of our teachers and educators. As made evident in Top Honours, alumni often credit major life achievements to the inspiring lessons of HSC teachers. It is for this reason that Andrew ’98 and Nora Hammond ’98 established the Inspirational Teacher Fund in 2020. Created as an extension of HSC’s endowment, the Inspirational Teacher Fund gives donors the opportunity to enhance HSC while also paying homage to the dedicated educators who make the HSC experience so meaningful for so many students. “We made the first donation in loving memory of former HSC teachers Bryan Wylie and John McGuirk,” says Nora. “Even after more than 20 years, the influence of these two inspirational teachers remains with us to this day. Their humility, their passion and their commitment to bettering their own practice not only endeared them to us but provided a profound lesson in our shared humanity. For evermore we shall be grateful to them for this gift.” Donations to the Inspirational Teacher Fund not only say thank you to a current or former HSC teacher, but they feed HSC’s endowment—a fund that makes our bursary assistance programs possible. The endowment drives our commitment to diversity and inclusion forward by making an HSC education available to great scholars, musicians and athletes from a broad range of socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. As well as bringing exceptional new students to the College, the endowment supports current families who may be undergoing sudden financial strain during a crisis, such as today’s global pandemic.

Giving

HSC has set a four-year goal to raise $1.75 million and reach a $5 million endowment

Compared to other leading independent schools, HSC is still in the very early stages of developing its endowment program. Our current endowment fund sits at $2.8 million, but the College is highly motivated to reach $5 million by the fiscal year 2024-2025. Accounting for anticipated annual returns on invested funds, HSC has set a four-year goal to raise $1.75 million in pledges and one-time gifts to reach that $5 million mark. While ambitious, we believe this goal is possible with help from you. As an established member of the HSC community, your resources and connections can prove a powerful force in driving

the endowment towards its target. Large or small, your donations keep the legacy and excellence of HSC alive and thriving. Just as every student counts, every contribution counts and affirms the commitment and vibrancy of our community. You might remember a special teacher who went above and beyond to inspire and engage your young mind. Or perhaps you’ve witnessed how the passion and innovation of a current HSC teacher is building meaningful memories for your son or daughter. Now is your chance to show gratitude to a beloved HSC faculty member, past or present. Who is that special teacher for you? Visit www.hsc.on.ca/donatenow to show your appreciation. SPRING 2021

By the Numbers

Where the Grads Are Canada The Breakdown 19 13 12 10 9 9

Western University McMaster University Wilfrid Laurier University University of Toronto Queen’s University University of Waterloo

6 6 6 3 2 2

104

McGill University Ryerson University Sheridan College University of Guelph Carleton University Dalhousie University

2 1 1 1 1 1

OCAD University of British Columbia King’s College Halifax Laurentian University Mohawk College Gap Year

Their New Worlds

The Class of 2020 has gone on to study at top institutions in North America and the world

Majors

Arts, Social Science, Humanities

Science Business

17 6

Visual Art, Design, Fashion

Medicine

QC USA

UK and Ireland Royal College of Surgeons University College Dublin University of Edinburgh University College London University of St. Andrews University of Warwick |

HSC REVIEW

Kinesiology

Engineering

3 1 1 1 1 1

United States 1 1 1 1 1

Cornell University University of Michigan New York University Pacific University SAIC

1 5 1

Computer Science Education

Journalism Nursing Public Health

STRATEGIC PL AN

JOURNEY

www.hsc.on.ca/hoco2021

ONE COLLEGE. FOUR SCHOOLS.

ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES. To set a clear path forward, it’s important to understand where we stand. Purposeful and sustainable learning environments

personalized learning

Joyful Engaged Inclusive

Community

resilience and wellbeing

g n i m o c ome Hil

llege thallan Co lfield Stra ES TA BL

19 01 IS HE D IN

vir tual

2021

Learn more at www.hsc.on.ca/strategyhsc

TUESDAY MAY 4

Pancake Breakfast Grab your favourite pancake mix and get cooking. Flavours, shapes, designs – there is no limit on your creativity!

WEDNESDAY MAY 5

Hektor’s Home Run Run, walk or wiggle, print off your running bib and get moving! Don’t forget to share your photos with us.

THURSDAY MAY 6

MAY 3 – 7

Showcase of the Arts Make sure you’re following HSC on social media to enjoy this College-wide, virtual art exhibition featuring the artistic talents of students from all grades.

Ι #hschoco2021

QUESTIONS? Bianca Barton ’03 Ι Alumni Relations Officer Ι alumni@ hsc.on.ca

HSCReview

Where I Grow Into Where Into My My

The magazine for the Hillfield Strathallan College community

Best Self

HSCReview

PATRON Jeff Paikin ’80 has poured his heart into supporting HSC. He’s also a lot of fun.

n Complimentary

Spring 2021 2019

attend a virtual open house. For more information

Spring 2019 2021

THE

n Student

The magazine for the Hillfield The magazine for the StrathallanHillfield College community Strathallan College community

The Game Changer

Tiger-Cats owner Bob Young ’72 has had a wild ride in business and sport