SUMMER 2015 • ST. MICHAELS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL

SchoolSUMMER 2015 • ST. MICHAELS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL

All in the FamilyFour Generations of Gillespies

Keep it SimpleDigital Media Superstar Troy Young ’85

Join the CircusAn Excerpt from Claire Battershill ’04’s Award-winning Book

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HIGH ABOVE CAMPUS

This sunset shot of School House is an angle we hadn’t seen until Emilio

brought his drone to campus.

PHOTO BY GRADE 10 BOARDING STUDENT EMILIO MACARIO

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On the CoverSMUS Lifers of 2015. From left: Mike Edwards, Graeme Hyde-Lay, Timothy Berntsen, Alex Lupin, Joseph Avio-Pegler, Athena Kerins, Isabel Williams, Sage Friswell, Amy Bodine, Matty McColl, Christina Sipos and Owen Sudul.

CONTENTS

6 Generations

Bob Snowden ruminates on multiple-generation families at SMUS

15 A Bittersweet Farewell

Retiring faculty Anna Forbes and Virginia Ronning

19 The Power to Dream Big

Andrew Moore ’85 on why the Annual Fund is so important

28 In Conversation

YouTuber Justin Tse ’15 chats with Hearst digital media chief Troy Young ’85

30 Alumni Updates

News about our alumni from around the world

Meanwhile, Back on CampusSchool News from K-12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 8

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CREDITSSchool Ties is distributed to more than 5,000 members of the St. Michaels University School community, including current families, friends, and current and past staff and students. The goal of the publication is to communicate current activities and initiatives and provide articles and reports on the alumni community. If you have any comments or suggestions regarding this publication, please email schoolties@smus.ca

Published by the Advancement Office St. Michaels University School 3400 Richmond Road Victoria, British Columbia Canada V8P 4P5 Telephone: 250-592-2411 Admissions: 1-800-661-5199 Email: schoolties@smus.ca

School Ties magazine and archive copies can be found at smus.ca/alumni/school_ties

If you are interested in attending alumni events, visit the Online Calendar of Events at smus.ca/alumni

Editorial Team: Laura Authier, Gillian Donald ’85, Peter Gardiner, Kelly Sodtka, Darin Steinkey

Contributors: Laura Authier, Claire Battershill ’04, Nicole Edgar ’10, John Greenhouse ’56, Kyle Slavin, Darin Steinkey, Justin Tse ’15, Acacia Welsford ’15 and SMUS community members. We apologize for any omissions.

Photos: Mark Catto, Gordon Chan Brady Doland, Hearst Corporation, Kent Leahy-Trill, Emilio Macario, Kyle Slavin, Darin Steinkey.

Design and Layout: Reber Creative

Printed in Canada W by Hemlock Printers, Burnaby, BC

Circus excerpt by Claire Battershill. Copyright © 2014 Claire Battershill. Published by McClelland & Stewart, a division of Random House of Canada Ltd., a Penguin Random House Company. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

This issue of School Ties was printed on Opus 30% post-consumer recycled fibre paper. By selecting this paper, the following resources have been saved: 11 fully grown trees, 19,481 litres of water, 5 million BTUs of energy, 156 kg of solid waste and 431 kg of greenhouse gases.

CircusAn excerpt from Claire Battershill ’04’s latest book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 26

All in the FamilyA look at a four-generation SMUS family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 20

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When a family enrols successive generations at SMUS, it is because past experiences were good. Alum from decades ago are quick to point out the changes in the School – the buildings, the size of the enrolment and, depending on the decade, the presence of girls. Clearly, they see that the School has changed. As they comment – ruefully or thankfully – we no longer administer corporal punishment. Despite the obvious very visible differences, there has to be a sustaining quality preserved in what we do that generates in parents the belief that a SMUS education will be at least as good, and probably better, for their children as it was for them.

When I distil the School’s major purposes for those who will listen, I assert that we have always sought the same ideals: to pursue academic success in an environment where the character and the self also grow. These ideals of intellectual growth, character, and the education of the whole student are woven from the mottos of our two founding schools, mens sana in corpore sano (“a healthy mind in a healthy body” – University School) and nil magnum nisi bonum (“nothing is great unless it is good” – St. Michael’s School). Our founders could not possibly have pictured the School we have today, but they could foresee what principles would fortify successive generations of students, continuing to prepare them for higher learning and for life.

When I went to boarding school, my parents had two types of reactions from their friends. One group admired them for providing the opportunity. The other group raised their eyebrows, wondering what was wrong with their son that they had to send him away to be “straightened out.” Needless to say, our schools have changed since that day decades ago when I first showed up as a new boarder. Now, it is only those out of touch with the realities of SMUS that might ask the latter question. SMUS is all about opportunities.

Two of our recent Board Chairs – David Angus and Stephen Martin – have had long family histories with SMUS. Stephen Martin was the great grandson of one of the first Board members at University School, and his father was Head Boy in 1926. David Angus has had twenty-three members of his extended family at the School – with every expectation of more to come. Another new Board member, also an alum, has just moved from Toronto to enrol her five children at SMUS. Quite a commitment. There are many more examples I could cite.

When the Martin family decided about a century ago to educate their son at University School, they deliberated carefully: the decision to enrol a child in an independent school is not made lightly. The family then skipped a generation – Stephen Martin himself never attended the School, but his children did. David Angus did attend the School, and eventually became Head Boy. In neither case, though, was it a matter of “straightening out.”

Visit blogs.smus.ca/head

GENERATIONSWORDS Bob Snowden

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SCHOOL LESS ORDINARY.

What are you doing this weekend? Boarding students at SMUS are kayaking among the Gulf Islands, taking their scuba dive certification, eating dinner in downtown Victoria with their friends,

volunteering in the local community and studying for one (or more) of 26 AP courses. Discover SMUS for yourself by visiting our beautiful campus next time you’re on Vancouver Island: www.smus.ca/visit

B O A R D I N G G R A D E S 8 -12 | S C H O L A R S H I P S & F I N A N C I A L A S S I S TA N C E AVA I L A B L E

16651-smus-salt-ad-v4.indd 1 Minguo 104-01-21 3:53 PM

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SCHOOL NEWSMeanwhile, back on campus...Even through the grey days of Victoria’s winter months, the halls of all three schools continue to buzz with exciting activity. Between December 2014 and April 2015, SMUS was alive with academic, athletic and artistic accomplishments. Impressively staged musicals, nail-biting championship games and inspiring service projects rank among the highlights for our students in recent months – and it was all well-documented. A wealth of SMUS Review blog posts, along with videos, thousands of photos and our active social media streams documenting life at SMUS are all just a click away at www.smus.ca/join-in.

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Grade 5 student Nevaeh Miller performs “I Want It Now” (from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate

Factory) during the Junior School production of That’s Entertainment.

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Clockwise from top left: Jero Gomez lays one in at a Vancouver tournament; Jonah Wilmott and Claire Pontefract raise the Reindeer Games trophy in sweet (literally) victory; Tate Robinson and Ms. Van Alstine take a look at the inside of a cow’s eye; The Wizard of Oz’s two-day run at the McPherson Playhouse is punctuated with amazing costumes, sets and CGI; the Grade 8 girls volleyball team receive some coaching on the sidelines; Abby Bartlett practises for the band concert in the chapel; Trinity Dowling carves a cathedral facade out of clay.

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Clockwise from top left: Aveen Glen shoots for two in a Police Tournament game; Joel Kiggundu leads a rendition of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” during the Africa-themed Chapel; Bryce Nurding, Shalese Jordan and Elizabeth Watson visit SMUS as The Best School Year Ever finalists; Jasper Johnston, Anderson Wang, Jordan Kerr and Douglas Peerless in the musical production of Legally Blonde; Senior boys basketball celebrate their first provincial championship since 1992; Senior boys soccer celebrate winning the BC provincial championships; Yvonne Wu and Emma Abrioux ’11 get cheesy at boarding house games.

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Clockwise from top: Mr. Snowden enacts his classic rendition of the Rosa Parks story; The Grade 4 classes Adopt a Whale at the Vancouver Aquarium; Lucas and Everest tuck themselves under a desk in the Senior School library during the Buddy Reading Club; Anna revels in her position as Principal for a Day; Only months after picking up the violin, Alexandra and her Grade 4 classmates perform at their first-ever strings concert.

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A BITTERSWEET

FAREWELLWORDS Acacia Welsford ‘15

In an age when many people switch jobs or careers a number of times, the existence of established educators within any school is a treasured one. Two such educators are Mrs. Anna Forbes and

Ms. Virginia Ronning, who are retiring with more than 40 years of combined time at SMUS.

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Joins the Junior School to teach Art and Language Arts

Named assistant director of Junior School

Appointed as senior houseparent in Symons House

Wins BC Art Teachers Excellence in Art Education Award

Introduces AP Art History

Appointed as head of Art in Senior School

1987 1995 1996 1998 2005 2008

Always colourfully dressed and ready with a smile, Mrs. Anna Forbes has been a fixture at SMUS since teaching in the Junior School and serving there as Assistant Director, to guiding boarders as the Senior Houseparent in Symons House, teaching art in the Senior School, and parenting three SMUS kids, she is blessed with a unique perspective on school life.

Mrs. Forbes earned her bachelor of arts degree from Gray’s School of Art at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Scotland — a school with a rich history dating back to its 1729 start as a teaching hospital. She then came to Canada, earning her degree in education from the University of Victoria.

The family’s first contact with SMUS was in 1984 when they brought their eldest son to board in the original Harvey House. The first person they met was the laundry lady who lectured him on how to work the washing machines!

“When the whole family moved to Victoria from Qualicum Beach, all three children attended the school,” she says. “Even before I started teaching here it had already become an integral part of my life.”

Anna’s best memories of life at the Junior School revolve around the plays and musicals for which she was the artistic director. They were yearly productions, written in-house, which involved complex costuming and set painting.

“The collaborative environment of these events was the part I enjoyed most, especially the art and French presentations,” she says. “To this day I have framed paintings by Junior School students hanging on my walls, which encapsulate the joyous freedom of expression young children bring to their art.”

Boarding was another very special time of her life at the school. Mrs. Forbes was put in charge of the new Symons House, a girls’ house that had just opened in 1996.

“To say that the learning curve was steep is an understatement, but I will always treasure the strong relationships formed both with the girls and with the entire houseparent community,” she says. “I learned so much about different cultures and still maintain contact with many of my former ‘Symons Superstars’.”

The AP Art History program is another legacy Mrs. Forbes will leave, as she introduced the course to the school. AP Art History is a challenging and multi-dimensional course, with students studying art from ancient times to present day.

“The Art History course is one of the most well-rounded educational experiences students can have,” says Mrs. Forbes. “It touches not only on art, but on religion, politics, economics, geography and human behaviour. It also explores all cultures, not just Western.”

The course also has many practical applications in life after high school.

“Students who have taken the course often write back to me telling me how they have visited this museum or that gallery and have been so happy to have had the knowledge about the back story of the artworks,” she says.

She also added both the Ceramics and Sculpture course, and the Digital Arts courses available to all Grade 11 and 12 students. These courses provide students with creative outlets and an opportunity to explore for those interested in alternatives to painting and sketching.

Mrs. Forbes also breathed new life into the AP Studio Art course at SMUS, which had largely flown under the radar before she took up her position. The course is comprised of 2-D and 3-D design, and drawing. AP Studio Art engages the most artistically gifted students at SMUS, and she coaches them en route to the advanced task of creating a cohesive portfolio. It’s excellent preparation for future studies in art.

Throughout her career, Mrs. Forbes held workshops in partnership with fellow educators on the provincial and national levels. Highlights include presentations given at the Corcoran Art Gallery in Washington D.C. and at the Seattle Art Museum. Both presentations involved local

ANNA FORBES Senior School Art

continued on pg 18

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Ms. Virginia Ronning’s first step on the road to SMUS began away from the West Coast. She earned her bachelor of arts degree from the University of Guelph in Ontario, followed by a bachelor’s in education, and a certificate in counselling from the University of Toronto. She stayed in the area, beginning her career counselling disadvantaged youth in Ontario, a position she held for 17 years. When it was time to trade the snow and suburbia for oceans and evergreens, she relocated her family to Victoria, where she soon became Director of Counselling and Wellness at SMUS.

With almost as many extra-curricular opportunities as there are course offerings, SMUS prepares students for the next step in their lives. One important aspect of that next step is how to deal with life’s unpredictability. Ms. Ronning has made it her life’s work to teach students strategies that help them deal with this stress.

“Give a starving person a fish and they will eat for a day. Teach them how to fish and they will eat for a lifetime” is the quote that has stuck with her over the years. Ms. Ronning has led her Counselling and Wellness team to focus their efforts on building students’ resilience in the face of adversity.

Resilience goes hand-in-hand with the practice of mindfulness, a health and

wellness practice which Ms. Ronning, the other counsellors, and several teachers use with students. Mindfulness emphasizes living in the moment, without attaching good or bad judgements to events that occur. It has gained recognition as a method for effectively dealing with emotion and is achieved, in part, by exercises in meditation, as well as a shifted mental outlook.

“Mindfulness practices help us find quiet and solitude in the midst of our busy days,” she says. “It is a chance to quiet the constant chatter inside our heads.”

In the fall of 2014, Grade 4 students led the Grade 9 and 11 students through a variety of mindful activities ranging from a visualization to mindful eating, yoga, mindful quotes and drawing. It was empowering for the Grade 4 students to lead older students and is one of Ms. Ronning’s favourite memories.

“They led the whole demonstration in a brilliant way,” she says. “They had experienced first-hand the value of mindfulness and wanted to share it with other students.”

Ms. Ronning also implemented the PeerS coaching program at SMUS, which offers students support from their peers. Students can confide in their peers about schoolwork stress, emotional distress from problems at home, and other problems unique to a boarding school, such as

homesickness or the isolation of a language barrier. PeerS coaching is an incredibly successful initiative in educational institutions around Canada and the United States, with many colleges including it for the benefit of their students.

“PeerS coaching is about supporting another person to help them find their inner strengths, resources, and direction to help them move forward,” she says. “It’s not about giving advice or telling another person what to do.”

In designing the program, she took inspiration from the quote: “A coach finds and asks great questions and a person being coached finds those great answers.” This philosophy guides SMUS PeerS coaches, a handful of dedicated students that go through basic training and provide an invaluable service to the rest of the school community. Such a service would not be possible without the efforts and guidance of Ms. Ronning, and counsellors Mrs. Hogg-Jackson and Ms. Peace.

In her retirement, Ms. Ronning plans to spend time with family and friends, to take a painting course in Italy, as well as work with rescue horses using techniques of natural horsemanship. If there is time left over, she will continue to share her talents with the Greater Victoria community, offering support to those who work with children – specifically parents and teachers.

Joins SMUS as counsellor for Junior and Middle Schools

Becomes head of Senior School Counselling

Introduces a holistic student coaching model

Introduces PeerS coaching program

Introduces mindfulness practices with her team

Becomes director of Counselling and Wellness

1999 2004 2004 2005 2011 2014

VIRGINIA RONNINGK-12 Counselling and Wellness

continued on pg 18

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She will miss the students, parents and her colleagues at SMUS and says they will always be with her.

“SMUS is truly a community that I have been proud to be a part of and blessed to belong to,” she says.

She will be missed around campus, but already seems firmly on track for a meaningful and fulfilling retirement.

“Virginia has been a pillar of the school for the last 16 years,” says Mrs. Theresa Hogg-Jackson, a colleague for many

years. “She is a pleasure to work with and her caring, compassionate nature will be greatly missed.”

Grade 4 students lead Senior School students through a mindfulness exercise.

and SMUS students, using drama to bring new life and perspective to art.

“The Corcoran experience was amazing in that it allowed me to work right beside the artworks in the gallery,” says Mrs. Forbes.

In 1997, her many achievements in education were recognized when she was awarded the BC Art Teacher’s Award for Excellence in Teaching at the Intermediate

Level. Her expertise in teaching does not go unnoticed by her students either.

“I joined Art History to learn only about architecture,” says Kara Jebbink ’15, who took AP Art History with Mrs. Forbes in Grade 11. “But I think because she is so knowledgeable, experienced and truly passionate, I finished the course with an elevated appreciation and lasting interest for art in all forms.”

Mrs. Forbes has made an indelible impact on the SMUS Art program and the wider educational community throughout her many years of teaching. Her presence on the 4th floor of Crothall and around campus will be greatly missed as she moves on to her upcoming and undoubtedly artful retirement.

continued from pg 16 Anna Forbes

continued from pg 17 Virginia Ronning

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GIVING BACKAs a boarder in the old International House residence, Andrew Moore ’86 remembers keenly the wake-up call he and his dorm mates received each morning, courtesy of house master Doug Williams. “He would always come in rapping his cane on the sides of the bunk beds,” Andrew laughs. Naturally, an invitation to tea from the somewhat aloof Mr. Williams and his wife made the young student nervous. “When I went down to tea, I found out that they were the most pleasant couple you could imagine! They both passed away a few years later and I have very fond memories of the two of them.”

Those fond memories led Andrew to direct one of his first annual fund gifts to the scholarship established in Doug Williams’ name. But there’s more than fond memories of the past motivating his regular giving: “I have many friends still in Victoria, some of whom are sending their children to SMUS,” Andrew says.

With no children of his own, he likes the idea that his gifts contribute to the pool of more than $2 million in yearly financial aid that helps one out of every five SMUS students attend the school.

“I’m happy if some of my contribution allows a student to benefit from the St. Michaels experience,” he says.

Andrew started giving to the annual Dream Big Fund as a result of outreach activities by the school and the opportunity that gave him to stay connected with classmates and teachers beyond the time they spent together at school. He has continued to make his yearly gifts because he appreciates what he calls “a strong and ongoing tradition of excellence in the school” as well as the “tremendously varied and interdisciplinary focus” that creates well-rounded graduates.

“I am very appreciative of the education I received at SMUS,” he says. “The teaching was tailored to my level, allowing me to go as far as I could, even if it meant sometimes going there alone. But the teachers were very supportive, and I doubt I would have had the opportunity to go as far in other environments.” He particularly credits biology teacher Peter Gardiner and math teacher Bill Greenwell as key influences: “I pursued both of these disciplines in university with a specialization in immunology and a major in mathematics – clearly something hit home.”

Andrew is looking forward to his thirtieth reunion next year, when he can catch up with friends and see the school again: “I always marvel at how the school changes every time I visit,” he says. With annual giving responsible for many of those changes, Shara Campsall, the director of the annual Dream Big Fund, marvels at what’s made possible by the contributions of community members like Andrew: “Our students feel the benefit of these gifts every single day.”

Andrew, right, and his partner, Jose Otero

WHO Dr. Andrew Moore ’86

THEN Head boy, valedictorian, dramaturge, badminton player and basketball scorekeeper

NOW Allergist and clinical immunologist in Montreal, world traveller, website design and programming enthusiast

GIFTRegular contributions to the SMUS annual Dream Big Fund since 2007

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BY KYLE SLAVIN

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All in the FamilyFour generations of the Gillespie family have passed through the school’s doors.

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“I remember walking through the bottom floor and seeing all those pictures with the names written on there. I remember seeing Gillespies all over and feeling really proud that I was carrying this on,” Ryan says. “I don’t think I had a ton of appreciation for what that meant back then. But I know every time I went by something with a Gillespie on it I would think, ‘They were here a long time ago. It’s pretty cool that I’m able to go to the same school as them.’”

It’s been nearly 20 years since a student with Gillespie family roots attended SMUS, but the family connection dates back more than a century, to 1906, with Ryan’s great-grandfather Erroll, who was a student in the first class at University School.

In an institution rich in tradition and full of stories, the Gillespies stand alone as the only family in the school’s history to have four consecutive generations attend. Erroll’s children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nephews and great-niece all attended University School, St. Michael’s School or SMUS. In all, more than a dozen students related to Erroll have sung the school song.

Even outside of SMUS, the Gillespie name has played a role in Victoria’s history for more than a century. The Gillespies – Erroll, his seven siblings and their parents – are considered a pioneer family in the city. Gillespie Place, in the shadow of Craigdarroch Castle, is named after them. As a child, Erroll and his family lived on the street (known then as Moss Street) while his father, George, managed the Bank of BC and the Canadian Bank of Commerce. Erroll and his father were also permanently commemorated in stone as part of the Fort Victoria Brick Project. Their names are located in front of 1006 Government Street.

The walls in the halls of School House are covered with wooden plaques and old photographs with hundreds of names of students who’ve attended the school. For some, this is a constant reminder of the school’s 109-year history. For others, like Ryan Gillespie ’92, it’s like looking at a family tree.

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In 1984, Erroll wrote a letter to SMUS saying he was, at the time, one of the last living students from the school’s first years.

“I am of the opinion that I ... being 90 years old, may possibly be the oldest living Old Boy at this date,” he wrote in the letter, published in the school’s 1984 alumni magazine, Heritage. “I first attended (Rev. W.W. Bolton’s School) before it became University School. ... My three sons, Alastair, Ian and Andrew, received their primary education under K.C. Symons, Headmaster of St. Michael’s School (in the 1930s).”

Alastair, now 93, says he looks back at his time at St. Michael’s School in a very positive light.

“Even as a child, I had a very high regard for the school and the way it was run. We had great respect for the staff and the headmaster; it was a no nonsense school,” Alastair says. “We were treated equally, had lots of great opportunities and I formed a lot of friendships there.”

Erroll’s nephews David and Malcolm Anderson attended St. Michael’s School in the 1940s.

His grandsons Ian and Bruce Gillespie attended St. Michael’s in the 1960s. Grandsons Ian and Angus Graeme attended SMUS in the 1970s and 1980s alongside great-niece Marianne Anderson (elected the first Head Girl in 1979).

Ryan and his sister, Kim, as well as their cousin Alexander Hoole, attended SMUS in the ’80s and ’90s.

ATHLETIC MEMORIESErroll was a gifted athlete. His name sits prominently on the oldest wooden plaque (circa 1907) that now hangs in School House, for his role on the University School cricket team. He went on to play rugby with the Vancouver Island Crimson Tide and cricket with the Victoria Cricket Club.

Second-generation David Anderson played rugby and captained the St. Michael’s team in 1943-44.

Despite attending the school some 50 years apart, both Alastair and Ryan say some of their greatest memories are of their time playing sports for the school.

”I am of the opinion that I ... being 90 years old, may

possibly be the oldest living Old Boy at this date.”

Erroll Gillespie

Opposite page (top): The worn wooden plaques bearing the Gillespie name from the early 1900s still adorn School House today.

This page: Dr. Andrew Gillespie and K.W. Symons on Prize Day, 1950.

Above: A plaque in the chapel dedicated to Erroll.

Previous page left to right: Andrew, Ian, Erroll, Alastair. In front: Catriona (Graeme) and dog. Circa 1940.

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For Alastair, that was cricket and soccer. He remembers playing cricket alongside members of the Symons family. As for soccer – well, his memory is more about the post-game routine: “I remember the showers were cold as hell; we would play soccer and we’d come back and have a shower and it was always cold,” he says with a laugh.

Ryan was an avid rugby player, suiting up as a scrum-half before being moved to hooker.

“Alan Rees was the coach, and I remember halfway through the season he asked if I wanted to move up. That ended up being good for me; I was pretty successful through high school and I credit him for that,” Ryan says. “When somebody you respect gives you that opportunity and supports you, that just gives a young guy a lot of self-confidence.”

Erroll and Andrew (Ryan’s grandfather) were both still alive in 1987 when Ryan started attending SMUS in Grade 7.

“I remember hearing about the family history at the school, but I don’t remember talking with (my great-grandfather) about it. I remember when I started going to SMUS my grandpa was very proud of that fact and very excited that we were carrying on that legacy,” Ryan says.

MANY DIFFERENT PATHSMembers of the Gillespie family have gone on to have successful careers in a wide variety of fields.

Alastair, after serving in World War II and winning a Rhodes Scholarship in 1947, had a successful business career. He was elected as an MP and became Minister of Energy in Pierre Trudeau’s cabinet in the 1970s. David Anderson also ventured into federal and provincial politics, serving for nearly 40 years.

Andrew Gillespie and Ian Gillespie (Ryan’s father) both pursued medicine, with Andrew becoming one of Canada’s foremost pediatricians and Ian a successful psychiatrist in Victoria.

Ryan, who initially considered medicine after graduating from SMUS, worked his way up through the ranks of the Portland Fire Department and is now Captain of the training academy.

“My experience at SMUS was a huge help,” he says. “I learned what hard work was. I learned that things don’t come easy, but if you put in effort and get the support, it’s worthwhile. I’ve taken that throughout my life and that’s honestly been huge.”

Ryan’s role touches on the technical side of the career, but also (and just as important, he says) the personal side of the job.

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Opposite page: A page from the The Black and Red in 1925, listing the oldest Old Boys.

Above: First XV Rugby team, 1992. Ryan is far left, second row.

“I need to prepare these guys to be teachable, to be able to learn for the next 30 years of their career and understand the attitude and effort of the fire department. What helped me at SMUS were those teachers who showed me they cared about me and cared that I was successful. I try to bring that to what I do now when I’m teaching somebody.”

With that in mind, will his kids – daughter Ava and son Brody – add to the Gillespie-SMUS legacy?

“It depends on the environment and doing what’s best for them,” Ryan says. “We’ll have to see when the time comes.”

“I learned what hard work was. I learned that things

don’t come easy, but if you put in effort and get the

support, it’s worthwhile. I’ve taken that throughout my life

and that’s honestly been huge.”

Erroll in your family?Given how many siblings Erroll had, and the potential for unwieldy lateral expansion of a family tree, it is possible that another Gillespie (say, a great-great-niece or even a great-great-great-nephew) has passed through the doors at SMUS.

Please check your own family tree and let us know if your family has Gillespie roots at schoolties@smus.ca.

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An excerpt from

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Claire Battershill’s first book of short stories, Circus, was published by McClelland & Stewart in April 2014. Stories from the collection have won a CBC Literary Award (2008), shared a Canadian Authors Association Emerging Writer Award (2013) and been shortlisted for the inaugural PEN International New Voices Award (2013). She has also published poetry, fiction,

and reviews in such venues as The Malahat Review, The Fiddlehead, The Times Literary Supplement and Dragnet Magazine.

Susan’s grandfather was a bear in the travelling circus.

Or, rather, he wore a bear. Actually, she is never quite sure how to put this. He wore a bear suit (made from the skin of a real dead bear) and wrestled someone in a wrestler’s suit (made out of not very much cloth). In his moments of glory, he reared up on his hind legs (which were his only legs) and roared. One of the first organized animal rights protests in the city of Tunbridge Wells was held in 1910 on behalf of Susan’s grandfather, the bear, who happened to be human. This fact was never discovered because the circus was bound to lose business either way: if the ringleader exposed the truth, he would surely lose audiences who took pleasure in watching grappling animals, and, anyway, who wanted to see a man fighting another man in a bear suit? Plenty of people, apparently, as long as they thought at least one of the men was a bear. If, on the other hand, the circus-master kept the fact of Susan’s grandfather’s humanity concealed, the animal rights activists would continue as they were: pelting innocent tomatoes and cabbages at the Big Top and vandalizing the caravans. The solution was that Susan’s grandfather was set free.

To Susan, then, the circus is an Edwardian photograph of cross-dressing midgets with shotguns, whose limbs are being devoured by tigers that are actually people. There are no clowns who make balloon animals in Susan’s circus. There is no cotton candy. There are handlebar mustaches, and perhaps there are bearded ladies with real beards. No Ferris wheels, but Siamese twins joined at the head wearing only one jumpsuit. No fishing for little plastic ducks with prizes on their bottoms, but maybe, if you’re lucky, a fat and monocled man on an elephant, selling tickets at the entrance to the fairground.

You understand the distinction.

Susan hasn’t often fashioned improvisational tightropes out of laundry lines laid out on her carpet so she can practise walking across, as she is doing right now. She hasn’t always needed to walk in a straight line. But she’s changed jobs recently and she feels compelled to leap up onto a concrete ledge beside a flowerbed on Queen Street West on her new walk to work. There’s a sidewalk next to the ledge, sure, but the ledge is just the right height, just near enough to some slightly sad geraniums planted in gravel, to be irresistible. Plus, now that she’s started doing it, she can’t break the habit. Only she’s missed her step a couple of times and it’s bad form to arrive at work in a shiny Toronto office building with ladders in her stockings. She keeps a bottle of clear nail polish in her purse in case the domestic tightrope training doesn’t actually help improve her balance. Susan has a bit of a problem with perseverance, and already she knows the tightrope phase won’t last long enough to make her an expert ledge-walker. She keeps souvenirs from all her momentary and vehement obsessions in shoeboxes (from the shoebox phase) under her bed. A felting phase, a woodcarving phase, a guitar phase (too big for a shoebox, but she keeps the picks), a drawing phase, a Latin phase, a cooking phase (hundreds of recipe cards), a crack-cocaine phase, and a button phase are all from the last six months. She did a neurotic spring-clean last April and killed two birds that way, by storing the rags and cleaning products in the box from her boyfriend’s basketball shoes. Susan is already thinking of how to coil up the tightrope so it will fit where her sandals used to.

When her mother talks about her circus days, it is with a kind of dutiful resignation. “Yes,” she says, “it was difficult being brought up a bear cub. Harder than you can really imagine, you of a regular human childhood.”

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THE HEALING POWER OF SIMPLEEach issue, a current student interviews a member of our alumni community

to gain insight on what may lay ahead both in life and their career. Below, Justin Tse ’15 talks to the president of Hearst Digital Media, Troy Young ’85.

IN CONVERSATION

JT What do you love most about your job?

TY I love media, so that’s a good start. More broadly I love the diversity of the role. I am deep across strategy, product, content, advertising and operations, so it’s pretty satisfying. Plus Hearst is a fascinating company. We have holdings across the entire spectrum of media — from magazines like Elle, newspapers like the San Francisco Chronicle, local TV stations, cable networks like ESPN and A&E as well as business media. It’s a pretty stimulating environment.

JT What is the best piece of advice given to you?

TY Simple words from my wife’s father: 1) Don’t lose your sense of humour; 2) Never give up.

JT What is the most important event that has got you to where you are today?

TY My relationship with my wife, now 27 years in. It’s ballast. That, and having kids at a fairly young age. I had to get my act together.

JT What direction is digital media consumption heading towards in the new future?

TY Historic media distribution channels are crumbling and resulting in a period of intense change. Every media company is working to reposition the business to evolve with an intensely social and mobile consumer. And one that has different expectations of advertising. Moving forward, your friends are more important sources of what to consume than the experts. Video will be important to everyone. Consumers will expect to access anything instantly, on any device.

JT At a young age, were you more passionate about digital media or business?

TY At a young age I was fascinated by how things worked. I took everything apart and, sadly, rarely put things back together. I’ve been a magazine junkie forever.

JT What piece of advice would you offer to young entrepreneurs?

TY Passionately understand the fit between your product and your customer. Never scale your business until you are sure the connection is an honest and stable one.

JT What is the hardest part of being in the digital media and editorial industry?

TY It’s not hard if you love it.

JT What is the biggest challenge you have ever encountered, from a business standpoint?

TY I moved my family from New York to San Francisco to work on a start-up. The first day of work revealed a few unsettling realities that were a little unnerving. But I am an optimist and love being resourceful. We worked through it, bit by bit. I think people and teams naturally complicate things. I am a huge believer in the healing power of simple. And constant iteration.

Troy Young ‘85 is president of Hearst Digital Media. In this position, Young oversees the digital content, technology, operations, product and business development strategies for the magazine division’s 26 online brands, which total more than 60 million unique visitors and 640 million page views monthly. He recently hosted a SMUS alumni reunion in New York.

Justin Tse ’15 is the founder, CEO and host of JTechAppleTV, his own YouTube channel where he reviews new tech devices. He recently received a Silver Play Button from YouTube after his channel reached 100,000 subscribers.

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“I AM AN OPTIMIST AND LOVE BEING RESOURCEFUL”

IN CONVERSATION

Pho

to: H

ears

t C

orp.

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Max Gallant ’14 says: “I just thought I should check in and let you know what I have been up to since graduation. After spending the summer in California and Kingston, Ontario I returned to Victoria to start my first semester at UVic. I survived first semester. It was really interesting to see how much SMUS prepared me for university. As a student I always felt high school was a little silly but looking back I feel that it helped immensely in showing me what I was up against. I am currently sailing full time in Florida and loving it. I have just finished sailing in the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup (see photo below for an idea of the conditions) and am gearing up for the national team qualifier in Clearwater, Florida.

VIVAT!

Susanna (Moseley) van Schalkwyk let us know that she and her fiancé, Deon van Schalkwyk, were married on Saturday, December 13, 2014, in Hout Bay, Cape Town, South Africa. “Deon is in the process of starting his own company, and we live near the Cape Town CBD, where I work for an IT company doing their project assurance and risk management. We hope to be able to visit BC in the next few years to see my SMUS friends and visit the school.

Molly Catherine Miller was born September 8, 2014 to proud parents Jamie and Anna (Kohlen) Miller ’03. Molly was 8 lbs. 5 oz. and born at 10:33 am. Big sister Amelia is thrilled!

Did you know that the alumni updates section is one of the most popular sections of School Ties? Even with Facebook, Twitter and other social media, the alumni updates section is an important part of our magazine.

Telling us your news helps keep you connected to alumni outside of your own network, whether it’s a recent graduate looking for some career advice or a former classmate who recently moved to your city. We also want to hear more about your life and work as it helps us find candidates for the feature section of School Ties and makes sure you find out about alumni events in your area.

It’s never been easier to share what’s new in your life.

ALUMNI UPDATES

STAY CONNECTEDUPDATE US TODAY!Online: www.smus.ca/alumni

Email: gillian.donald@smus.ca

Phone: 250-519-7508

Max Gallant ’14 sailing Susanna and Deon van Schalkwyk Amelia and Molly Miller

Bhupinder Dulku ’09 recently won an elevator pitch competition put on by the Innovation Centre for Entrepreneurs (UVic) and as a result was featured on CFAX 1070 pitching his tech start-up business: www.TravelMetrics.co. Launched April 3, 2015, TravelMetrics.co (currently in its beta version) is a web-based data analytics tool that helps users plan their trip by quantifying select aspects of travel. It provides an objective overview with metrics on safety, climate, economy, and current conditions based on sound, credible and legitimate data. Find out more at TravelMetrics.co and find them on Facebook to stay connected!

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Leah Todd ’00 is engaged to Peter Allingham, mining engineer, and will get married July 11 at the top of Grouse Mountain in Vancouver. Leah is currently head of business development and marketing for Aria Beauty, a Vancouver-based start-up beauty brand that designs and manufactures luxury hair styling tools. She is working to launch the brand internationally this year after co-founding it in 2013.

Nicole Bunyan ’11, Princeton senior and squash player, put her name on Princeton’s Top-10 All-America board in her final opportunity. Bunyan’s run to the Top 10 was arguably the most dramatic of the postseason. She entered the CSA individual championships ranked 11th nationally, and she staked her claim to First Team honours with a second-round win over Penn’s Yan Xin Tan.

In an epic quarterfinal, Bunyan stunned third-seeded Danielle Letourneau of Cornell 11-9, 10-12, 11-9, 17-19, 12-10 to reach her first semifinal round. Her run ended at the hands of three-time finalist Kanzi El Defrawy, but her performance was enough to clinch the First Team honour.

Swimmer Jeremy Bagshaw ’10 qualified for the FINA World Championships in Russia and the Toronto-hosted Pan Am Games. Both events are in July. Good luck!

Mike Fuailefau ’10 was named to the Tokyo Rugby 7s Dream Team after a gritty performance in the tournament that saw Canada beat New Zealand (for the first time ever in competitive representative play) and finish fourth.

After 19 seasons in the NBA, Steve Nash ’92 announced his retirement. In a letter he wrote on the website The Player’s Tribune, on March 21, he said:

“I will likely never play basketball again. It’s bittersweet. I already miss the game deeply, but I’m also really excited to learn to do something else. This letter is for anyone who’s taken note of my career. At the heart of this letter, I’m speaking to kids everywhere who have no idea what the future holds or how to take charge of their

place in it. When I think of my career, I can’t help but think of the kid with his ball, falling in love. That’s still what I identify with and did so throughout my entire story. Ian Hyde-Lay, my high school coach, is as good a coach as I’ve ever played for. He taught me discipline, attention to detail and preparation. It still amazes me when he sends me an email about a game 20 years after high school saying I missed a box out with 8 min left in the 4th against Memphis. When I would re-watch the 4th quarter later, he was right. Details.”

Look for a full story on Steve in the next issue of School Ties.

Emma (Brownlee) Shelford ’03 writes: “I am excited to announce the recent publication of Mark of the Breenan, a young adult fantasy novel. Some students may recognize it, as I came to speak at the recent Career Day where I thoroughly enjoyed meeting many of them. My second novel, Ignition, came out on May 30, this one geared to an adult audience. It follows the exploits of Merlin (of Arthurian legend) who is immortal, forever young, and waiting in modern-day Vancouver for Arthur to return. Both books are available on Amazon and other retailers. You can find more information, including book trailers, on my website: emmashelford.com.

Bhupinder Dulku ’09 at CFAX 1070

Nicole Bunyan ’11

Leah Todd ’00 is engaged to Peter Steve Nash ’92 at the alumni basketball game in 2011

Mike Fuailefau ‘10

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Michael Gerry ’56 (November 8, 1939 – February 7, 2015) After a courageous battle with Multiple System Atrophy Dr. Michael Charles Lewis Gerry ’56 died February 7, 2015. He will be greatly missed by his wife, Mary; his sisters, Wendy Horton of England and Gillian Rose (Harold) of Ontario; his nephews, Nicholas Horton, (Mandy, Abigail, Rebecca), Timothy Horton (Tess, Emily, Sam, Charlotte, William); Jono Rose (Bella, Sophia); niece, Wendy-Dee Rose (Ed, Ben Slater); brothers-in-law, Frank, James, and Bob; and sisters-in-law, Jane, Jan, Joyce.

Michael was born in Victoria, BC, to the late James and Gwynedd Gerry, who came from England to teach at Shawnigan Lake School. As a very young boy, he demonstrated signs of a very active and constructive mind by drawing out the Victoria bus routes in the back garden just for fun. He attended Glenlyon, Monterey and University School, becoming an excellent student and winning numerous scholarships during the course of his studies. He also attended Victoria College (University of Toronto) where he was well known for his very high marks. In 1959, he achieved the highest standing in inorganic and analytical chemistry. He received the Lefevre Gold Medal for proficiency in chemistry and a bursary from the National Research Council. As head of his class in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at UBC with the highest marks and an honours degree, he won the Governor General’s Gold Medal in 1960. He earned a master’s degree in physical chemistry at UBC in 1962, followed by a PhD from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, in 1966.

“All of the awards and degrees were a result of real hard work,” proclaimed Michael in various newspaper interviews. In fact, all of the early years were permeated by it.

His great love for playing cricket provided a needed break and resulted in making a number of life-long friends. Grass hockey was also a healthy relief.

In later years travel became a great source of pleasure and included the challenge of trying out the languages

of the countries visited. He enjoyed the relaxation of beach holidays, making wine, and skiing, both downhill and cross-country. After the time at Cambridge, Michael obtained a post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. Walter Gordy in the Physics department at Duke University, in Durham, NC. After the time in England, he said he looked forward to shorts, sunshine and warmth. At Duke he began his work in microwave spectroscopy, becoming a member of a very close knit and very productive group. However, at one point, Dr. Gordy was jokingly blamed for running a marriage bureau, instead. Michael met Mary, his wife of 47 years, via an accidental incident in the graduate centre where Mary chose a seemingly empty booth for a coffee that had already been claimed by his roommate. This led to an introduction to folk dancing and to Michael.

In 1967 Michael was hired as assistant professor in the UBC Chemistry department under the leadership of Charles McDowell. Meeting the challenge of tenure, he became a full professor in 1981, retiring under compulsory retirement in 2004.

During his time at UBC he was well loved by his students, winning the Master Teacher Award twice. In recognition of outstanding contributions to teaching, he was presented with The UBC Killam Faculty of Science Teaching Award for 1995-1996 and for 2002, with several

other nominations. He was also presented with the Just Desserts Award for service above and beyond the call of duty to the students of the Science Undergraduate Society by the UBC Alma Mater Society in 2002. In 1987 he won the Union Carbide Award in Chemical Education. He became a Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada in 1984. He was also nominated to be a Fellow of the Royal Society. He was presented the Gerhard Herzberg Award in recognition of his research and outstanding contributions to the science of spectroscopy in 1988. He won a Killam Senior Fellowship in 1988-89 and a Killam Research Prize in 2002. He was presented with a UBC Faculty of Science Leadership award in 2002.

A sabbatical year in Germany as a guest professor proved to be very rewarding in terms of research, friendships and making contacts with potential graduate students. His research in microwave spectroscopy led to recognition in Canada for excellence in the arts and sciences, and a famous dinner with the Queen and Prince Philip in Ottawa. Being a member in the Centre of Excellence promoted international research and collaborations. A number of his graduate students came from Europe to UBC to work.

After losing the battle that he fought with determination and always with a positive attitude, he leaves family, friends, and colleagues here and around the world grieving for him.

John Dineen Taylor ’39 (November 12, 1920 – October 29, 2014)A good friend, husband and father… and a great Gramps!

Predeceased by his beloved wife, Sheila; son, Patrick; and sister, Peggy. Survived by children Matthew (Angi), Lisa (Henk), Sari and his grandchildren.

Born in Prince Rupert, on the Skeena River, John joined the RCAF, flying Beaufighters with the Buffalo (404) squadron during World War II. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for action in the North Sea. Graduating from UBC engineering in 1949, he skipped his own grad ceremony to marry Sheila. As a distribution engineer for BC Hydro, the Michael Gerry ’56

PASSAGES

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for the last two years but had enjoyed a six-month remission, during which one month was spent on a visit to Hawaii.

Pam will likely be remembered especially by University School boys of the early 1960s. She married Rob in December 1961 and they lived on Aldridge Street, which adjoined the school, and at the time provided a full and close view of the chapel under construction. Sons Patrick (1963) and John (1964) were born there too, before the family’s departure to St. Andrew’s College in Aurora, Ontario in 1965 (Matt was born later that year).

The family returned to SMUS in 1974 and lived in Harvey House until 1976, moving then to their present home in the Cadboro Bay/UVic area. Students from both the ’60s and ’70s would likely associate Pam as the owner of a white poodle dog: miniature (’60s), standard (’70s).

Rob is still spending time at the Archives and assisting in Advancement, specifically with alumni from Seattle and Portland as well as taking an annual (since 2010) visit to the USA Rugby Sevens in Las Vegas with alumni of the 1960s. While this loss is difficult for all the family, Rob enjoyed connecting with former students and old friends at the 2015 Alumni Weekend.

his brother Conrad were raised in the Bow Valley in Alberta by their parents, Hans and Margaret. Robson shared his father’s passion for skiing and mountaineering, which led him to pursue a career in guiding. Much like his father, Robson spent formative years in his twenties working and leading ski tours at Mount Assiniboine Lodge which, at that time, was managed by his aunt and uncle, Barb and Sepp Renner. Robson became an accomplished ski guide and was a tireless adventurer. His pursuits led him from one end of the planet to the other, but lately he had embarked on one of the greatest adventures of all, fatherhood. Robson’s three year old son, Max, had become the focus of the many trips that he shared with his wife, Olivia. Robson had a way of laughing his way through life. He will be missed by his family and the many, many friends that he collected all along the way.

Pam Wilson (August 21, 1931 – April 1, 2015)Some sad news from the Wilson family. Rob Wilson’s wife Pam passed away on April 1. She had been fighting lymphoma

“25 kV Kid” introduced the high voltage system still in use province-wide. Together, he and Sheila became active with the BC Friends of Schizophrenia, BC Mirror Dinghy Club, and Jericho Tennis Club. In retirement, he navigated the waterways of Europe, welcoming friends aboard Saffron Girl. John learned to ski at 50 with his son, and was later a proud member of the Over-80 Ski Club. More recently, he enjoyed pool and a pint with friends on Tuesday afternoons. Determinedly independent and good company to the end, he died peacefully at Crofton Manor.

Robson Eras Gmoser ’87 (June 20, 1969 – March 10, 2015)(Reprinted with permission from the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides website.)On March 10, Robson Gmoser ’87 took an unexpected trip over the Great Divide. While guiding a ski touring trip he was caught and buried in an avalanche in the Selkirk Mountains near Glacier National Park. Robson was given his name following his father’s ascent of Mount Robson and was a true child of the mountains. He and

Robson Eras Gmoser ’87 Pam Wilson

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ALUMNI

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Our annual alumni celebration was another rousing success thanks to you!

You can browse and download more than 1,000 images from the weekend at

the SMUS Photo Gallery: gallery.smus.ca

WEEKEND

2015

If undeliverable, return to

St. Michaels University School3400 Richmond RoadVictoria, BC, CANADA V8P 4P5

This year the 10th Annual St. Michaels University School golf tournament will be held on Monday, September 28, 2015 at the

beautiful Victoria Golf Club. Everyone in the community is invited to an afternoon of outstanding play followed by a wonderful dinner.

All proceeds from the tournament will be directed to the SMUS Alumni Endowment Fund. For sponsorship opportunities, to volunteer or to register

please contact gillian.donald@smus.ca or visit www.smus.ca/alumni/events/

10th Annual St. Michaels University School

GOLF TOURNAMENT Monday, September 28, 2015, Victoria Golf Club