My Mom (Gertrude Goodall) and my Dad (Mike Wiltshire) both had very different, but equally satisfying Queen's experiences.
My mother went to Queen's directly from high school. As her father had just passed away, the financial sacrifice to send her to university was considerable. However, my Mom was never a worrier and assumed everything would work itself out, which it did. She took from Queens a full life experience. She made life-long friends, took a wide range of courses (graduating with a pass in Spanish, psychology and biology - quite a range) and participated in all facets of student life. She lived at Ban Righ Hall, where she loved to "dress" for meals. She ran for student office and devised a plan whereby she would drop pamphlets on the campus from a small plane flying overhead, with the pilot telling her when to let the pamphlets go. She felt that this would guarantee her election. Unfortunately, every one of the brochures fell in Lake Ontario and, needless to say, she lost the election. She always maintained that her rival candidate had bribed the pilot.
After Queen's Mom went on to the School of Social Work and spent her working years with Children's Aid, the YMCA, and various other organizations that helped people. She was also very involved in city planning in Ottawa. She maintained that her Queen's experience gave her the skill set for a varied and interesting life. She felt that the strength of Queen's was in the rich and full opportunity that Queen's life offered and she wanted to help others have that same experience.
My father did not attend Queen's until after a long career in the Military. He joined the cadets in high school and then as soon as high school was over he joined Signals and married my Mom. During the war he went overseas, was wounded and ultimately lost part of his foot. He stayed in the Army of Occupation after the war, and when he finally returned home he continued his Military career. He and Mom moved from place to place with Signals - my brother was born in Halifax and I was born in the U.S. After over 30 years in the Military he retired and at age 50 was ready to start a new career. He attended Queen's as a mature student, leaving my Mom and the kids in Ottawa and received a B.A. in geography. For Dad, Queen's was all about the opportunity to learn.
After graduation he went on to a 15 year career as a high school teacher. He was totally ambidextrous and would win over his classes by going up to the chalk board on the first day and writing two completely different messages, one with each hand, at the same time. He was very devoted to helping students learn and even after he retired would volunteer to help students who were struggling the most. Dad felt that as many people as possible should have the opportunity to attend Queen's in order to learn.
Both my husband and I attended Queen's and feel that it is both a great place of learning and a great life experience.
