Alumni - From students to role models
Independent school alumni share with us their school experiences and what impact it had on their lives.
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Steve Nash
• 2005 and 2006 NBA most valuable player
• Member of the Order of Canada • St. Michaels University School A thirst for the world
On the one hand I remember all the teammates, the games and travelling with the different teams, and on the other hand I really remember how important it was academically for me to meet the standards and be able to go to university... more |
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Ann Rohmer
• Lead anchor, CP24 Toronto
• Branksome Hall Sacrificing for the best
I received a very focused and thorough education at Branksome Hall. I was really lucky because my parents did what so many parents do, being that they scrapped together every nickel that they had to send me there. They wanted the best for me. I know and appreciate that, and I was able to learn the best academic and life skills...more |
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Karolyn Smardz Frost
• Archeologist, historian and the winner of The Governor General’s Award for Non-Fiction
• St. Mildred’s-Lightbourn School Encouragement
St. Mildred’s was a remarkable place to learn and to grow. My teachers were fascinated with my choice of career—archaeology—and did a great deal to encourage me, including taking the entire class on a field trip to a pioneer cemetery, and on another occasion to a behind-the-scenes tour at the Royal Ontario Museum...more |
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Larry Page
• Google co-founder
• Montessori school graduate Montessori applied to business
Both Sergey and I went to a Montessori school, and I think, for some reason, this has been incorporated…at Google, we’ve embodied this as ‘the 20 percent time,’ and the idea is, for 20 percent of your time—if you’re working at Google—you can do what you think is the best thing to do...more |
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Dr. Susan Quaggin
• Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto
• Branksome Hall A strong foundation
I had solid grounding in science and math, and I knew in high school that I wanted to be a doctor. After Branksome, I obtained a full scholarship to attend the University of Toronto, and that gave me the opportunity to follow my professional path of medicine and science...more |
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Robert Henderson
• Sedbergh School
• Safety Engineer Dedicated guidance
Independent residential school teachers are clearly a dedicated lot. It is these teachers in off-class hours that lead young students to opportunities of exploration and what schooling is all about. You want to explore and not be afraid to do so; they help and make it happen...more |
Richard Lindseth
• Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School
• Architect Learning unique skills
In my architectural practice we have recently enjoyed the participation of two interns, both of whom, as graduates, came to know of our firm through our mutual links to the school. In these young people, as in other graduates of the school, I see the benefits their education has fostered in their development and, presumably, in their future...more |
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Claudia Dey
• St. Clement’s School
• Author, The Globe & Mail columnist Heroic and defining
On the one hand I remember all the teammates, the games and travelling with the different teams, Education is an act of accretion; St. Clement’s led to McGill, which led to the National Theatre School, which led to my work. I wrote my first play at St. Clement’s, a French melodrama with a poisoning scene. I made a first book of poems. I wrote essays about Dylan Thomas and Leonard Cohen. I uncovered a lot of what I would later consider to be heroic and defining...more |
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Mark Cohon
• Upper Canada College
• CFL Commissioner Friendships that endure
What I remember the most about Upper Canada College are the friendships that I created for life. While I am fortunate to have friends from all stages in life, some of my closest friends are from my five years at Upper Canada College. Our friendships endure because we all cherish those memories, but more importantly we have been able to grow from a common foundation that Upper Canada College helped cement....more |
