• Private Schools
• Advice Guide

In 2011, we talked to Emily Moore, about her time at St. Mildred's-Lightbourn School, a Reggio Emilia and gifted school in Oakville, Ontario, and the school's long-term effect on her career and personal development.

Emily Moore is proud to say she’s a lifelong learner, following her curiosity through science and technology.

“(My school) gave me a real sense of confidence about who I am and what I like to do, and that there are a lot of ways to contribute as a woman”

The 41-year-old engineer from Mississauga, Ontario says “following your curiosity and trying always to be continually learning” are principles that define her today and the driving force behind her career in the male-dominated field of engineering science technology.

Being a lifelong learner was a principle instilled in her from a young age. It all started with a Grade 12 chemistry project in ”polymers” at private school. Designing and solving problems through science became a passion for Moore, who went on to earn an engineering degree at Queen’s University, then her PhD at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.

“(My school) gave me a real sense of confidence about who I am and what I like to do, and that there are a lot of ways to contribute as a woman,” says the director of technology development at Hatch Engineering.

From Grade 2 to 13, Moore loved every second of her time at St. Mildred’s-Lightbourn School. She recalls enjoying the freedom from an all-girls environment to explore whatever she wanted to explore.

“We were free to be smart, we were free to be curious, to be a nerd, to be cool, to be whatever we wanted to be,” she explains. “Because it was a smaller school, you had that chance to try out lots of different things so that helped me grow into a well-rounded person.”