Alumni Gazette WEStern’S ALUMNI MAGAZINE SINCE 1939 FALL 2012 MOVING PICTURESCAMERON TIFF’S BAILEY Alumni Gazette CONTENTS LIGHTS, CAMERON, 10 ACTION alma mater. Homecoming 2012 TIFF’s artistic director Cameron Bailey, BA’87 HEAD OF THE CLASS London seeds and nourishes the brightest minds and innovations 14 Back to school with alumni leaders Judy Alaszkiewicz, BA’75, MA’80 in education Women’s Athletic Alumnae HOW PURPLE TURNED 20 TO GOLD Alumni lead Kaminak Gold – to the Klondike HOMECOMING 2012 22 Relive your Western Experience A CAREER 28 TOUCHDOWN New York Giants’ assistant GM Kevin Abrams, BA’94 CONNECTING 30 CULTURES Dena Gouweloos, BA’14 Documentary filmmaker Eli Kimaro, BA’95 Faculty of Arts and Humanities 32 PRECIOUS CARGO Reeliv Air Force Captain Conor Murphy, BMOS’07 the fun. 22 @ alumnigazette.ca MOVIE MOMENTS DEPARTMENTS TIFF’ S CAMERON BAILEY, BA’87, talks about SCREENING P RECIOUS and THE state of arts 05 LETTERS 39 BEST KEPT SECRET AND culture in CANADA Where there’s smoke… Rodin bust part of Music QUIZZING EDUCATION LEADERS Library’s collection 06 CAMPUS NEWS CH RISTY BRESSETTE, BA’95, BED’96, PHD’08; LAUREL Alumni named to Western 40 NEW RELEASES BROTEN, JD’93; BONNIE PATTERSON, BA’75, MLS’79; posts Jason Inch, MBA’04, AND PAUL TAILLEFER, BED’77, on WHAT makes on C hina’s Economic THEM passionate about education CAMPUS QUOTES 250,000 Western Alumni have roots in the forest city. 08 Supertrends Honorary degree recipients GRIDIRN O GRILLING GAZETTEER Q&A witH NY GIANTS assistant GM KEVIN MEMORIES 45 27 Alumni notes & ABRAMS, BA’94 Building University Bridge Grow in the right direction. announcements 34 CONSUMER GUIDE Chi NA’S ECONOMIC SuPERTRENDS – EXCERPT www.goodmovelondon.ca Cities of style BY jason incH, mba’04 Home to 3M, TD Canada Trust, Phoenix Interactive and Robarts Research Institute and many more global companies, London has a thriving business and community ecosystem that fosters growth and prosperity. 2 alum NIGAZETTE.CA FALL 2012 EdiTION 3 Alumni Gazette letters E DITOR’S Fall 2012 (ISSN # 1189-6272) Editor: Marcia (Daniel) Steyaert, BA’96 (King’s) THIN KING OUTSIDE apples from one of the trees down the hill NOTEBOOK Executive Editor: Jason Winders, MES’10 THE BOX toward Delaware women’s residence. Some Director, Alumni & Development Communications: (Re: Cover story; ‘Every day is Saturday’, young lady would eventually notice a rolling wiR TH MA CI A STEYAERT, BA’96 Diana Cunningham Spring 2012) apple, at which point I would say, “Can I please Well done on the spring issue. It really was one have my apple back?” She would then say Publisher: Helen Connell, MBA’96 of the better issues that has been received. “How do you know it’s your apple?”, and my Art Director: Terry Rice, BFA’98, MA’00 It particularly appealed to me as when I rehearsed response was, “Oh, because it’s a Designer: Rob Potter graduated from Law in 1973, I really had no McIntosh apple.” Got a few dates off that line Staff, Faculty & Volunteer Contributors: Steve Anderson, idea what I was going to do. I did know I had no - all due to the natural beauty and the apples Jess Bechard, Ashley Conyngham, Jennifer Davila, Fred DeVries, desire to take up residence in some law factory from the trees on campus. W ISTFUL THINKING Susanna Eayrs, Keri Ferguson, Mathew Hoy, Jo Jennings, in a small office forever doomed to stare at the IN A ‘FLY’ MCINTOSH, BA’78 Douglas Keddy, Kathryn Kinahan, Keith Marnoch, Scott May, building next door. Paul Mayne, Frank Neufeld, Sonia Preszcator, Jeff Renaud, You can’t go back. that can make the difference. An actual walking I believe the University should offer courses NOTES OF THANKS David Scott, Gulnara Shafikova, Allison Stevenson, Adela Talbot, But if you could, what would you say to your tour of a campus, visiting a residence room, in all faculties on “career thinking outside (Re: A diplomat finds her calling, Spring 2012) Heather Travis, Janis Wallace, Kathy Wallis, Jen Wilson, younger self? talking to profs, tasting the food, sitting in on Angie Wiseman, Scott Woods the box”, to seize on a cliché. I just think the I wish to acknowledge receipt of two copies of Jeremiah McDonald’s viral video, ‘A a class. But perhaps most importantly, there’s QUESTIONING University should produce graduates without the Spring 2012 issue of the Western Alumni Photography/Art: Natasha Caminsky, Tyler Gray, Joshua Huston, Conversation With My 12-Year-Old Self’ has speaking to someone who actually went there. blinders, not necessarily locked into some Gazette. I am greatly humbled to be featured Kourosh Keshiri, Rachel Lincoln, Paul Mayne, George Pimentel COVER PHOTO almost 8 million views on YouTube. Dan Savage’s Consider reaching out to your neighbour’s (WireImage/Getty forT IFF), Shawn Simpson, Tom Sperduto, (Re: Cover story; ‘Every day is Saturday’, predetermined career path, and that can be on pages 14 -15. The article is beautifully ‘It Gets Better’ project features adults conveying son, the young woman who works at your local Cpl Dan Strohan, Melissa Sung, venturi + karpa, Spring 2012) aided by the odd course of ‘what to do when presented. I hope to visit my institution soon. the message that LGBT teens’ lives will improve supermarket, your cousin’s cousin. Are they Visual Communications & Marketing Inc. (VCM Interactive), Last week, my daughter showed me a copy you grow up - option’. Young people need to Once more, thank you very much. with time. And a recent O Magazine featured considering university? As alumni, you lived Nation Wong, Xu Xiaoming, Dennis Yip of the spring Western Alumni Gazette. She learn how to visualize and then plot courses SHEILA Siwela, BA’79 a letter from Oprah telling her younger self “to The Western Experience. Why not share your Advertising Inquiries: Denise Jones, 519-661-2111, ext. 85460; was taken aback that Western would display a to realize their dreams. And graduates should AMBASSADOR, see yourself with your own eyes, to love yourself stories, the lessons you learned, what you’d do [email protected] photo of Paul Beeston smoking a cigar on the know if they lose a job, get fired, get laid off, the EMBASSY of THE REPUBLIC of ZAMBIA from your own heart.” differently, with them? Maybe even accompany Editorial Advisory Board: Robert Collins, BA’77, Helen Connell, cover. The photo was in bad taste. company goes broke, well, you dust off and re- Since we can’t actually speak to our younger them to campus for Western’s Fall Preview Day MBA’96, Diana Cunningham, Susanna Eayrs, Jim Etherington, BA’61, I have no problem with Paul smoking his invent yourself. So there is another course title (Re: A funny thing happened on the way to the selves, I love the idea of providing advice to on Nov. 17. Susana Gajic-Bruyea, Jo Jennings, BA’04, Chris Makuch, BA’93 (King’s), stogy in his home or office, but his bad habit - ‘re-invention when all seems lost’. Your spring lab, Spring 2012) young people by way of “if I knew then what Jennifer Parraga, BA’93, Terry Rice, BFA’98, MA’00, Trista Walker, should not be featured on the cover of your issue was a great start at this and the cover story I just wanted to let you know how pleased I I know now.” After all, we’ve been there, done WHY NOT SHARE YOUR STORIES, Janis Wallace, BMus’75, BEd’76, Jason Winders, MES’10 magazine. It’s no longer considered acceptable on Paul Beeston was a prime example of the am with the article about me in the Western that, and hopefully, know better. Guest Contributors: Colin Fleming, BA’07, Irene Kim, LLB’06, or cool to smoke in public. Television and topic at hand. And what is not to like about a Alumni Gazette. It even makes me sound like I This fall, many 17-year-olds will head back for THE LESSONS YOU LEARNED, Chris Makuch, BA’93, Paul Mayne, Alan Noon, Lisa Philpott, MLIS’93, movies no longer show actors lighting up their man with a cigar? I met my wife Virginia at a know what I’m doing with this career jump into their final year of high school, with the added WHAt you’d do differentlY... Tom Spears, Adela Talbot, BA’08, MA’11, Rob Way, BA’79, smokes. Our restaurants, theatres, malls and cigar party in San Francisco - go figure. comics! The accompanying graphics turned stress (and excitement) of making a major life Paul Wells, BA’89 other public places are smoke-free. Keep up the good work. out really well also. My comic strip never looks decision - which universities to apply to. None of this means they’re going to apply to The Alumni Gazette is published three times annually by the Too may Canadians have died from lung M ARC PAYNE, LLB’73 that good in newsprint! When I applied back in the early 1990s, I was Western of course, but at least they’ll be better Department of Communications & Public Affairs in partnership cancer as a result of being addicted to smoking. I also wanted to say thanks for the limited to campus visits and printed recruitment informed. And while you can’t change your past, with Alumni Western and the Department of Alumni Relations & By featuring Paul dragging on a cigar on the Editor’s note: Watch your inbox for the complimentary copies I received in the mail. Development. materials to help guide my decision. you can use your wisdom to help others with cover of your magazine, you gave him licence Winter 2013 issue of the Alumni Gazette It’s such a rare event to receive a ‘written’ letter Today, students have limitless amounts of their future.