In Great Company
Where else on the planet would a citizen’s run at an Olympic gold medal be the occasion for a virtual civic holiday? Schools, businesses and government offices, all of them shut down this past winter as the Brad Gushue team entered their names into the pantheon of Olympic gold medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics. As most Memorial alumni know by now, three members of that team – including the coach – are Memorial alumni. Their achievement took out the competition for this issue’s cover story. My problem was finding something that hadn’t already been written about this amazing team. That is until Brad revealed the crucial role that Memorial faculty, staff and alumni played in supporting the golden team.
To one degree or another, the remarkable alumni you’ll meet in this issue credit Memorial, and the people they met here, with being a positive influence in their lives and careers. Dr. Nick Withers believes his training in rural medicine gave him the confidence he needed to excel in his chosen career in international emergency medicine. Newly minted Constable Shawna Park who, with a diploma from Memorial in hand, has embraced her role in enforcing the law on the streets of Corner Brook. Lynda Younghusband’s controversial master’s research project ignited her passion to help teachers find solutions to the stress they face in their working environment. The late Warren Ball, a Memorial alumnus, and his late wife Catherine, bequeathed more than $1 million to scholarship at Memorial – a gift due largely to their desire to give something back to the university that helped launch Warren’s career. And in this installment of Last Word, Dr.Wayne Gulliver reveals why the Memorial campus in St John’s has been such an important part of his life.
You’re in great company.
Enjoy,
Wade Kearley, B.F.A.
Editor