22
view . summer 2012
The scholarship funds weren’t what attracted Ashley
Keefner to the Outstanding Scholars program.
Instead, says
the newly minted BA grad, it was the opportunity to work closely
with faculty members.
Her inter-faculty program allowed her to work on research
projects with physics professor William Baylis and philosophy
professor Marcello Guarini. The experience has inspired her
to pursue graduate studies in related fields following her
June 2012 graduation.
“I liked getting exposure to the sort of work the professors do,”
Keefner says. “It was the best part of being an outstanding scholar.”
The Outstanding Scholars Program is geared to those students
who have the potential to become student leaders in their academic
field during their four years at the University of Windsor.
During their first year of studies, students are mentored by a
program coordinator. If eligible, based on grades, they undergo
training at the beginning of the second year to work closely with
faculty on various academic projects.
Provost Leo Groarke announced earlier this year that the
Outstanding Scholars program is expanding beyond a limited
number of disciplines to encompass every academic program.
“This is UWindsor’s premiere student engagement program
for high-achieving undergraduates, providing our students with
opportunities that are not available at other universities,”
Dr. Groarke said. “Expanding it will allow us to make it a program
that defines us across the institution, highlighting the quality of the
undergraduate education available at the University of Windsor.”
The change will become effective in September 2013, said vice-
provost, students and international, Dr. Clayton Smith. “Because of
the success of the program, we felt a need for all disciplines
to participate.”
OUTSTANDING OPPORTUNITIES
In spring 2012, Jessica Smith, Ashley Keefner and Gyllian Porteous were
among the graduating class of Outstanding Scholars honoured at a luncheon
attended by President Alan Wildeman, and the program’s coordinator,
Dr. Barbara Niewitecka.
“There is exaggeration of course in this book — it all makes
for a better story,” says Gervais. “But the characters are true, and
so are the incidents. There is a mixed sense of nostalgia in those
innocent days, but the horror and pressure one felt from teachers
and priests were real. There was so much trust we put into priests
and nuns, and we truly felt their intentions were pure.”
Today of course, we realize that this was not always the
case. The Roman Catholic Church continues to deal with a slew
of accusations involving priests and sexual abuse that dates
back decades. While Gervais was to reply “no” when his mother
awkwardly inquired years later as to whether or not he had ever
been abused, he notes that he did see it happen to others.
“All these years later, the stories of these horrors are coming
out,” he says, but adds that he consciously chose to offer
memories that provide a contrast for such darkness.
“Those among the priesthood and religious life who were
kind and generous and sensitive are certainly a balancing of the
good and the bad. I survived because of those good people,”
Gervais says.
“From my piano teacher, a hard driving, take-no-prisoners
nun, I learned discipline. I learned never to compromise when it
came to art. From my Grade 6 teacher, also the principal of the
school, I fell in love with language and story telling, and drawing
and image making. She was an artist and she’d sweep away the
math books and turn the classroom upside down and we would
spend the day drawing and painting.
“These people helped me to my feet and made me a better
person. No exaggeration!”
n
v
Afternoons with the Devil, Growing up Catholic in
a Border Town
, by Marty Gervais, is available at
the University of Windsor Bookstore and online at
Amazon.ca.
