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Nov. 7, 2019
Print | PDFThank you, Richard and congratulations Kate for two remarkable accomplishments.
One – publishing your first book and two – earning the Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction.
I’d like to explore what each of these achievements mean in a larger context.
First, in finishing something as complex and personal as a book, you’ve done something especially difficult.
In examining your own life and recording your actions, thoughts, feelings and experiences you’ve given all of us something to read and reflect on. This is a very brave thing to do.
You are also an example to our students, some of whom are in this room, who may have dreams of writing professionally one day.
Through your dedication, hard work and sense of adventure, you’ve provided a role model for them to look up to in their own pathways to successful lives and careers, perhaps as authors themselves. Thank you.
The second of your accomplishments, the award itself, speaks to a wider tradition of excellence that is encouraged and celebrated at Laurier.
This university strives to create a thriving community built, in part, around a robust culture of inspiring and recognizing lives of leadership and purpose.
The Edna Staebler award directly supports this mission by recognizing the achievements of excellent writers such as yourself, who inspire us to examine the world with curiosity and to wonder at the possibilities that lie beyond our real borders and those of the imagination.
Thank you, Kate for all the work you’ve put into your work and congratulations again on your well-deserved award.