The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
For the past several years, I have been more than a reporter. I have in fact led a double life. No, I haven't been spying for the Russians, and I'm not the leader of a cult that worships Pat Sajak (though I do concede that he has a certain cornball appeal). Instead, I have been working to satisfy my educational ambition of an English degree, and as you read this I am in the Manitoba capital realizing that goal. Today I am graduating from the University of Winnipeg, and it's been a long time coming. My post-secondary studies go back quite a ways. I first enrolled at Flin Flon's Campus Manitoba centre Ð a northern portal to big-city learning Ð out of high school in 2000. As a full-time student, I completed my first year while working part-time. My plan was to then move to Winnipeg to further my studies and, from there, hopefully start on the bottom rung of a large newspaper. God had other plans. The day after I wrote my final exam, my boss, Randy Daneliuk, graciously elevated me from a freelance reporter to a full-time staff writer. I had already learned the ropes of reporting out in the field, and with guidance from my then-editor Ron Dobson, who helped fill in my knowledge gaps, I was ready to take on the added responsibility. While I was happy where I was, further education always appealed to me. So in 2004, I began my second and third years of university, primarily online, through Campus Manitoba. I chipped away at a B.A., completing weekly course work on evenings and weekends and booking the odd half-day off work to write my supervised exams. I took all of the classes I could, but it seemed doubtful I would be able to fulfill every requirement without leaving Flin Flon. I thought about taking a sabbatical. By 2008, I was 12 credit hours shy of a degree. Campus Manitoba was out of courses for me to take, but luckily the University of Manitoba let me register for two final distance-ed courses, with the credits to be transferred to the U of W. So here I am today. At this time, I'd like to dole out a few thank-yous. First and foremost, my parents, Morley and Ethel, have been so very encouraging. They raised me well, even if it didn't seem that way when I went through my rebellious adolescent phase. Thanks, mom and dad. Second, I'd like to recognize Val Munro, coordinator of Campus Manitoba. Val has been with me since the start, offering advice and reminders of things she (rightly) thought I would forget. They don't pay her enough. Lastly, I'd like to thank all of the readers who have supported me in this job. They kept me going whenever I felt overwhelmed juggling my dual roles. The double life is over for now, but I have a feeling my educational journey will one day resume. Local Angle runs Fridays.
