Pam Rigden:
CLASS OF 1990
Grey Highlands SchoolClass of 1990
Flesherton, ON
University of Waterloo - Arts & ScienceClass of 1996
Waterloo, ON
Pam's Story
Life
Hi Everyone
If you remember me at all and are interested in knowing where I am at now... here it is. I graduated from UofW 1996 and went to Ottawa for almost 10 years. Worked as a technical writer, then a product manager then a project manager and finally as a contractor for Bell. I decided I couldn't take it anymore and quit the job, got divorced amicably, sold my house and went to volunteer in the Ecuadorian jungle for two years. Ok that sounds crazy, but it was part of a bigger plan, I wanted to do my Masters in Environmental Management but didn't know enough about the problems facing the Amazon to really choose a thesis. The last thing I wanted to do was waste several years studying something that didn't matter. So I put on the backpack and headed south. Ok, I was also keen to travel!!
So, while down there, I ran an eco-tourism lodge on the verge of (ok past the verge of) total destruction, worked bringing doctors and volunteers to indigenous communities in the jungle, got a job with the Ecuadorian jungle military school bringing tourists out to learn jungle survival from the experts, the Military. They were the best people I have ever met and totally not the stereotype of what everyone thinks a South American military is. A good number of them were indig...Expand for more
enous themselves and they employed local lore and knowledge into their training.
It was there that I met two people: my future husband; and Tanguila, an indigenous soldier who adopted me as his 7th daughter. My future husband was an American army Major down there working with the government and Tanguila was the Sergeant Major who taught me all about the jungle.
We moved to the US two years ago and lived in Georgia for a year while Tom did his officer training at Fort Benning. We moved to Fort Bragg NC 2005 and got married. Three months later I got pregnant!Six months after that tom was deployed to Afghanistan for 8 months. He came back and had to go again 6 months later for another 8 months.
We bought a large fixer upper and I got my residency so I can go back to work. I worked with an NGO for a Public Relations and Development Manager job for a few months, returned to Canada for a few months and now we are moving with the military to DC. Hopefully I can find another job!
I am now doing a joint MBA and Masters of Environmental Resource Management at the University of Maryland University College. Eventually I hope to return to the Jungle and we will start our own NGO. In 5 years he can retire from the military and we can start our own lives.
So that is me...
Register for Free to view all details!
Reunions
Register for Free to start a reunion event!
Photos
