Hamish McKillop:
CLASS OF 2004
Lisgar Collegiate InstituteClass of 2004
Ottawa, ON
Hamish's Story
I graduated from Lisgar Collegiate Institute (LCI) in 2004, and returned for another year to boost my Grade 12 English mark after summer school yielded the exact same percentage. The following spring I got a job and dropped out, applied to Algonquin College's Journalism and Narrative Writing programs. I was accepted into both of these programs, as well as Carleton University's Enriched Support Program (ESP). I chose Carleton, believing I would be able to enrol into the Journalism program after a successful year in ESP. I began post-secondary studies in fall, 2005, failed a year, retried ESP, and passed with flying colours. I was offered entry into a B.A. program, but told no Journalism for me.
By 2009 I grew weary of the university stream, and everything political philosophy, film studies, and salient mass communications electives had to offer. A few years after being told after ESP that I was ineligible for entrance into Carleton's Journalism program, I decided this was unacceptable.
The world is our oyster, and so it should be. Due to some health issues I decided to drop out of university, I took a gap year to recollect my thoughts and decide what I wanted in life. After some soul searching, I went full circle and enrolled into Algonquin's Journalism program. Two years later, I graduated with a Journalism diploma.
I worked for a few years in the newspaper business, and after hitting a $30,000 glass ceiling, I grew tired of having my byline stolen and hours extended with no overtime beyond any reasonable stretch of the imagination. I was laid off three times in as many years, and decided to return to Ottawa after touring Pontiac, QC, and Athabasca, Alberta and area, sharpening my journalism skills.
Returning to Ottawa in 2014 was another good decision. My parents having recently retired, FaceTiming from France they exclaimed, "come on home, son." Being fired for doing my job out west, being offloaded by my girlfriend, and being at risk of my landlord selling my home from under my feet was just as unacceptable as the barriers to education I had encountered at Carleton years prior as I attempted to ...Expand for more
penetrate my dream career.
Back in Ottawa, I took my old job back in Shawville, Quebec reporting for the local newspaper. However, the talent had long gone. The combined journalism field experience including that of the publisher did not even amount to the 6 months I had put into reporting for this newspaper three years prior. It took 10 gruelling months of painfully reduced hours despite a 1 hour commute into work each day unrecognized by the company's gas subsidy applicable only to the newspaper's coverage area.
By the time my hours were reduced to only weekends at $35 a story and $15 a photo with cutline, despite travel time, I was earning the equivalent of one half minimum wage. I was offered Employment Insurance under the pretext that the job had reduced hours to the point that it was no longer sustainable, and my letter of resignation stated as much.
I enrolled at Algonquin College, this time in a graduate certificate program called Interactive Media Management. A year later I graduated with honours. Today, I work for the public service, having worked at the Canadian Coast Guard in Publications and Intranet Management; Global Affairs Canada in user experience design and analytics; and currently at Health Canada as an Internal Communications Officer.
This is the life I have led since graduating from LCI in June, 2004. Fourteen years later, now spring, 2018, I am almost 32 years old, and my career is starting to gain a level of momentum only my turbulent 20's could have grappled with and settled to a low hum no louder than my office computer's hard drive: virtually silent, in fact.
I would like to give a shout out first to Mr. Arrigo, because I was always late for his band practices and I know he judged me for it, but that's ok Richard. I forgive you now; Mr. Hodgson, who was meticulous with spelling, grammar, diction, syntax, and who upheld the highest regard for the principles of the craft of writing. It was no remedial pursuit, and Mr. Hodgson quite rightly made this abundantly clear.
Finally, congratulations to the entire school, all of its students, and staff, for LCI's 175th celebrations.
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