Sue Kershaw (nee Wakely):
CLASS OF 1962
King Edward High SchoolClass of 1962
Vancouver, BC
Sue's Story
The 50th reunion of my grad class at King Ed has come and gone, but what an evening it was! My only disappointment was that I couldn't sit and chat with everyone there -- just not enough time.
In case you're wondering, here's my story...
The September after my graduation, I headed off to UBC to become a teacher.
One of the big changes we've seen in our lives since 1962 is the breadth of career options women these days can choose from/are faced with. When I was a teenager, our choices were typically nursing, teaching, secretarial work, and home-making.
My mom was both a teacher and a nurse -- I chose the former occupation and my sister, Avis, the latter.
I enjoyed my years of teaching (high school Englisih for 2 years, special education for 20, and grades 4/5 in my last year) and I am confident I made a adifference in some children's lilves. However, hindsight being 20/20, I wish I had had the vision to breark through the proverbial glass ceiling and go into family law.
That being said, I feel SO blessed to have had a full and very rich life:
A car accident in 1963 left me hospitalized for months and then bed-ridden for a year but I managed to complete my second year at UBC -- for three months, my professors communicated with and taught me over the phone because I was in a body cast from toes to shoulders
I got my first teaching contract at David Thompson High School in Vancouver -- teaching English and then some special education.
My marriage to John Kershaw brought me a wonderful son "the easy way" (by birth) and two equally great step-sons as well as the opportunity to be an at-home mom with time to work in the community (as member of a court-watch program and president of a ratepaers' group).
My divorce prompted me to move to Vernon in search of a teaching job.-- at a time when the job market had closed down. I worked with the association for people with mental handicaps and at the local college teaching Adult Basic Education before I got a full-time job at an elementary school. For a WHOLE three days, I felt I had been demo...Expand for more
ted, but I soon discovered elementary school is where the "lights go on" and I settled down to being part of the "switching-on" process.
Then, in my late thirties, I headed back to UBC to take my Masters in Education. Returning to school as a "mature adult" was a great experience -- I knew where I was heading and didn't feel intimidated by the system. At the same time, I joined the Vernon Jazz Society and became a member of the Vernon Community Singers (130-voice community choir)
The Vernon Jazz Society was a big part of my life for fourteen years in my late 50's and 60's. I was archivist, secretary, publicity director, and then booking agent. I enjoyed the logistics involved and especially the shmoozing and negotiating.
Travel is also a passion for me -- around North America and off-continent. For years, my girl-friend and I have travelled to someplace interesting each year (e.g. Japan/China, Kenya/Tanzania, a six-week car trip around northern Europe, Argentina/Antarctica/Chile), and my husband, our cat Bob, and I typically travel three months a year with our travel trailer. To date, we've logged about 100,000 miles across all ten provinces and around 35+ states. This fall (2013), I'll be going to Vietnam and Cambodia and next January to Panama and Costa Rica
If I could only travel to one of the places I've been, I'd choose to cruise around the Galapagos Islands. No wonder Charles Darwin came up with his theory on natural selection -- the fauna and flora on each of the 13 islands are so diverse -- and you get to swim twice a day in 25 degrees C water with seals, penquins, and other marine animals. Pairing a trip to this national park in Ecuador with Peru's Macchu Pichu gives you a glimpse of both the wonders of "god" and wonders of man.
So now I am living on the shores of beautiful Shuswap Lake in Canoe BC, a tiny community next door to Salmon Arm, with husband Hugh. My life continues to be full, if not brimming, with community activities, family, friends, and travels. How lucky I am!
Thanks for reading through this!
Sue
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