In her autobiography, Becoming, Michelle Obama touches on her formative experience as a student at Whitney M. Young High School, Chicagoβs first βmagnet school.β Her description of Whitney Young may sound vaguely familiar: located in downtown Chicago, a 90-minute commute from her home on the South Side, the school was a βtemple for learningβ where itΒ was βsafe to be smart.β
T he school, which had an admissions test, was, in the former first ladyβs words, intended as an βequal-opportunity nirvana,β meant to bring together high-performing students of all kinds. Michelle describes being exposed there to kids from more affluent parts of town, asΒ well as classmates from neighbourhoods similar to hers, who βstruggled with far more than I ever would.β She includes an anecdote about leaving on a school trip to Paris, which her parents insisted upon despite their financial constraints. The anecdote, in which she describes the sensation of the plane accelerating down the runway, doubles as a metaphor for how the opportunity to attend Whitney Young thrust her into a world she would not otherwise haveΒ experienced.
T his aspect of Michelleβs high school journey will resonate with many of us, for whom UTS was a similar launching pad that, notwithstanding our financial limitations, was accessible. Over the years, as circumstances have pushed up the cost of a UTS education, offering this kind of experience to everyone has become more challenging. Bolstering the UTS Bursary Program is a vital way to reverse this tide, and to maintain the schoolβs essential promise of merit-based opportunity. This aspiration is embedded in the UTS Strategic Plan, which vows to: βEnsure every student who should be at UTS can attend and participate fully, without financial barriers, through an enhanced bursary program.β It is also a way toΒ promote an exposure to economic diversity, which benefits all students, as well as the alumni theyΒ willΒ become. β
Outgoing UTSAA President Aaron Dantowitz β91 is pleased to pass the torch to his successor Avanti Ramachandran β09 , who is looking forward to taking on the role, andΒ thanks Aaron for his example and years of service.
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO SCHOOLS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
371 Bloor Street West, Room 250 Toronto, Ontario M5S 2R7
BACKGROUND PHOTO CREDIT: Sarah Brownlee. Dishes from Richmond Station, where Aldous Cheung β03 is executive chef.
ABOVE
House spirit runs high at our annual House Track Day at University of Torontoβs Varsity Stadium.
Photo: M4 (grade 10) SilverΒ βΒ The Twig
CONTRIBUTORS
Peter Buzzi β77, Aaron Dantowitz β91, Martha Drake, Dr. Leanne Foster, Truc Nguyen β01, Avanti Ramachandran β09, Tony Storey β71.
Published spring and fall, The Root is available to all alumni, parents and friends of UTS. The Root is also available at: www.utschools.ca/root. Contact us at alumni@utschools.ca or 416-978-3919 to update your address or to receive yourΒ copy electronically.
Peter Buzzi β77 Board Chair, UTS
Dr.Β Leanne Foster Principal, UTS
Together, we can ignite the brightest minds
This fall, UTS launched our new Strategic Plan, unveiling a bold mission that embodies the essence of our school:
We ignite the brightest minds to make a difference in the world.
In typical UTS fashion, we set the bar high. The plan is a symbiosis of past and future, building on an extraordinary tradition of academic achievement since 1910 and the lasting impact of our esteemed alumni who have made such a difference in the world. Our new strategy recognizes our students as architects of the future, and aims to develop their potential to lead in an era of unprecedented change.
We want our students to be more than ready to rise to the challenge: we want them toΒ ask courageous questions, think critically and lead with purpose.
T he new Strategic Plan is more than a series of goals; itβs our shared commitment toΒ ensuring that we, as a community, further our tradition of excellence and inclusion atΒ UTS.
O ur school belongs to everyone in our community. To create a truly impactful Strategic Plan, we engaged with our stakeholders as our compass to guide this process. WeΒ listened to their ideas and thoughts on what UTS means to them and the direction we should take, consulting with staff, students and parents, and soliciting alumni forΒ their input.
It was inspiring to hear our alumni communityβs thoughts and ideas for our school. This plan was created by our community, for our community.
Academic excellence grounds our mission, while the vibrant diversity of our community drives us toward unprecedented achievement. We envision a future where equity and inclusion transcend ideals to become living principles β integral to our curriculum, essential to our culture and evident in every human connection. ThisΒ bedrock commitment to diversity and anti-racist practice defines both our present identity and our highest aspirations.
A s we go forward, our work will be guided by five pillars, propelled to greater heights by our affiliation with the University of Toronto:
β’ L eading in Learning
β’ I nclusion by Design
β’ B elonging and Wellness
β’ I mpact with Integrity
β’ Better Together
You can view the new UTS strategic plan online at strategicplan.utschools.ca
At UTS, we believe that true leadership is defined by empathy, integrity and a drive toΒ effect positive change. The achievements of our alumni stand as living proof. They are trailblazers, driven by courage and a commitment to justice, consistently making an impact in their fields and communities. Our graduates donβt just make a difference β they shape a more just, equitable world. We all have a role to play by living our values, embracing our community and upholding the excellence of this extraordinary institution. This strategy will guide UTS forward into an even better version of our school, where everyone feels a strong sense ofΒ belonging, and our impact makes a profound difference in the world in which we live. This is the UTS legacy. β
Photo: Michael Hainsworth P β24
LIVING OUR LIVES STRATEGICALLY
Walk into the UTS Main Office and you will now be greeted by a beautifully designed wall bearing our new mission statement: βWe ignite the brightest minds to make a difference in the world.β The adjacent wall, the one you will see as you turn to enter the rest of the school, shares our new vision statement: βTo advance our longstanding tradition of academic excellence as a global leader in education, including through our affiliation with the University of Toronto and ourΒ partnership with theΒ Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.β
These are the opening statements of our new UTS Strategic Plan (strategicplan.utschools.ca) which goes on to declare our enduring commitment to anti-racism, equity, diversity and inclusion β a commitment that is woven into everything that we do. Not only does ourΒ new Strategic Plan provide opportunities for you to get involved, your involvement is vital. We can only bring our Strategic Plan to life withΒ the contributions and support of the full UTS community.
You may be wondering what this could mean for you in practical terms. There are many ways you can help β here are just a few suggestions. Do you know people who would be well served by a UTS education, especially those who have been historically underrepresented at the school? Please use your UTS pride and your connections to advocate forΒ our school and introduce to them the possibility of UTS.
You can also come back to UTS for a visit, a tour or an event, to see firsthand what UTS is like today. If an in-person visit is not possible, reach out to us for a conversation to deepen your understanding of how UTSΒ is advancing our tradition of excellence in an environment where all students and staff can feel a sense of belonging.
Another essential way you can get involved is by giving your support to the UTS Bursary Fund. This year, we are providing $2.6 million in bursary support to 111 students, 32 of whom are fully covered for their tuition. WeΒ are supporting more students than ever before, and yet, rising tuition costs mean a UTS education is still beyond the reach ofΒ many deserving young people. We are committed to making our school accessible and can only achieve this goal with your help.
A s retiring Board Directors Meg Graham β89, P β27, Kath Hammond β87, P β20 and Pamela Wong β98, PΒ β28 , left their final UTS Board meeting, I overheard them commenting about how the new UTS Strategic Plan rung true to the school they know and love as alumnae and parents, and sharing their excitement about what it holds for our future. I hope you feel the same way and are motivated to help us live up to our commitment to our school today and into the future.
Martha Drake Executive Director, Advancement
UTS 2024-25 Co-Captains Avi and Nathan.
IN SCHOOL
UTS F2 student (grade 8) Yeab kicked off the 2nd Annual Brilliancy and Resiliency Black Student Conference last spring at St. Michaelβs College School by sharing a powerful speech about what Black brilliance and resilience means to him, coming from his experiences as a student at UTS. βThe crowd was blown away by his eloquence, humanity and wisdom,β says UTS Deputy Principal Dr . Kimberley Tavares, who accompanied the students along with Event Coordinator Paula Jack and English Teacher Nkechinyem Oduh . Yeab was one of 11 UTS students who attended, taking part in an inspiring morning of workshops about how to navigate challenges and find strength inΒ identity as Black students.
For over a quarter century, English Teacher DavidΒ Cope and French Teacher Brigitte Amiot have touched the lives of hundreds of UTS students with their commitment and dedication.
βIt is mind-boggling to think of all the changes that happened at UTS over our time here,β says David, βthe increases to student population and tuition as UTS became an independent school, theΒ inevitable evolution of staff, and the renovation of our historic home, just to name a few. Sometimes, those changes have been difficult, but I can honestly say it has been exciting and invigorating to be here through this part of the schoolβsΒ history.β
M any will remember the lively Mme Amiot teaching French virtually (and dancing on the beach) in Greece, when the pandemic struck during March Break 2020 and she couldnβt return from her vacation.
U TS presented Brigitte and David with gifts to honour their 25-year milestones at the end of the school year. Brigitte is going on leave for a year, after which she plans to retire. David notes this is actually his 30th anniversary, as he first joined UTS as a student-teacher five years before he began teaching at the school.
The UTS Badminton team proved that great things happen when we lift each other up! Coach Kris Ewing spoke about the spirit of the team, noting that βthey strategize together, support each otherβs matches and do a terrific job of encouraging each other. The teamβs collective leadership is the secret to the teamβs success!β The momentum carried into the Varsity Badminton Team finals and our players came away asΒ TDCAA 2024 League Champions! (There are even more players involved than pictured here.)
While UTS M3 (grade 9) History students were in Ottawa they made friends in high places, meeting with the Honourable Chrystia FreelandΒ PΒ β19, β23,Β β27 (pictured centre in black), Canadaβs deputy prime minister and minister of finance, as well as a proud UTS mom. After the visit, Teacher Vince Dannetta heard students in the elevator dreaming of their own possibilities and saying how inspired they were by Chrystiaβs personal story of how she became engaged inΒ politics.
Their Ottawa trip is a culmination of three years of history studies at UTS. In three days, students performed a mock trial in the Federal Court of Appeal, visited the Canadian Museum of History where they learned from a tour focused on Indigenous peoples, visited the National Gallery of Canada, drove along Sussex Drive to see some of the embassies, toured the Canadian War Museum, and even made time for bowling. Vince says: βThe trip was one of those moments that left me feeling aΒ great deal of gratitude for what IΒ do.β
The UTS Trivia Team reached for the top and found trivial supremacy, with a clean sweep of two national competitions for the second year in a row. At Consensus National Championship in Toronto they were neck and neck with Calgaryβs Renert School, but rallied for a decisive victory of 410-315 to take the cup! Four UTS alumni were also at the tournament: Kunaal ChandrashekarΒ β23 , Serena SulemanΒ β23 , Elijah Mandelbaum β23 and JennyΒ MaoΒ β12 . The following weekend, they did it again at the Reach for the Top championship in Ottawa, winning 470-290 over Renert, with trivia fan andΒ UTS alumna Morgan Ring β07 (also proofreader of TheΒ Root) cheering them on. βI am so proud of all of our players, who were really in their finest form,β said UTS Teacher Jon BitidisΒ β99, who co-coached the team with Bryan Levesque, the schoolβs human resources and community coordinator. Will the team defend their championships for a third year inΒ aΒ row? StayΒ tuned.
This school year, UTS enhanced our academic team to strengthen support for students. Two head of school roles were created: Royan Lee (left) joined as head of middle school (F1 to M3), and Coretta Sampson (right) joined as head of senior school (M4 to S6). Tigist Amdemichael (centre) became dean of academics. βMyΒ vision is to support our students in using their gifts to make a difference,β says Tigist. βOur innovative programming will enrich their minds while nourishing their emotional and physical wellbeing.β She brings expertise from her role in developing teacher curriculum at York University and 20 years of progressive science education leadership at the Toronto District School Board. Both Royan and CorettaΒ come from roles as Ministry of Education student achievement officers andΒ previously served in the York Region District School Board: Royan as a curriculum consultant and coordinator and Coretta as a principal and vice principal. They join Jennifer Pitt-Lainsbury, who took on the newly created role of vice principal of academic operations, Garry Kollins as vice principal of student life and Nancy Dawe as our dean of students. Together with UTS Principal Dr . Leanne Foster, Deputy Principal Dr . Kimberley Tavares, and new Head of Anti-racism, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and Outreach Nasreen Khan, the team will work toΒ enhance inclusion for all UTS students.
For more UTS news and views, check out our website at utschools.ca.
THE GO O D LIFE
This issue of The Root explores a path lessβtravelled by UTS alumni, celebratingΒ the careers and communities of 12Β alumni making their mark in culinary and vinicultural arts and sciences, asΒ well as restaurateurs, brewmasters and cider makers. They transform sustenance into a fine art, and uphold historic traditions of wine, beer and cider making with sustainability as a bottom line. Their work embodies both art and science; chemistry lies at the heart of great food and wine. Often, their hospitality builds communities of their own making.
PHOTO: Sarah Brownlee, courtesy of Aldous Cheung β03
THE ART OF SUSTENANCE
Six UTS alumni on cultivating community, theirΒ creative lives asΒ chefs and restaurateurs, and theΒ importance of choosing your own path.
βI was in the school plays and β¦ my fantasy dream was probably to be an actress, and thatβs really what I wouldβve told you I wanted to be back when IΒ was in M4 (grade 10) or S5 (gradeΒ 11),β says Alison. βBut having a restaurant, the surprising thing about it is that it feeds a similar creative urgeΒ β when we open every night, there is an element of putting on a show about it. I feel
different when Iβm behind the bar than when IβmΒ just in my normal day at my desk.β
A lison, who studied theatre and worked as a writer and arts critic for a number of years, never planned on becoming a restaurateur. βFor us, itΒ really came organically out of something that myΒ partner and I were doing for fun,β she says.
A lison works full-time outside of the restaurant, while handling the administrative duties, working front of house and creating the weekly cocktail specials. Seven years on, the work continues to beΒ fun and fulfilling.
βIβm really proud of the sense of community that weβve been able to build,β says Alison, addingΒ that βthereβs a real pleasure in welcoming people to the space and curating an evening for them that isΒ about the food and drink.β
Another UTS alumna, MelissaΒ Fox-RevettΒ β82 , also found herself in the industry after helping her husband Richard Fox-Revett, a trained chef, open The Monkey Bar more than 27 years ago. AΒ practicing tax lawyer at the time, she wrote the business plan, negotiated the contracts and leases, and did other administrative work for the North TorontoΒ eatery.
Alison Broverman β99 runs Borrel on Torontoβs East Side with her husband, Justin Go.
ABOVE: Melissa FoxRevett β82 and her husband Richard run TheΒ Monkey Bar, which has been open for moreΒ than 27 years.
BELOW: Aldous CheungΒ β03 pivoted fromΒ academia to executive chef at Richmond Station inΒ downtown Toronto.
βThen eventually, when I stopped being a lawyer, I opened my own restaurant called Boho on Roncesvalles, and I sold that after five years,β says Melissa. When the new owners stopped operations, she returned and reopened it as Blue Plate. After four years, she sold it to work full time with herΒ husband. These days, the clientele at The Monkey Bar includes friends and acquaintances from many erasΒ of her life. βI have old colleagues from law firms that I worked at, old customers from my restaurant on Roncesvalles, all kinds of UTS people that go. Itβs very cool,β she says, adding that the Class of 1981 held an alumni dinner at theΒ restaurant a few years ago.
Melissa credits her time at UTS for teaching her important lessons that apply to both her career asΒ aΒ lawyer and her work as a restaurateurΒ now.
βThe amount of homework that we did, the amount of preparation that we had to do, that helped me like crazy when I got to university and then to law school. But even in the restaurant businessβ¦ you have to adapt, you have to change, you have to look at things differently,β says Melissa, noting that she learned to practice lateral thinking and βthink differentlyβ as a student atΒ theΒ school.
D edicated teachers like former principal and mathematics teacher Al Fleming β54 made a lasting impression on Melissa. βHe was very influential in my education even though I was bad at math, because he wouldnβt give up on you,β says
Melissa. βIf you didnβt understand, heβd be like, βOkay, I see youβre confused. Come to my office tomorrow at 8 a.m. Weβll go through it again.ββ
L ike Alison, Melissa never expected to become a restaurateur. As an alumna who notes that βmostβ of her friends are other UTS grads, there was some adjustment for Melissa going from lawΒ β βI think becoming a lawyer was an extension of being a UTS person, right?β β to hospitality, and she recalls being questioned on that choice on occasion. βOne of the downsides ofΒ a non-traditional UTS-type career, is that when people find out what you do, that you have a non-t raditional career, theyβre like, βWhy?ββ
T he thing is, says Melissa, as tough as the job can be β βYouβre constantly on your feet, youβre constantly having to think things through, puzzle out things, come up with new ideas, satisfy everybody,β notes Melissa. βItβs an incredible job; itβs a great life. And itβs fun in the sense that if youβre doing it right, which hopefully you are, youβre making people happy.β
A c areer pivot also brought Aldous Cheung β03 into the world of hospitality.
Currently the executive chef at Torontoβs Richmond Station, Aldous studied political science for almost a decade before deciding to pivot to a career in food. βGradually, growing up, I became more and more interested in food, and interest became a passion, and then when my original plan wasnβt really working out, I had to reset and think about what motivates me in life,β says Aldous.
He entered the culinary management program at George Brown, and soon started working parttime and pursuing an externship at the critically acclaimed, now-defunct restaurant, Nota Bene.
βItβs, on the one hand, been very challenging. You start off as a junior cookβ¦and itβs a pretty tough environment, at least the way I came up, and itβs a very physical job and so on,β recalls Aldous. βBut at the same time, itβs very rewarding.β
More than 10 years on, his passion for food and cooking have not waned.
βI fell in love with hospitality,β says Aldous. βI was already in love with cooking, but working in restaurants, you learn that your job is to cook, but the act of cooking is in service of somebody having an awesome timeβ¦and ultimately itβs about them going home happy and wanting to come back and try your place again.β
I n his current role, Aldous oversees the menu, runs the kitchen, orders food and products, and manages hiring and scheduling on the kitchen side
PHOTO: Sarah Brownlee
at the award-winning restaurant in downtown Toronto. βWhat we do at Richmond Station is try to find the best ingredients and present them in a way that makes sense with the right amount and right level of technique that it deserves,β heΒ explains.
W hen asked about how the restaurant industry has changed over the past few years, Aldous mentions recent efforts to βimprove the quality of lifeβ for everyone who works at Richmond Station, such as a four-day work week for most kitchen employees and the elimination of tipping altogether. In 2020, Richmond Station became a hospitality-included restaurant to address the pay gap between front and back of house employees.
βI think our own culture in the restaurant has changed in the time Iβve been there β again, in the right direction β in terms of how we treat each other, how we talk to each other, the way that colleagues interact with each other and so on,β heΒ adds.
β We really wanted to present a place that was just accessible, interesting, high quality, but also based on a principle of creating the least harm possible, whether it was to our employees or to the supply chains that we were using,β says Martin.
At the time, Martin was studying jazz and physics at McGill University and working as a jazz
bassist. He wanted to open a venue where peers could find the same opportunity for growth that he himself did βfrom playing at these small, intimate venues in the city as a young musician.β Martin adds that he learned how to play bass at UTS, andΒ the school is where he experienced βall of this enthusiasm about learning about and spreading theΒ joy of playing jazz music.β
βIt was a young personβs wild experiment,β says Martin, who handled everything from preparing the food to setting up the sound, doing the stage design, booking artists, managing budgets andΒ more.
Yet, despite the co-founders not having any professional training in cooking or much experience in hospitality, Resonance stayed open for nearly a decade before closing during the Covid-19 pandemic.
β What we wanted to do was provide a community space that served the people who work there, the artists and the local public,β explains Martin, now working as a lawyer in Toronto. βIt was a real challenge and it was maybe arrogant of us to think that we could do it at that age and stage in our lives. At the end of the day though, I think we did provide a benefit to the community for the 10 years that we were there.β
βItβs an incredible job; itβs a great life.β β MELISSA FOXREVETTΒ β82
Creating community is also important to Ann Kim β01 , co-owner of Donnaβs, an all-day restaurant in Torontoβs West End with a New Canadian focus.
βI realized towards the end [of UTS] that maybe I wasnβt cut out for academia and really love this other industry that I was already working in that spoke to my sense of always having to be physically busy,β explains Ann.
She met her now-husband, Peter Jensen, a chef, while working at Momofuku in Toronto. After becoming parents, they decided to open Donnaβs in 2018 with another Momofuku alum, seeking better work-life balance, more control over their career paths and the ability βto choose the people that we spend our days with at work,β says Ann.
A nn and Peter also live near the restaurant, and being a part of the community around their
business is very important to the couple. βDonnaβs is a bit of a hub as well as a restaurant,β says Ann. βWe often have people just coming in to say hi or stopping by for a quick chat while theyβre on their way to work or wherever theyβre going.β
At Donnaβs, Ann now handles the admin work, supports front of house and manages the wine list. And after more than two decades, sheβs still passionate about working in hospitality.
βIt is something that I always loved from when I first started, and everyone would always say, βYouβre going to love it in your twenties, and eventually youβre going to get so sick of it with theΒ way guests will treat you, or just feeling like you arenβt reaching your full potential in life,ββ says Ann. βI have to say that Iβm surprised that I still really, really love itβ¦itβs something that IΒ really still have a passion for and enjoy doing every day.β
U TS alum, David Currie β72 , also became a restaurateur after working in hospitality at a young age.
βThere were a couple of people from a year or two before me [at UTS] who were working at a steakhouse when I was a teenager,β recalls David. They helped him get a job there as a university student, and the experience would launch a successful career in restaurants that continuesΒ today.
David worked as a waiter, a bartender and a cook, then studied wine in Europe before returning to Toronto and opening a restaurant, Panache, inΒ the eighties with a business partner.
Panache was a hit β βWe were open for a month and we were on the back page of the Star,β David recalls β and he would go on to open Le Paradis, a French restaurant that remains a Toronto staple after almost 38 years.
A lthough David says that he never thought he would want a career in the restaurant business, there were some early signs that this would be the right path. βMy mother was always a keen foodieβ who would pack lunches with βcanner lobsters from Dominion, or steak tartare,β recalls David.
A s a former UTS classmate once quipped, βWe could have predicted David would go into restaurants, because he would bring steak tartare for lunch.β
T hese alumni are a testament to both the art of sustenance and the joy of hospitality, proving that the restaurant industry can have a profound impact on the lives of others, in the comfort they create and the community they share. β
ABOVE: Ann Kim β01 (centre) with the team at Donnaβs restaurant, which includes business partners and chefs Jed Smith (left) and Peter Jensen (right), who is also Annβs spouse.
BELOW: David CurrieΒ β72 has operated French restaurant Le Paradis on Bedford Road for nearly 38 years.
PHOTO: Maude Chauvin
NEW TRADITIONS FOR AN OLD WORLD
Crafting careers and community in wine, beer and cider making
BY KIMBERLEY FEHR
THE MAKING OF A WINE REGION: PETER BELL β74
What was a young man who was βrabidly motivatedβ to become a winemaker to do, living in Toronto circa the 1980s? At the time, there were no winemaking degree programs outside of California and France, and Peter Bell β74 couldnβt picture himself in the tribe of Toronto wine industry salespeople.
He reached out to his friend and fellow alumnus John Allemang β70, who wrote a wine column for The Globe and Mail. John connected Peter with Bordeauxβs ChΓ’teau dβAngludet and Peter and his wife, Joanna Purdy, picked grapes there before travelling the world. While in Australia, Peter learned about a degree program in wine science. Moving his young family to Wagga Wagga, Australia was a sacrifice and a financial challenge, but all of the science Peter recalls paying little attention to at UTS became meaningful at Charles Sturt University, when applied to winemaking.
βI believe in the power of random encounters as a way of generating oneβs life experiences,β he says. While Peter was winemaking in New Zealand after graduation, he found himself chatting with an industry peer who mentioned New York Stateβs Finger Lakes region as being poised to make some of the best rieslings in America. βYou should go there,β his colleague advised.
Peter took on the role of head winemaker at Dr.Β Konstantin Frank Winery. He didnβt know much about rieslings, but honed his craft through trial by fire and amassed the awards to prove it. Five years later, he moved up the road to Fox Run Vineyards, where the golden era of his winemaking
career began, with Peter overseeing rieslings and pinot noirs and a wide range of red and white table wines from sweet to dry, sparkling to fortified, including his personal favourite, tawny port wine.
W hen Peter arrived, the Finger Lakes enjoyed far less renown as a wine region than it does today. Seeing a need to foster a collaborative atmosphere, he organized bi-monthly formal tasting sessions with his fellow winemakers. βThat established a spirit of subsumed egos, and sharing our vulnerabilities based on the idea that we can all learn from each other. It took a bit of persuading, but winery owners became comfortable with thatΒ model.β
O ver the next decade, the Finger Lakes became established as one of the best riesling regions in
ABOVE: Peter Bell β74 speaking in Fox Run Vineyards tasting room. LEFT: Peter Bell during the 2021 harvest at Fox Run Vineyards inΒ the Finger Lakes wineΒ region.
Photos courtesy of Fox Run Vineyards
theΒ world. βWinemakers learned from each other how to grow and work with the grape better,β Peter says. βThere were a lot of meetings, seminars, tastings and brainstorming sessions. Thatβs where that spirit of conviviality and community comes in. We couldnβt have done that if everybody had been working alone, looking after their own interests.β
βBeing a winemaker, you find yourself among peers whose existence is crucial toΒ your own existence.β β PETER BELL β74
T he Finger Lakes is now considered the most important U.S. wine region east of the Mississippi. Peter worked at Fox Run for 27 years until his semi-retirement in 2022. In 2008, the winery was lauded as one of the Top 100 Wineries in the World by Wine and Spirits magazine. Wine Industry Advisor named Peter Bell one of Wineβs Most Inspiring People in 2023, quoting a colleague who called him βa gentle titan in the Finger Lakes.β Another winemaker wrote that Peter was βarguably, THE most influential Finger Lakes winemaker, ever,β nominating Peter for the Jim Finkle Industry Award, which he won.
O ver the years, Peter also mentored many young winemakers, taught at Cornell University, tutored Master of Wine candidates and lectured throughout the world.
βMy days left me with a sense of exhilaration,β he says. βI got to jump out of bed every morning, go to work and make great wine. I became part of a movement forged with a spirit of collaboration rather than competition. Being a winemaker, you find yourself among peers whose existence is crucial to your own existence. That sounds metaphysical, but thatβs how connected, supportive and interactive we are. We work as a region, and we tend to have no secrets.β
Now Peter consults for various Northeast wineries and continues at Fox Run working on hisΒ tawny port, which takes eight years to make. βIβm making wines now that will be soldΒ when IβmΒ in my mid-seventies. Thereβs aΒ veryΒ longitudinalΒ aspect to that, which isΒ perfect.β
Recently, Peter attended his 50th UTS reunion. βMost of my classmates are either physicians, engineers or businesspeople. Iβm the odd one out inΒ terms of career choice, but it worked out very well for me.β
A FASCINATION WITH FERMENTATION: KATE NOWELL-SMITH β90
Kate Nowell-Smith β90 finished her art history and philosophy degree at McGill University, thinking she would follow the typical UTS track of becoming a lawyer or professor, and really not wanting to. βIt took a lot of strength to not go thatΒ route.β
I nstead, she attended cooking school in New York City while deciding which academic path to pursue, and became a food writer, and recipe tester for Saveur
C aptivated by wine classes at cooking school, and knowing she would be settling in Northern California, one of the greatest winemaking regions of the world, she determined to become aΒ winemaker.
W hen her children started school, she started as a winery cellar worker, running up and down ladders, scrubbing tanks, stirring the lees in the barrels and more. She went back to school at the University of California, Davis for chemistry classes and a winemaker certificate, and now works in Sonoma County as an associate winemaker for Brick and Mortar winery, where she makes primarily sparkling wines. She also works for its affiliate, Healdsburg Custom Crush, which produces wine for 10 other wineries, and she writes for wine publications including Decanter and Jancis Robinson.
A h ands-on winemaker, she specializes in lowintervention wines and regenerative farming, and her day begins before dawn.
βThe more you do in the vineyard, the less you have to do with the wine,β she says. βIf you can pick fruit thatβs pristine and delicious, then the wine will require relatively little input in theΒ cellar.β
C aring for vineyards is a year-round pursuit. InΒ January and February, critical pruning decisions must be made. Come March she walks the vineyard rows looking for budbreak β the first sign of dormant vines coming to life. Then sheβll begin removing buds and later in the growing season the vines will be trained and canopy managementΒ begins.
βOur forebears had it right,β says Kate. βGet rid of the chemicals if possible and get back to the natural cycles of the vineyard.β Organic and biodynamic vineyards have a lot of life all around, she says β insects buzzing, birds singing, grasses growing and a variety of legumes fixing the nitrogen in the soil around the vines and improving nutrient uptake.
A s the grapes ripen, she monitors the Brix level for sugar in the fruit, as well the pH and total acidity. βYouβre looking for that balance in the berry,β she says. βYou want phenological ripeness, which refers to the signs of ripening on the vine βdo the seeds and stems look good, does the fruit taste right?β
K ateβs fascination with fermentation began as a child in King City, Ont., helping her father make beer and wine in their basement. As a winemaker, she enjoys both the science and the art of winemaking. βThe organic chemistry involves bacteria and yeast, and itβs our job to put them in
an environment where they can do their best work. Wine is always on the move and you can only control it so much.β
A nd then, there are moments when the process feels largely out of oneβs control, such as when devastating wildfires hit Sonoma County in 2017 and 2020. Her wineries have lost power, sheβs been evacuated, and through it all she and other winemakers have become experts in dealing with the most insidious threat β the smoke that blows in with the wind, permeating the grapes, irrevocably changing the taste and potentially destroying anΒ entire season.
βTheΒ more you do in the vineyard, the less youΒ have toΒ do with the wine.β
β KATE NOWELL-SMITH β90
I n the Wallbridge fire of 2020 it came down to: βWe pick today or we lose everything.β InΒ oneΒ day, they brought in nine different lots that typically would have been harvested over weeks. βUltimately nature dictates what we have to do. We can mobilize quickly and get stuff done. IΒ loveΒ that.β
K ate has risen up in a male-dominated industryΒ βin California, only 14 per cent of lead winemakers are women, according to Women Winemakers (Santa Clara University). Part of her success is the highly tuned organizational skills she first developed at UTS as president of Southern Ontario Model United Nations Assembly. ββPlan the work, work the planβ is every good winemakerβs motto,β she says. βUTS ingrained excellence into us, and at the end of the day, that is what I pursue asΒ aΒ winemaker.β
Kate Nowell-Smith β90 at Sei Querce Vineyards in Sonoma County, California with Tyler Klick, vineyard manager and owner of Redwood Empire Vineyard Management.
REGENERATION: BRENT KLASSEN β85
Everything that is and everything that happens at Heartwood Farm and Cidery comes back to one sole, circular purpose: regeneration.
S oil is their best asset and its health is their ultimate bottom line, says Brent Klassen β85 , who cares for the 42-acre farm with his wife Val Steinmann, their son Kieran and his sonβs friend Matt Steinman (not related to Val).
I ncorporating livestock is one of the principles of regenerative farming and they raise cows, pigs, sheep, chickens and bees. Having living roots in the soil at all times is another β in their orchard they grow apples, maple trees and other types ofΒ fruit and nuts.
βItβs such a remarkable thing β you plant a stick in the ground and a couple years later youβve got food you can eat.β
β BRENT KLASSEN β85
β We live in a time of climate change, ecological collapse and the massive reduction of biodiversity that can seem pretty bleak,β says Brent, who is vice president of the Ecological Farmersβ Association of Ontario. βThis farm, with its regenerative practices and the idea of building local economies on the fruits of the farm, is a response to that, not only in terms of remediating the landscape, but also in creating community.β
Heartwood has been home for more than 20 years. At first, Brent led a dual life: Toronto marketing agency executive by day and what he calls βagri-nerdβ by night. Around 2010, he became βexistentially enchantedβ with fruit tree horticulture. βItβs such a remarkable thing β you plant a stick in the ground and a couple years later youβve got food you can eat.β
B rent left marketing to work full-time on the farm and build a cidery in 2016, with the philosophy that the cider should be as close to the fruit on the branch as it can possibly be, and a lot less sweet than typical commercial ciders.
Heartwoodβs whimsically branded ciders include the likes of Raspy Poet, an aromatic bone-dry raspberry, and Eve Goes Badass, a sparkling cider named for their delightful matriarch pig, Eve. The badass comes from their farm-grown ghost and cayenne peppers, the spice offset by HeartwoodΒ honey.
A small farm canβt make a go of it on food production alone, Brent says. Along with products such as cider, a non-alcoholic fruit beverage called Sparkle, maple syrup, honey and more, Heartwood also offers the gift of experiences: from a tasting room and farm tours, to overnight farm stays, retreats and events.
β We talk about being in relationship to place and land, which is so important in this era of climate change, and you canβt do that without land,β he says. βWe become a proxy for the four or five million people who live within an hourβs drive and donβt have an acreage. Our mission is providing significant and meaningful ways for people to relate to land, building community and connecting people in a time of growing isolation.
Brent Klassen β85 during harvest season at Heartwood Farm andΒ Cidery in Erin, Ont.
This is our response to what we perceive to be the hazards that we live with in this time.β
A s part of this connection, Heartwood gets involved in community events: this June, Heartwood hosted members of Indigenous communities on the Credit River Waterwalk ceremony.
I n the summer, the farm hosted a forum on regenerative finance. βWeβre looking at novel ways of getting money and resources to people who are regenerating the landscape,β Brent says. βWeβre very involved in those kinds of broader conversations that take place at a higher level thanΒ just cider production or farming.β
Recently, they applied circularity principles to Heartwoodβs production systems, cutting ingredient waste by about eight percent, and dramatically reducing their processing waste, after Production Manager Matt Steinman graduated from the Circular Leadership Program at the IveyΒ Business School at Western University.
I n ways like these, Brent believes a small farm can make a difference and says UTS fortified him for this life: βUTS cultivated my individuality and integrity. It taught me that you are the author of your own life story, so write what you want to write. That traces back to my time at UTS and the remarkable people I went toΒ schoolΒ with.β
BUILDING A NATIONAL BRAND: TOMMASO MAGNOTTA β96
For 20 years, Magnotta Winery had been planning for an LCBO strike in Ontario, and every time it was called off at the eleventh hour, until this summer, when the strike lasted two weeks.
β We were very well prepared,β says Tommaso Magnotta β96 , the president of Magnotta, the third-largest winery in Canada, as well as a brewery, a distillery and purveyor of beer and wine-making supplies. βOur 14 retail stores became much busier. But our wholesale business through the LCBO went from good to zero. So there were positive impacts on the retail and negative on wholesale that added up to a slight net-positive.β
Tommasoβs hectic day-to-day involves liaising with industry stakeholders and dealing with the complex and changing regulations that govern
Ontario alcohol sales, as well as overseeing the leadership in other aspects of the business such asΒ finance, marketing, operations and sales.
Tommaso Magnotta β96 cherishes his memories of the Music program at UTS, where he had the opportunity to conduct βtremendously talentedβ student musicians in playing his original composition for Music Night and the Twig Tape, with the support of music teacher JohnΒ Fautley.
βTo survive in the hyper-competitive marketplace, we have to be insanely efficient.β β TOMMASO MAGNOTTA β96
βTo survive in the hyper-competitive marketplace, we have to be insanely efficient,β he says. βOur winery has more equipment and technology than much larger wineries in places like Italy. Our grapes in Ontario are among the highest-priced globally by a large margin. In many other wine-producing regions in the world, their governments subsidize their exports. The net result is that Ontario wineries face high costs and low prices and need to be at the top of their game toΒ compete.β
Tommaso, who has served as president since 2019, grew up alongside the business. His late father Gabe and his mother, Rossana Magnotta, started a small winery in 1990, adding a brewery in 1996 and a distillery in 1997. Over the years, Tommaso worked in all aspects of the enterprise, from the retail stores to the production line to the lab as well as human resources, marketing andΒ finance.
A fter UTS, Tommaso studied aeronautical engineering at the University of Toronto, spreading his wings as a part-time member of the Air Force Reserve, and earned an MBA from the
Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the Schulich School of Business at York University. βThe engineering problemsolving mindset, where someone really endeavours to understand how things work, has a broad applicability married with industry knowledge that allows me to be effective at Magnotta regardless ofΒ what comes our way.β
W hen thereβs time, Tommaso enjoys forays into product development, trying innovative things with wine, beer and spirits. This summer, the winery launched the new Ugly Duck red and white wine blends, in an innovative recyclable bright yellow paper bottle that tackles one of the greatest climate change challenges facing the wine industry today: the massive carbon footprint of glass bottles. The new paper bottle is five times lighter than glass, cutting the carbon footprint byΒ up to 84Β per cent and eliminating breakage.
A nother challenge the winery has taken on is Lyme disease. βWith climate change and more ticks in Ontario than ever before, Lyme disease is very topical, and affecting the health of many Canadians,β says Tommaso. Rosanna established the G. Magnotta Foundation and a research lab at the University of Guelph in memory of Gabe, who passed away from the disease, with the aim ofΒ changing how the disease is tested for and treated in Canada.
βItβs nice to be in a situation as a family business where we arenβt driven by quarterly targets and Mom and I have the opportunity to focus on what we care about and whatβs good for the business,β he says. Magnotta went public in 1997 but became private again in 2013 when Rossana negotiated a deal to bring it back fully into the family. Looking ahead, the goal is to make Magnotta a national brand. βPlant vines today, and it takes four years before you get a full crop,β says Tommaso. βMajor equipment investments can also take five or more years before they start paying back. We can have a long-term perspective, which is really what the wine industry is about.β
THE BIOCHEMISTRY OF BREWING: ERICA MCOUSTRA β00
Late morning is prime time for the palate, and every working day at 11 a.m., Steam Whistle
Head Brewmaster Erica McOustra β00, attends her favourite meeting: taste panel, where her team samples brews to gauge their progress.
W ith more than 18 years as a brewmaker, Ericaβs palate is fine-tuned to the slightest nuances in taste.
A Toronto institution, Steam Whistle Brewing, with the motto βDo one thing, really, really well,β makes only one iconic beer, a pilsner, adhering to the Bavarian Purity Law which states the only pure and essential ingredients that can be used in beer are barley, hops, water and yeast.
T he same motto could apply to Ericaβs career, which started by home-brewing with housemates while studying math at the University of Guelph. When the home brewing company offered her a job, she put university on hold, thinking, βThis is something Iβm really passionate about and you donβt get a lot of opportunities in your life to follow your passion. I think I should go for it.β
She loved it all: the camaraderie, the science, the manual labour, and how rewarding it was atΒ the end of the day to have a beer with congenial colleagues knowing she helped make it.
βThere was so much to learn,β she says. βIt spoke to so many aspects of my life that inspired me, exploring flavours, developing your palate and understanding the technical relationship between ingredients, process and the final product. Chemistry, biochemistry and biology were not my strong suits at UTS but suddenly with a real-life application, I was hooked.β
Erica McOustraΒ β00 says Steam Whistle Brewing feels like her place.
She travelled to the old world in 2008 to enhance her technical skills with a six-month certificate at the VLB Beer Institute in Berlin, Germany.
W hen she returned, she worked for Magnotta Brewery, crossing paths with Tommaso, and then moved on to Amsterdam Brewing, where she met her husband Iain McOustra, now the head brewmaster there.
She joined Steam Whistle in 2010, thinking after making only pilsner for a few years, she would move on but, she says, βWhen I joined, it really felt like my place. And it turns out you can always learn more about pilsner and deepen your understanding. Weβre always tweaking and improving.β In her time there, theyβve changed every raw ingredient and refined processes for sustainability. They used to use Caledon spring water, with two large trucks delivering water every day, when it turned out the softer municipal water in their Etobicoke facility, which they treat on-site, was perfect for pilsner. Their hops still come from Europe, but since Canada produces some of the best barley in the world, they use localΒ barley.
β We can really impact sustainability by understanding the agronomics of all of the inputs,β says Erica, βworking with our suppliers and vendors to ensure that theyβre employing sustainable practices.β
E rica, who became head brewmaster in 2020, is also constantly re-examining Steam Whistleβs water usage to recapture water and energy.
βBrewing is energy-intensive because first you heat the beer to cook it. Then you cool it down and have to maintain that temperature through the exothermic reaction of fermentation. Recapturing water increases our yields and decreases our footprint. Itβs not just about the bottom line for Steam Whistle, but the industry as a whole.β
A s a woman breaking ground in a maledominated profession, she used to brush off sexist comments. βBrewing is genderless. I felt that any energy I gave to that was energy away from my craft. Iβm just one of the crew, but in recent years Iβve come to appreciate itβs not about me. Itβs aboutΒ everyone else and breaking barriers for people who might be more marginalized than IΒ am.β
I n 2022, Steam Whistle acquired Beauβs Brewing, and Erica got the best of both worlds, continuing to refine the pilsner she loves while branching out into lagers, ales and IPAs.
βI always knew that I wanted to continue learning forever,β says Erica. βBut you have to
want to learn. As soon as I found beer, I wanted toΒ read every biochemistry textbook I could get myΒ hands on.β
NATURAL WINE FOR EVERYONE: NICOLE CAMPBELL β05
One very late night, wine importer Nicole Campbell β05 and her friend Krysta Oben, a sommelier, had a revelation: they could be Grape Witches, forging their path on their terms, with the type of the wine they are most passionate about: natural wines.
βWeβve worked really hard to create a space that is inclusive β itβs a huge core value for us.β
β NICOLE CAMPBELL β05
βNatural wine is wine how it used to be made,β says Nicole, βbefore industrialization made wine at a huge scale: machine-harvested, sprayed with herbicides and pesticides, and transformed in production with as many as 60 additives in a bottle. Compare this to a wine made lovingly by a person in a place, using handpicked grapes grown organically, and the yeast that exists in the environment for natural fermentation.β
Nicole Campbell β05 visiting the Piedmont wine region in northwestern Italy, searching for new and exciting natural wines.
Natural wine has a lot in common with the slow food movement, Nicole says, looking at how the food is produced and creating choices that are better for the environment and have a positive social impact (and the wines taste much better,Β too).
G rape Witches began throwing hundreds of parties to showcase exciting natural wines. They did it all: from soirees at the back of a friendβs pizza restaurant to wine pairing takeovers at iconic restaurants like Taste of China to βTry & Buyβ tasting events, cracking open scores of rare bottles not available in the LCBO. They even held a 500-person wine cruise β now an annual twonight event that sells out instantly every year.
I n 2020, Grape Witches put down roots, leasing a storefront on Dundas Street West as an event space and launching Grape Witch Imports, aΒ natural wine agency importing great wine from around the world. Then, the pandemic hit and they pivoted to a bottle shop, a Wine Club and aΒ lot of Zoom tastings. Later, they opened a back
patio and a bar. Now with a team of 16, they are opening a shop and bar in the new Waterworks Food Hall downtown. Their tagline says it all: natural wine for everyone.
T hey mean everyone. Even before they opened their first store, they had created a scholarship for Black, Indigenous and People of Colour entering the profession. Since then, they have given out over $35,000 in flexible grants applied to formal or informal wine education, such as a travel grant toΒ work a harvest overseas.
T hey aim to not only hire people of diverse backgrounds and gender identities, but also to ensure they feel welcome and set up for success. Similarly, their clientele began as mainly white women. βNow if you look on our patio, itβs as diverse as the population of Toronto. Weβve worked really hard to create a space that is inclusive β itβs a huge core value for us,β saysΒ Nicole.
W hen she was at UTS, her father owned a restaurant and a wine agency, but after UTS she embarked on an academic path, studying psychology and history at Queenβs University. Taking a year off academia, she ended up making wines around the world and never looked back.
A s an importer, she builds relationships with natural wine producers around the world, such as southeastern Chileβs Itata Valley. With vines dating back to the 1550s and the Spanish colonists, she says, βThe Itata Valley has some of the most special, old vines in the world, but until a few years ago, their wines were impossible to find, and really undervalued. Farmers were barely making a living while European producers commanded more money for less-exciting wines. Weβre excited to champion some of those underdog makers, who offer incredible value with a story to tell.β
G rape Witches also works with wineries from Eastern Europe, in places like Slovenia and Slovakia as well the former Soviet republic of Georgia, home to the first known evidence of wine production in the world.
W ine can be intimidating, she says, and they aim to give people wine experiences that are really moving. As for the wine industry, she hopes the traditional Eurocentric view will change. βAs we continue to work towards decolonizing wine, we have to question the idea of what grapes and regions are βbest,β shift the way we talk about tasting notes and question how we approach teaching wine. We will continue to do that while creating joy and bringing people together.β β
The patio at Grape Witches bottle shop andΒ bar on Dundas Street West.
ALUMNI NEWS
The Globe and Mailβs Architourist celebrated the architectural legacy and career of John Shaw β50, who retired as principal from CS&P Architects nearly two decades ago. βWhile it takes talent to design a house for a discerning client, itΒ takes an altogether different skill set to design a building for, well, everybody,β wrote columnist Dave LeBlanc of the Mimico Centennial Library, saying the building works as well as today as it did when it first opened in November 1966.
Notes on the milestones and achievements in the lives of our alumni.
There are plenty of ways to stay inΒ touch! University of Toronto Schools
www.utsconnect.ca
alumni@utschools.ca
@utschools
@utschools
From schools and libraries to a post office, multi-unit housing and more, Dave wrote that βone is still dumbstruck by the quality, variety and human scale ofΒ theΒ work.β
C S&P Architects principal Peter Ortved β67 was quoted in the article, describing Johnβs strength in client relations. Under Johnβs leadership, the firm also fostered an inclusive culture.
βIβm proudest of all in the way we treated people,β John told the TheΒ GlobeΒ and Mail. βWe had a record of people leaving forΒ better offers and coming back.β
Congratulations to Tony Storey β71 for earning the 10-year Ontario Volunteer Service Award this year. The former director of alumni affairs for Trent University, Tony continued to volunteer for the university after he retired, proving
// βAlligator Pie, Alligator Pie, / If I donβt get some IΒ think Iβm gonna die!β Itβs been 50 years since iconic Canadian poet, teacher, editor and critic Dennis Lee O C β57, P β84 wrote the childrenβs poetry book called Alligator Pie in an effort to introduce βzing, bounce, vitality into traditional kidsβ poetry.β Today, The Walrus magazine calls it βa landmark of Canadian literature.β The magazine ran a story by Brooke Clarke this spring celebrating his accomplishment: βHow Dennis Lee Cooked Up Alligator Pie.β Subhead: βHow one manβs war against what he called βpious versiclesβ led to an enduring work of childrenβs literature.β Dennisβ career has earned multiple accolades, including the Governor Generalβs Award in 1972 for his poetry, CivilΒ Elegies and Other Poems. He was also the co -founder of House of Anansi Press, Torontoβs first Poet Laureate in 2001Β and composer of the theme song for FraggleΒ Rock, aΒ 1980s television show, and many other songs.
that his work was not just a career but a calling. Pictured left with PeterboroughKawartha MPP Dave Smith.
// Naomi Boyd β17 began by exploring their familyβs multi-generational history in this place now known as Toronto, and the broader Jewish and Queer communities that have grown here and shaped their own identity. The result was their participatory, textile-based mapping project, Blood, Water & Bathurst Street, an 18-metre long wool scroll which won a DesignTO Best in Festival Award earlier this year and was displayed at Stackt Market. βBeyond interpersonal relations, I have sought to establish further connection and understanding of/with the lands and waters that have shaped these territories. Many Indigenous Peoples have dwelled, gathered and journeyed through these lands for millennia, yetΒ their stories and ongoing presence have been largely erased from public memory here in the city alongside drastic resurfacing and colonial development of the land,β they wrote on their website. The project navigates an active relationship to land, exploring the histories, communities and journeys that have shaped the lands surrounding Bathurst Street from the shoreline of Niigani-Gichigami (Lake Ontario) up to Steeles Avenue, the City of Torontoβs northern boundary. One metre of fabric represents one kilometre, serving as a community-sourced historical document, with growing contributions from visitors that show the street as a confluence of multiple diasporic communities, including those of Chinese, Korean, Afro - C aribbean andΒ FilipinoΒ descent.
Bill Robson β77, P β06, β08, β09, in his role as president and CEO of C.D. Howe Institute, appeared as one of the pundits on TVOβs The Agenda this spring, discussing the Ontario budget for 2024, along with NDP MPP Catherine Fife, Liberal MPP Stephanie Bowman and Green Party MPP Mike Schreiner. Pictured left.
The University of British Columbia celebrated the distinguished legal career of Mary Ainslie, K C , β 83 with the 2024 Alumni Award of Distinction from the Peter A. Allard School of Law. A senior lawyer at the BC Prosecution Service, Mary argues regularly in the BC Court of Appeal, and has also appeared numerous times in the Supreme Court
of Canada. For decades, she has been a resource counsel for trial prosecutors throughout the province on matters related to vulnerable and child witnesses and has given back to the community at the UBC Law faculty by teaching courses and coaching competitive moots. Upon receiving the award, Mary said: βIt seems unreal as I still feel like a law student, not a distinguished alum!β
Dr Sarah Richardson β97 witnessed close calls at a Danforth and Woodbine area intersection and became concerned for the safety of neighbourhood children, so she and her neighbours staged an βart intervention,β which was featured on CBC Radioβs Metro Morning. They added a giant fluorescent yellow spiralling circle to the intersection and βSTOPβ in big yellow letters. βOne just never knows when the Oakcrest artists
Pictured at the awards ceremony with her brother, incoming UTS Board Director Don Ainslie β84.
PHOTO: Dr. Sarah Richardson β97
// Samaa Kazerouni β14 and Ajay Shah β14 became friends as S6 (grade 12) students, when they had four out of five periods together on A days. βWe had a lot of time to get to know each other with our schedules so closely aligned β we always thank the Guidance team for making our relationship happen,β says Samaa. They became partners for the Indian dance that Ajay was choreographing for SHOW, had their first date at Famoso on Bloor and quickly became a couple, attending UTS Prom together. βWeβve had a relationship filled with adventure since then, including years ofΒ long distance and lots of travel.β In October 2022, Ajay proposed to Samaa through aΒ day- long amazing race across Toronto, which included a stop at UTS. The couple wasΒ greeted by vice principals Garry Kollins and Garth Chalmers , and Samaa had toΒ serve a volleyball (she played varsity volleyball at UTS) to get her next clue for theΒ race, whichΒ finished at Polson Pier, where Ajay proposed.
I n May, the couple had a beautiful, multi-day, interfaith wedding in Toronto surrounded by family and friends who flew in from all over the world. Ten of their ClassΒ of 2014 classmates attended, with Arkady Arkangarodsky, Daniel Henke Tarnow, Ki-Sang Yi and George Radner giving speeches. In addition, Samaaβs sister Layla Kazerouni β20 was the maid of honour, and her best friend Alison Xie β20 also came. InΒ October, Samaa and Ajay celebrated the eleventh anniversary of their first date!
collective will strike again!β she says. βBut for now the intersection is much safer even though our yellow spiral is sadly goneΒ β new crossing lines are there now and workingΒ beautifully!β
After spending almost a decade working in capital markets, Lillian RowlattΒ β97 cofounded a business delivering locallymade, artisanal foods from Japan to customers around the world. The company, Kokoro Care Packages, helps to support regional farmers and producers in a country where many centuries-old traditions face the real threat of disappearing due to a shrinking and aging population. The company was recently sold to a Japanese corporation which will help expand its global customer base, while supporting more local communities. Lillian is staying on as CEO and encourages everyone to turn their ideas into reality as the rewards are often greater than one can imagine!
Dr Luke StarkΒ β02 , an assistant professor at Western Universityβs Faculty of Information and Media Studies, has joined the CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars program for 2024-2026 as one
of 10Β emerging research leaders at the Canadian-based global research organization that seeks to address humanityβs most pressing challenges. He is part of the Future Flourishing Program, looking at how to create a better world for all life onΒ our planet through his research, which explores the history and contemporary effects ofΒ AIΒ designed to interact withΒ humans.
Family medical
resident Dr . H an Yan β09 wrote an opinion piece for the Toronto Star in September, called: βWhy I decided to βstep downβ from neurosurgery and choose family medicine.β In the piece, she recalled meeting a family physician duringΒ UTS careers class who told her that: βEven if AI takes over all aspects of medicine, patients will always need to talk to their doctor and feel that someoneΒ β a physical other person sitting in front of them β is on their side.β While she appreciated the prestige of neuroscience, family medicine
became aΒ calling. βThere is a unique fulfilment that comes from being part of someoneβs life story over years, decades or generations. More than any other specialty, family medicine allows for the care of the individual from cradle toΒ coffin,β HanΒ wrote.
The Outsiders musical, choreographed by the Kuperman brothers, Rick β07 and Jeff Kuperman β08, in their Broadway debut, won the 2024 Tony Award for Best Musical. The musical, an adaptation based on The Outsiders novel by S.E.Β Hinton and Francis Ford Coppolaβs 1983Β film, received 12Β nominations in total, including one for best choreography. Prior to the Broadway opening, they appeared on CBC Radioβs Q with Tom Power talking about their early life training in dance and martial arts and βtricking,β which is a mix of martial arts, gymnastics and parkour. They also discussed working together and how they brought the musical to life, especially the dramatic rumble scene in which the showβs rival gangs, the Greasers and the Socs, finally go head-to-head. Jeff said, βBy the end of it, everyone is covered in blood and mud and rain and sweat and tears and you canβt tell who the Greasers are and who the SocsΒ are. JustΒ aΒ pile of dirty, muddy hired boys lying in the mud βdefeated.β ReadΒ moreΒ aboutΒ themΒ inΒ the
section about the New York Branch Event on page 27. Jeff pictured centre andΒ RickΒ right.
In 2017, Claire Hunter β17 went on a UTS school trip to Italy. This year, she returned to Udine, Italy and once again stayed with her exchange partner Francesco and his family for a few days. She wrote to her teacher, Vince Dannetta , βIt was so amazing to reconnect with him after six years! We are so grateful for the exchange experience that you organized, which has given both of us a lifelong friendship! Thank you so much for this.β Udine is the hometown of former UTS Latin and Classics teacher Eugene Di Sante, who started the UTS Borderlands program, which included the exchange to Udine.
Macleans magazine named Edward Tian β18 sixth on its annual power list for education this year βfor making sure AI isnβt doing kidsβ homework for them.β His
GPTZero app, co-founded with Alex Cui β16, which took off like wildfire last year when he was a senior at Princeton, distinguishes AI content from human content. Now they are on a mission to βpreserve whatβs humanβ with their 15-person company, as we reach the tipping point of an AI revolution. Edward was in good company on the list, along with premiers, a federal minister and leaders in the educationΒ field.
While Henry (Hank) Sharpe β19 was at UTS, he constantly drew dinosaurs, culminating in his S6 (grade 12) Visual Arts exhibitΒ featuring his reconstructions and models. Henry hasnβt stopped! HisΒ current work in paleontology and artΒ is so fascinating that CBCβs The Nature ofΒ Things had him as aΒ guest expert onΒ paleo art, teaching the reporters howΒ to create a dinosaur drawing based off aΒ skeleton ofΒ the Canadian Velociraptor. βItβsΒ toughΒ to figure out what colour dinosaurs were. But predators are typically more drab-coloured because they want the camouflage,β he says onΒ theΒ show.
UTSΒ Visual Arts Teachers Robin Michel
and Charlie Pullen used Henryβs work as inspiration for an F2Β (grade 8) Creature DesignΒ challenge!
LITERARY NEWS
Celebrated author Lawrence Hill C M Β β75 was named a fellow of the RoyalΒ Society of Canada, the countryβs most prestigious body of independent scholars, researchers and creatives at the forefront of intellectual leadership. TheyΒ cited his βexceptional contributionsΒ to Canadian literature, to the dramatization and celebration of Black culture and history, and his profound engagements in social justice.β The author of 11 books and a University of Guelph professor, Lawrence was quoted onΒ theΒ University of Guelph website saying: βI have spent four decades mapping questions of migration, survival, identity, love and the search for home in my fiction and creative non-fiction and am thoroughly delighted to see this workΒ βasΒ well as my commitment to teachingΒ at theΒ University of GuelphΒ β honoured byΒ the Royal Society ofΒ Canada.β
Congratulations to Alexis StefanovichThomson β85 on publishing his first novel, The Road to Heaven, a Patrick Bird Mystery.
Patrick Bird is a police academy dropout turned private eye whose specialty is tracking down wayward spouses in divorce cases, who takes on a case of a missing daughter from a wealthy family. The setting isΒ Torontoβs Parkdale neighbourhood, circaΒ 1965. The Toronto Star called itΒ βa stylish throwback to hard-boiled crime thrillers of the classic era, with an engaging and entertaining protagonist at its heart.β Alexis is also the winner of the 2023 Crime Writers ofΒ Canada Best Crime Novella Award.
Coming this December: University of California Press plans to publish a new book by Andrew CampanaΒ β07 titled Expanding Verse: Japanese Poetry at Mediaβs Edge. The book examines how Japanese poets in different eras connected to the new media of their time, from cinema
of the 1920s to disability rights activists in the age of mass media, all the way up to augmented reality in the present. An assistant professor of Asian Studies at Cornell University, Andrew has also had his translations of Japanese poets recently published in Monkey magazine.
ALUMNI ENCOUNTERS
Hope is an answer for our challenging times. UTS students S5 (grade 11) Maya , S5 Ryan and S6 (grade 12) Mitsuko premiered their compositions at the Songs of Hope, an event with the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO). Our students performed alongside an impressive list of PhD composition students and professional composers, including Shreya Jha β16, to a packed room at Heliconian Hall. Former UTS music teacher Ronald Royer, a conductor with Scarborough Philharmonic, premiered his SPO commission and conducted at the event.
D uring the intermission, Kumiko Murasugi β78 introduced herself as a UTS alumna from the first class of girls to graduate from UTS. Currently a linguistics professor at Carleton University, she also studies voice with one of the featured singers, and came to see her perform. βIt was a delightful surprise to discover that some of the songs had been composed by UTS students, and a pleasure to then meet and congratulate these talented young composers on their creative and moving pieces!β she says.
Pictured second from left with UTS Music Teacher Sarah Shugarman (left), and students Ryan and Maya.
Last spring, Dr . Carson Schutz β85 (right) delivered a full set of musical scores to MarkΒ Laidman , then director of music, of a song composed by himself and fellow student Brent Klassen β85 (featured in the cover story of this issue of The Root). The song was called Monday Afternoon in the Middle of Nowhere, and featured on the first-ever volume of the Twig Tape!
NEW STAFF ALUMNI
Congratulations to Mitchell Chuvalo on his retirement after 18 years of service as a UTS Health and Physical Education teacher, and French Teacher Mme Brigitte Amiot on reaching 25 years of service and herΒ retirement. (See Mme Amiot on pageΒ 6.)
UTS alumni on staff: Emma Jenkin β03, Charline Wan β12, Thomas Nachshen β16
REUNIONS
The Class of 1955 reunion took place at the Donalda Club Toronto in August. Class Captain Julian Porter gave a rousing speech and everyone shared fondΒ memories about their former teachers and UTS experiences.
The Class of 1961 finally had a chance to hold their 60th reunion after many postponements due to COVID. Twenty-one alumni came in person and almost asΒ many others emailed their best wishes. Bill Hodgson came from Australia and Dave Ward flew in from Victoria, B.C. Doug Adamson reports that they enjoyed lively conversation
overΒ a light lunch buffet, as many of them had not seen each other since their 55thΒ anniversary in 2016 and were soΒ happy toΒ get together again.
How fitting β 50 members of the Class ofΒ 1974 celebrated their 50th anniversary of graduation in June with a cocktail reception and dinner hosted by GregΒ Deacon β74 at UTS in the Multi- P urpose Room and Fleck Atrium! This was the first reunion dinner to beΒ held in this space and was attended byΒ retired principal Al FlemingΒ β54 , retired Art teacher Don Boutros , UTS Principal Dr .Β Leanne Foster and Executive Director, Advancement,
Martha Drake.Β Leanne and UTS
Co - C aptains Archie and Iris gave celebratory remarks!
The weather was ideal, the atmosphere was relaxing and the company perfect! A group of retired UTS staff gathered for the Retired Staff Luncheon at the Toronto Cricket Club in June, including former principal Rosemary Evans
EVENTS
UTSAA HOCKEY MATCH
Their eyes were on the net and their hearts were in the game! Wonderful camaraderie ensued at the annual UTSAA Hockey Match this spring, with 29 alumni chasing the puck and glory at University of Torontoβs Varsity Stadium. Several friends and family members came out to cheer the players on.
UTSAA Golf Tournament
Eight foursomes hit the links at Richmond Hill Golf Club in June for a fun day of friendly play. Vice Principal ofΒ Student Life Garry Kollins , former viceΒ principal Garth Chalmers
Class of 1955 and spouses: (front table from left) Jim Domm, David Howse, Jean Domm, Harold Atwood, Leonore Atwood and Bill Hunter; (back table from left) John Gardner, Julian Porter, Bill Taylor, Tom Sanderson, Pauline Adams and Lesley Sanderson.
Retired Staff Luncheon: (back row) Ann Unger, Frank Mustoe, John Wardle, Judy Kay, Ron Wakelin, Don Boutros, Ornella Barrett, Ana Maria Pereira-Castillo, John Fautley, Ron Royer; (front row) Carole Bernicchia-Freeman, Rosemary Evans, Paul Moore and Maria Collier.
and Science Teacher Alan Kraguljac joined alumni players out on the green. Although rain and thunder drove the final foursomes off the course, a great time was had by all. In the clubhouse, Dr Β Leanne Foster and Martha Drake came for the post-game celebration.
BRANCHING OUT
UTS hosted several Branching Out discussions in the spring where alumni shared advice on university and career life with students. Media MokhtarniaΒ β21 gave S6 (grade 12) students ideas about how to manage their personal finances atΒ university.
M4 (grade 10) students took part in a variety of alumni career panels, learning from the extensive experience of our alumni. Emily Antze β02, Luke Stark β02 and Isabella Chiu β13 spoke about having studied the humanities in university and their subsequent career paths. Laura Christensen β09, Grant Oyston β09 andΒ Emma Clarke β13 shared their experience studying at the University of Guelph, Carleton and Acadia universities, and Kingβs College respectively, all atypical Canadian universities for UTSΒ students. Gregory Ho β17, Elizabeth Mendez Berry β95 and Ryhna Thompson β93 spoke about their careers in sports and theΒ arts. UTSAA Director Hana Dhanji β05, Raphaela Neihausen β95 and Shanna Shi β11 discussed careerΒ transitions.
BRANCH EVENTS
NEW YORK CITY
A record number of alumni β 40!Β β came out for the New York Branch EventΒ at a Times Square restaurant in April, where they had the opportunity to meetΒ new UTS Principal Dr . Leanne Foster and visit with Martha Drake, executive director, advancement. UTSAA DirectorΒ Max BaiΒ β16 spoke at the reception. AfterΒ the event, some of the alumni joinedΒ UTS students onΒ the annual Expressive Arts New YorkΒ CityΒ trip to seeΒ The Outsiders musical, choreographed by our own
Kuperman Brothers, RickΒ β07 and JeffΒ β08 in their Broadway debut. Following the performance, the Kupermans hosted aΒ special talkback just for UTS students and alumni! SeeΒ AlumniΒ News on pageΒ 23 for more about theΒ Kupermans.
Interested in joining the Branching Out program to mentor senior UTS students? Contact Rebecca Harrison forΒ more details: Rebecca.Harrison@utschools.ca.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2025 UTS on Bay Street networking event Torys LLP, 79 Wellington St W #3300
5:30 to 7 p.m.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 2025 StageΒ 2 Interviews Help select the next UTS cohort!
8 a.m. to early afternoon Volunteer form to come viaΒ email.
UTSAA Hockey Match
UTSAA Golf Tournament
New York City Branch Event
OTTAWA
Over 40 guests including 39 alumni and one UTS parent, ranging from the Class of 1954 to 2018, attended a cocktail reception at the Rideau Club. The event was hosted by UTS Board Chair Peter Buzzi β77, Dr . Leanne Foster and Martha Drake
IN MEMORIAM
RALPH BARFORD C M β46
1929 β 2024
Ralph Barford is remembered as one of Canadaβs most distinguished executives, a corporate leader whose generosity created opportunities for many of his fellow Canadians, including those atΒ UTS.
A fter purchasing General Steel Wares (GSW), he transformed the company into the largest appliance maker in Canada. For decades he served as president of Valleydene Corporation, a family-run holding company with a majority interest in GSW, as well as overseeing warehouse facilities, oil and gas businesses, and a real-estate investment portfolio.
A sought-after and highly regarded board director, Ralph had a sphere of influence that impacted some of North Americaβs most important corporations. His impact was also felt deeply in the public service, where he served on University of Torontoβs Governing Council in the early 1970s, advocating for UTS to become co-educational. He also served on the Victoria University Board of Regents, and as chair at Westernβs Ivey School of Business. ForΒ Harvard, he led
an initiative to enable a geographically and culturally diverse group of Canadians to attend the business school.
R alph has always been there for UTS. He was there to provide bursary support in the 1990s when UTS lost provincial funding, and in 2010 created the first UTS bursary for Indigenous students in the name of his best friend, Charles Catto β46. Ralph is also a UTS Founder, who was there to break ground at the renewed school and whose legacy continues through support from the Ralph M. Barford Foundation.
Named a Member of the Order of Canada, Ralph also received an honorary law degree from Western University, an Alumni Achievement Award from Harvard Business School, where he obtained his MBA, and an Arbor Award from the University of Toronto.
H is first entrepreneurial success was founding the National Merchandising Corporation in Boston in 1954, which grew to have sales of $7 million before heΒ sold it to partners in 1960. ReturningΒ to Toronto with his family, he purchased the manufacturer Beatty Brothers, and later GSW, paving the way for his future as a revered Canadian corporate leader.
A l ifelong learner, Ralph nurtured enduring friendships, including some from his UTS days. He loved golf, painting and travel, visiting almost every country in the world (except forΒ six). Predeceased by his wife, Elizabeth
βStevieβ Barford, he lives on in the memories of six children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as well as his loving partner, Marilynn Jo Hitchens, and her descendants.
J . FERGUS KYLE β48
1929 β 2024
The aviation dreams of J. Fergus (Ferg) Kyle took flight when he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force while studying engineering at McGill University.
A nd fly he did: from Havards to Vampires, Sabres to T-33s, Expeditors to the Otter, rising through the ranks to become lieutenant-colonel and commanding officer of the City of Westmount 401 Squadron before retiring from the Air Force Reserve in 1972.
D uring this time, Ferg also became a pilot for Trans Canada Airlines (Air Canada) in 1955, flying DC3s, North Stars, Super Constellations, Vanguards, Viscounts, DC9s, DC8s and his favourite, the L1011 Tristar. His early airline career often took him to London, U.K., where he met Jenny, who would become his wife of 59 years. They lived in Ste. Marguerite and RosemΓ¨re in Quebec, and then embarked on the big move to βchase the flyingβ which led them to Burlington, Ontario, where he lived the rest of his life, retiring from Air Canada in 1989.
A long the way they raised three children and took up many pursuits.
A n avid Ham Radio enthusiast, Ferg joined the Burlington Amateur Radio Club where he took part in many emergency preparedness exercises with local agencies. Ferg lent his aviation knowledge and skill to various projects at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton, Ont., including flying the Yale. In retirement, Ferg built a Europa mono wheel airplane in his house where he pursued his many other hobbies. A talented sketch artist,
he took after his father James (Fergus), who wasΒ aΒ politicalΒ cartoonist for The Globe and Mail and other newspapers inΒ Toronto.
Ferg was predeceased in 2021 by the love of his life, Jenny, and his daughter Elizabeth in 2014. He leaves behind two sons, and five grandchildren.
T hough he flew to great heights, he never forgot his UTS community, attending many UTS events including the grand reopening of UTS in 2022 and the 70th anniversary reunion of the Class of 1948 , as well as giving his generous support to our school.
PETER COWPERTHWAITE
GODSOE O C , OONT β56
1938 β 2023
Peter Godsoe began his career as a teller at the Bank of Nova Scotia and rose to become its chief executive officer, renowned for progressive, visionary leadership over his 40-year career.
A s chairman and CEO, he shepherded the bank to become the second-largest in Canada, with acquisitions of both National Trust and Montreal Trust, while leading the bankβs expansion into Mexico and other countries.
L ong before it was fashionable, he championed equity, overseeing the appointment of the first woman as the bankβs executive vice president. Under his leadership, Scotiabank began to allow benefit coverage for same-sex partners. He began his reign as CEO in 1993 by appointing an independent task force toΒ find out why so few women held upperΒ management positions.
H is impact extended beyond the bank across Canada, to multiple corporate boards such as Barrick Gold, Rogers Communications and Fairmont and non-profits such as Mt. Sinai Hospital, Canadian Opera Company and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. He also served
four years as chancellor of the University ofΒ WesternΒ Ontario.
I n honour of his corporate legacy and legendary generosity, Peter was awarded the Order of Canada, the Order of Ontario and the Order of Jamaica, and bestowed with honorary degrees from Concordia, Dalhousie, Kingβs College and Western universities.
At UTS, Peter forged strong friendships, including becoming lifelong friends with others in the UTS Class of 1956. While Peter was still a UTS student, he met the love of his life and future wife, Shelagh.
A fter UTS, Peter studied math and physics at the University of Toronto and later went on to complete his MBA atΒ HarvardΒ University.
Peter cherished time with his children and could often be found taking his grandchildren for ice cream. He and Shelagh were married for 60 years and visited over 100 countries together. Peter leaves his wife, three children and five grandchildren and remains revered in the Canadian business sector for his inclusive mindset and transformative impact on one of our countryβs largest banks. PeterβsΒ memory lives on at UTS at the Fleck Atriumβs Learning Stairs, which bear the recognition of Peter and Shelaghβs generosity to the school. β
What will you do?
To designate UTS in yourΒ will or as a designation for memorial gifts, please contact MarthaΒ Drake, ExecutiveΒ Director, Advancement . β’ 416-946-0097 β’ mdrake@utschools ca
ANNUAL DONOR REPORT
In this report, we acknowledge donations made from July 1, 2023 to June 30,Β 2024. We make every effort to ensure the accuracy of information. If you find an error or wish to have your name recognized differently, please contact the Office of Advancement: call 416 -978-3919 or email alumni@utschools.ca.
β D onors who have given for ten or more consecutive years
UTS is an extraordinary school and my first year as principal was full of wonder, in awe of our students, their sheer enthusiasm and love of learning. At UTS, our new mission is to ignite the brightest minds to make a difference in the world. Your generosity is vital in bringing this mission to life. Thank you to the 963 alumni, parents, staff, students and friends who collectively donated over $4.5 million dollars last year to support UTS students. Of that, $1.1 million went to support the UTS Bursary Fund, making a UTS education possible for many students who otherwise might not have been able to attend. I also wish to thank the UTS Arbor Society members for their foresight and commitment in planning your legacy gifts to the school. You are living proof that our community is truly our greatest strength. With your support, we will strive to foster a greater culture of inclusion, while upholding the long-standing tradition of academic excellence that makes such a difference in the lives of our students atΒ UTS and beyond.
D onors who have given between five and nine consecutive years
β₯ Monthly Donors
THE DOUBLE BLUE & WHITE CIRCLE
Our thanks to the members of the UTS community who contributed $5,000 or more. This recognition circle honours and celebrates the schoolβs colours and spirit and these generous donors.
Steven & Gita Alizadeh P β15, β17, β20, β22
Xiang Han Max Bai β16
Estate of W Christopher Ballyn β51
Zain Bhamjee & Iram Bhatti P β20
Christopher Burton β90
Peter L. Buzzi β77
Matthew Chapman & Danielle Paterson P β24
Sheldon Szeto & Flora Chen P β21, β23, β26
Priscilla Chong P β98
Deborah Danis
Peter A. Ewens β79
Ian Ferguson β73
Firefly Foundation
Fleck Family Foundation
James Fleck C.C. β49, P β72
Christopher Francis β81
Estate of Glenna Marlene Fry
Ajay Garg and Tian Zhou P β23
Grenadier Foundation
P. Diane Hamilton β85
The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation
Andre β77 & Jocelyn Hidi
Frederick Hixon & Melinda Rogers-Hixon P β25
β UTS Principal Dr. Leanne Foster
Robert W. Hoke β66
Janet M. Hunter
Robert P. Jacob β60, P β88, β90
Robert & Charlie Janson P β29
C. Stuart Kent β79
Matthew Kronby β81
J. David β70 & Sally Lang P β99
Estate of Balfour Le Gresley P β77
Nicholas Le Pan β69
Brian Livingston β72
Loch Tay Foundation
Robert β58 and Patricia Lord
Antony T. F. Lundy β79 & Janet M. Looker
Tom MacMillan β67, GP β29
Roger Martin β73 & Virginia Martin, P β99, β01, β03, β05
Dena McCallum β82
Susan McCloy
Bernie McGarva β72, P β03
J. A. (Sandy) McIntyre β71
Timothy H. Mitchell β82
David H. Morgan β63
THE 1910 CLUB
Alisha Rani
William Redrupp β54
Bob Reeves & Carolyn Blaine P β27
Donald Schmitt C.M. β70 & Cheryl Atkinson
John N. Shaw β50
Hussain Shorish
Mark Shuper β88
William W. Stinson β51
John Adair & Jennifer
Stulberg β97, P β25, β27, β29
B & B Hamilton Fund, Toronto Foundation
Pamela Y. W. Wong β98 & Gabriel Woo, P β28
John Wu & Yin Mei Wong P β28
Graham J. Yost β76
Anonymous (4)
Our thanks to the members of the UTS community who contributed between $1,910 and $4,999. This recognition honours and celebrates the year the school was founded and these generous donors.
Dr. Jan Ahuja β68
Marianne Anderson P β17
Philip Arrowsmith β48
Kristina Bates β88 & Harris Davidson, P β22
Marcel Behr β81
R. Brendan Bissell β89 and Heidi Clark, P β22, β24
J. Nicholas Boland β79
John Bowden β48 & Lois Bowden, P β79
Michael Broadhurst β88 & Victoria Shen β93
Dmitry Brusilovsky & Svetlana Bogouslavski P β27
Donald Redelmeier β78 & Miriam Shuchman, P β12, β15
Donald & Nita Reed P β92 β
Richard & Jane Roberts P β99, β02, β05
Jeffrey R. Rose β64 & Sandra Black, P β03 β
David Rounthwaite β65 & Leith Hunter, P β01 β
Geoff & Carol Shirtliff-Hinds P β16, β17, β20
James M. Spence β58, P β88
Alberts Vitols & Maria Thorburn P β22
Garry & Nancy Watson P β92, GP β16, β19
David S. Weiss β86, P β21
S.K. & P.N. Wong P β06
Victor & Helen Wong P β05
Mark Yarranton & Patricia Foran P β13
Quan-Gen Zhou & Hui
Song P β09, β16
Anonymous β₯
Anonymous (3)
Anonymous (2) β
Anonymous
Rebecca Levere β₯ β
Kara Lysne-Paris β₯
Julie Martin
Lily McGregor β₯ β
Jack Moorfield
Margaret Pirk β
Jennifer Pitt-Lainsbury β₯ β
Marie-Claire Recurt β
Michaele M. Robertson & Barry Wansbrough
Ron & Kaye Royer
Sarah Shugarman β₯
Elizabeth Smyth
Elizabeth Straszynski & Chris Wilson β₯
Kimberley Tavares β₯
C. Ann Unger β₯ β
David S. Weiss β86, P β21 β₯
Janet Williamson β₯
Andrew Wilson
Carole (Geddes) Zamroutian β
Adnan Zuberi
Anonymous
Anonymous
Anonymous β₯
Anonymous (2) β₯ β
Matthew Horan
Janet M. Hunter
Elizabeth Hurly
Hydro One
IBM Canada Limited
Farida Kafaei
Rick Kollins
Kuperman Family Foundation
Kvantsoft Inc.
Margaret Lang
Da Zhi Leio
Sue Lemon
William Li
Richard Life
Loch Tay Foundation
Manulife Financial
Susan McCloy
Memar Architects Inc
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Government of Ontario
Alisha Rani
Rapido Trains β₯
Rogers Communications
Carol Rolheiser
Smita Sarker
Hussain Shorish
Walter Somerville
Sun Life Financial
Switch VFX & Animation
Travelers Canada
Toronto Foundation β
CELEBRATING OUR GRADUATING CLASS!
Toronto Area Custom Ford Dealers Inc
UTS Alumni Association β
UTS Parentsβ Association β
Mary Jo Walker
Whitehorse Liquidity
Partners Inc
Anonymous (4)
Anonymous
Anonymous β
Since 2007, parents of graduating students have celebrated their childrenβs graduation from UTS by making a gift to the Grad Class Bursary Fund in honour of their children. The Grad Class Bursary is endowed with over $240,000 providing financial aid to current UTS students. This year, many of the gifts in honour of graduating students were directed to our Top Up Bursary Fund and other school priorities. We thank our families for giving the gift of a UTS education through donations totaling nearly $30,000!
CLASS OF 2024
William & Erin Binnie P β24 in honour of Charles Binnie β24
R. Brendan Bissell β89 & Heidi Clark, P β22, β24 in honour of Joseph Bissell β24
Matthew Chapman & Danielle Paterson P β24 in honour of Graham Chapman β24
Samuel Cheng & Bi Ni P β24 in honour of Aidan Cheng β24
Scott Cheng & Fiona Cai P β21, β24 in honour of Stephanie Cheng β24
Gerald Choy & Betty Hum
P β24 in honour of Owen Choy β24
Michael & Ann Chung P β20, β24, β25 in honour of Trinity Chung β24
Xiaodong Fu & Farong Chen P β24 in honour of Jason Fu β24
Garros Fung & Livia Lau
P β24 in honour of Gianna Fung β24
Larry Guo & Brenda Liu P β24 in honour of Kevin Guo β24
Jeffrey Jaskolka β93 & Sara Gray β90, P β24 in honour of Jacob Jaskolka β24
Chris Javornik & Linda Weber P β22, β24 in honour of Anthony Javornik β24
Navin Joneja & Gemma
Joneja P β24, β29 in honour of Sabina Joneja β24
Paul Karanicolas β96 & Emelyn Bartlett P β24, β28 in honour of Andrew Karanicolas β24
Ramandeep Khattra & Ravinder Khattra P β24, β28 in honour of Angad Khattra β24
Ray Kong & Irene Bauer P β24 in honour of Julian Bauer-Kong β24
Jie Lian & Xiaoyun Wu P β24 in honour of Allen Lian β24
Karen Chan β91 & Michael Ling P β22, β24 in honour of Brandon Ling β24
Emil Markow & Kristin Li P β24 in honour of Olivia Markow β24
Nikolay Martynov & Aleksandra Prusova P β24 in honour of Alexander Martynov β24
Alec Melkonian & Krista Semotiuk P β24 in honour of Eleanora Melkonian β24
Mark D. Phillips β86 & Esther Benzie, P β24 in honour of Elizabeth Nicola Phillips β24
Cari Whyne β87 & James Pringle, P β24 in honour of Noam Pringle β24
Maolin Ren & Qing Chen P β24 in honour of Jasmine Ren β24
Philip Siller & Ellen Gutterman P β24, β27 in honour of Sarah Ann Siller β24
Matt Syme & Liz Thorpe P β24 in honour of Emma Syme β24
Michael Tang & Cindy Fong P β24 in honour of Stephen Tang β24
Jian Wang & Nan Weng P β24 in honour of Aiden Wang β24
David & Alla Weintraub P β18, β24 in honour of Lauren Weintraub β24
Gang Wu & Annie Wang P β16, β24 in honour of Violette Wu β24
Sheng Yang & Lixiang Xu P β24 in honour of Allen Yang β24
TRIBUTE GIFTS
Thank you to everyone who gave in honour or in memory of dear friends and family.
IN HONOUR OF:
Bram Abramson β92
Darren Abramson β94
Arnold Amber
Xiang Han Bai β16
Gillian Bartlett
Gloria Bitidis P β99
Elizabeth Buchanan
Peter Buzzi β77
Garth Chalmers
Class of 2024
Aaron Dantowitz β91
Jaswir Dhanji P β05
Rosemary Evans
G. Alan Fleming β54
Shuli Jones β18
Moshe Kats
Leanne Foster
John R. Gardner β55
Barry Graham β59, P β89, β92, GP β27
Ping Kong Lai
Warren Lee β91, P β22, β23, β24
Jo Mason β96
Jannis Mei β13
Ezra Moos β20
Susan E. Opler β79, P β14
Rick Parsons P β16, β19
Ana Maria Pereira-Castillo
Mia Richmond β20
Natasha Richmond β16
Nicole Richmond β18
Kieran Sharma β14
UTS Teachers & Staff
Susan Ware P β95
Erik Worden β23
Gloria Wu β15
IN MEMORY OF:
Derek Allen β65
Leopold Skorski and Janine
Arthur
William Bennett β53
Danyal Bhyat
Stewart Bull
Donald Bunt β45
Lindsey Cameron β91
Richard Clee β49
David Decker β70
John Duffy β81, P β17, β21
John Evans β46, P β75, β78
Donald Fawcett β50
Peter Godsoe O.C., OOnt β56
Libby Grant
H. Donald Gutteridge
Keva Garg β23
Lisa Haberman
John Jacobi β59
Barnet Kussner β82
Natalie Kuzmich
Balfour Le Gresley
Peter Luhse β78
W. Bruce MacLean
THE UTS ARBOR SOCIETY FOR LEGACY GIVING
M. Anne Millar
Alexander Mills β48
Peter Neilson β71
Karen OβConnor β81
Rein Otsason β12
Clare Pace
Stanley M. Pearl
John Perrin β81
Peter Pope β64
Philippa M. Rounthwaite
Peter Saunderson β55
Gerald M. Shaw β50
Nicole Stef β16
Robert J. Sutherland β37
Marika Tamm β84
John Tapsell β70
Kate Tiley
UTS would like to thank the following individuals who have declared their intention to include UTS in their charitable giving plans. We also thank all those who wish to remain anonymous.
Donald K. Avery β49
Scott Baker, Former Teacher
Lois & John Bowden β48, P β79
Paul Brace β71, P β12
Peter L. Buzzi β77
Ben Chan β82
Class Member β84
James S. Coatsworth β69
Gillian (Davidson) Davies β87
Matthew Dryer β68
Lynda S. Duckworth, Former Teacher
James Fleck C.C. β49, P β72
G. Alan Fleming β54, Former Principal
John R.D. Fowell β60
Stephen Gauer β70
Robert W. Hoke β66
David J. Holdsworth β61
Robert E. Lord β58
Antony T.F. Lundy β79
James I. MacDougall β54
Bernie McGarva β72, P β03
James A. (Sandy) McIntyre β71
David Morgan β63
J. Timothy Morgan β87
John D. Murray β54
Mark Opashinov β88
Stephen Raymond & Natasha vandenHoven P β16, β19
William Redrupp β54
D. Kenneth Roberts β70, P β00, β04
Michaele M. Robertson, Former Principal
Carson Schutze β85
John N. Shaw β50
David Sherman β75
Murray E. Treloar β68
Gregory G. Turnbull β73
Walter Vogl β73
Anonymous (19)
If you have made provisions for UTS in your will, or would like to receive information on legacy giving, please contact Martha Drake, Executive Director, Advancement at mdrake@utschools.ca or 416-946-0097.
LOOKING BACK
While visiting UTS this fall, Tony Storey β71 saw exhilarated F1 (grade 7) and S6 (grade 12) students disembarking the bus after experiential education at Camp Couchiching . TheΒ sight brought him back more than a half a century to 1971, and his wonderful memories of the first-ever Experiential Education at UTS β the Grade 7 and GradeΒ 13 weekend Held at the family farm of fellow gradeΒ 12 student, Ian Rhind β71 (also the home ofΒ Ianβs brother SandyΒ Rhind β69 and father Jack Rhind β38), the trip had flag football, frisbee toss, Latin singsong and a 6Β a .m . wake-up call from physical education teacher Mr.Β Simonsβ trumpet! Tony and his peers forged bondsΒ that lasted a lifetime, both within hisΒ class and with theΒ youngerΒ students .
The weekend worked so well Experiential Education became an ongoing part of the UTS program . Today, the theme is building connections β to each other and to the land β and all grades take part in fall and/or winter camps at Couchiching, Cedar Ridge, Wanakita and/or Kintail, with S5Β and S6 students honing their leadership skills asΒ counsellors for the F1s and F2s .
The program is about reaching, reflecting and relaxing together, says UTS Visual Arts Teacher Robin Michel, who has served as the UTS Outdoor Experiential Education Coordinator since 2018 . In the fall, students typically try canoeing, kayaking, the high ropes course, orienteering, archery and swimming . Winter activities include snowshoeing, cross country skiing, broomball, skating and more . Ceremonies, like the camp opening and closing and the annual House sorting, as well as campfire timeΒ andΒ group games, bring students closer together
β Being in an outdoor setting, overnight with your entire grade, experiencing things that are very different from regular school life, fosters character, community and relationships,β says Robin .
Experiential Education Then and Now
Fall 2024 β F1 and S6 students at Camp Couchiching
