Every time I come back to UBC it’s a different place, not necessarily in a bad way, it’s just growing and evolving, but it’s certainly not the place I remember as home for so many years. Although it. gets harder and harder to find my way around when buildings I remember are gone, and new buildings exist where fields used to be.
The SUB (Student Union Building) changed years ago, so this isn’t new to me really, but since I don’t come out to the campus very often anymore, it’s still interesting, and I enjoy seeing the students doing what students do. Some of the designs are thoughtful where space to “be” is concerned.
I am thrilled to have been here today though, because it is a one day salmon workshop that takes place every year, and I put it in my calendar a year in advance, every year, so that I can be certain that nothing will be able to conflict with it. It’s a fabulous day listening tot he research that graduate students have carried out, and the things they have learned, over the course of the past year, and how it relates to salmon migration. Some years there is a lot of fish health. Some years there is a focus on sociological topics. And all years there is a good selection of physiology. And it’s always wonderful.
The landscape may change, but the ebb and flow of student life makes me feel grounded, even though my life as a student was so very long ago. I think it just feels good to see students just having the opportunity to stretch and grow before they start on the next phases of their lives and take their skills and abilities out to hopefully improve the world.
