JM: How did you feel when we first met five years ago? I remember it was an overcast day and it was drizzling slightly when I first came to see you.
UBC: I remember the day well. It’s always exciting for me to meet new prospective students and hearing your parents talk about how excited they were for you to come and live at me was very exciting.
JM: And then I came back in September.
UBC: Yeah! It’s always gratifying to see that I’ve made such a good impression on students that they decide to choose me for this important phase in their lives.
JM: Tell me what you thought about me during that first year.
UBC: I could see that you were having some trouble adjusting to me. You seemed homesick and you went back home on the weekends quite a bit. I also know that you really didn’t feel completely at ease with me; you didn’t have a place you belonged or your own community and you spent a lot of time in one of my dorm rooms with the door shut.
JM: Yeah, it wasn’t the happiest time.
UBC: I was really glad when the next year you found a community in my Greek system and were able to make friends. Plus that was the year you took advantage of some of my exciting opportunities like joining Arts Co-op.
JM: That year was when I definitely started to take more initiative and interact more with your community.
UBC: Exactly. It was wonderful to see you begin to come out of your shell. I love it when that happens for students while they’re at me.
JM: And that was the year we realized we’d be spending five years together instead of four.
UBC: It was! I was so happy to find I’d get to keep you for an extra year. And then in your third year you got into my English Honours program and you were so excited about that! It made me feel good that you were accomplishing your academic goals.
JM: I loved the program. It was every literature nerd’s dream, I think.
UBC (laughing): I concur! I enjoyed being able to provide that for you.
JM: I appreciate it! In both my third and fourth years I was taking a lot of amazing classes from you and enjoying some of the wonderful opportunities you gave me for involvement and work and leadership. Tell me about this last year.
UBC: It’s always difficult for me to say goodbye to students that I’ve bonded with, and I think this last year has been bittersweet for us both.
JM: It definitely has been for me. Can you tell me why that is for you?
UBC: I know it can be difficult for my students to transition away from me into the next phase of their lives, and I always miss my students. But I also hope that I have provided them with a solid foundation on which to build that next phase, indeed, on which to build the rest of their lives. But as I always say, tuum est, it’s up to you!
JM: That’s definitely something that you’ve taught me! Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to share these thoughts with me.
UBC: It was my pleasure.
Thank you for the past five years, UBC! It’s been quite a ride.