English At 50 | University of Waterloo

Mrs. Esther Etchells (BA 1967) chose to take her first year of University at Goshen College in Indiana. One of her favourite professors there was the two-time award-winning novelist of the Governor General's Award, Rudy Wiebe. His literature course left her interested in pursuing a degree in English. After one year of study in the USA, she chose to complete her degree at UW while living at Conrad Grebel University College.

At UW, Dr. Walter Martin quickly became another favourite professor for Esther. His lectures demonstrated rich, fascinating detail and a passion for learning. She and some of the other students at Grebel had been teachers prior to their studies and could identify many of the traits of those who had teacher's training. She identified Dr. Martin as someone who probably had this training because he was thorough, clear, and compassionate in his lectures. Dr. Martin “made the courses come alive.”

In the Literary Critique course with Dr. Keith Thomas, Esther remembers being concerned about writing the first essay due to his high expectations. In this course, students wrote a 1500-word critique of a poem or short story every week. As the term went on, she became more comfortable and skilled at writing the critiques and grew to enjoy writing essays as a result of the weekly practice. Indeed, she has saved all the essays she wrote in her three years as a university student.

After graduating from UW, Esther briefly considered becoming an airline stewardess because it seemed like an interesting career at the time. However, she decided to return to her teaching career because of the job stability and her love for the job. She retired from teaching eleven years ago and is now pursuing many other interests. Her love for teaching and music encouraged her to teach a volunteer music program to a local Grade 2 class for the past two years. Occasionally, she will serve as a substitute teacher for Kindergarten to Grade 6 classes. She also participates in volunteer work in a variety of settings including the church and the Perimeter Institute as well as the Elora Music Festival. Tai Chi, dance classes, and spin classes help to keep her fit and energized. This summer, Esther wrote about her life's journey as a short talk for a church event. Retirement has proven to be a 'smorgasbord' of activities and experiences.