Skip to the content of the web site.

Mr. Eric Friesen (BA 1967)

Life Lessons From an English Degree

University of Waterloo, October 24, 2008 (on the occasion of receiving UW’s Arts Faculty Alumni Achievement Award)

I want to reflect for a bit this afternoon on the value of the English Degree that I received here at the University of Waterloo. And on the terms in which I want to put this value: What is the relationship between my lifelong work as a broadcaster and my years here on this campus?

When I think back to those years in the mid 60’s – I wince to do the math; it’s 40 years ago now--when I think back to that time, I have very good memories of my classes, of many profs, my residence at Conrad Grebel College, at the many friends I made over the years here, and friends still- lifelong. My university experience was all I thought it would be – a liberation from a small prairie Mennonite town, new friends, endless nights debating the enduring questions, romance, sex, an unlimited sense of what was possible in life… I’m with Wordsworth on those years – Oh to be young then was very heaven.

But as I look back on it, I realize that both consciously and unconsciously I was seeking out a guide for my life while I was here. The first thing I have to say about coming here was that I never expected my English degree to help get me a job. I majored in English and minored in history because that was what most interested me. I knew I didn’t want to teach high school, and I decided pretty quickly I didn’t want to have an academic career, even though I could have had both. In a way I already had a career – I was already working in radio – commercial radio – from the age of 15, and while I might have felt the occasional seduction from another calling, I pretty much knew what I wanted to do. My romance with radio was my calling…

But I also knew – a little then, a lot now as I look back on it – that without the enrichment of a university degree and all that went with it, I would be… incomplete. And how right I was. My years here at UW shaped my worldview, my values, and ultimately my approach to broadcasting.

So, here are some of the life lessons I learned on my journey to finishing an English degree… in no particular order…

Next >>