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Dr. Michael O'Driscoll (BA 1989, MA 1991)

     Thanks to his first co-op job at CKCO TV, Dr. Michael O'Driscoll (1989 BA, 1991 MA) spent twelve years working in the “glamorous” television industry. He had the opportunity to observe local television personalities as he worked behind the scenes as a writer and producer for the TV station. After thoroughly enjoying that first co-op term in 1985, he decided to return for his remaining co-op terms and, after graduating, he continued to work for the TV station while pursuing other interests.

     For Michael, his co-op experience was beneficial because it provided the experience and funding for him to continue his education as well as take care of his family. After completing his undergraduate degree, he pursued a master’s degree at UW and then a PhD at the University of Western Ontario, all the while continuing to work at CKCO. Upon graduating from UWO, he took a placement at the University of Alberta, where he still works today as a tenured associate professor of English. “The day I signed my contract with the University of Alberta was the day I resigned [from CKCO].”

     As an undergraduate student, Michael recalls “a very tight group of about half a dozen students who were great friends. We were all involved with the undergraduate English Society. We put out a monthly newsletter and set up a monthly reading series called ‘Poets and Pilgrims’.”

     Michael found all the English classes he took at UW important. His three favourite courses were a year long course in modernism with Professor Murray MacArthur, the Shakespeare course with Professor Ted McGee, and a senior-level class in post-structuralist theory with Professor Stan Fogel because they were the most eye-opening for him. “If it wasn't for the guidance and models of the professors and students I encountered in the English department at UW, he says, “I don't think I would have been so enthusiastic and so prepared to go forward in my studies and career as an academic.”

     From his early teens, Michael knew that his strengths lay in reading and writing. By the time he began university, he was certain that he wanted to follow his father’s example and become a university professor. “I think that my education at UW really helped to shape me as a reader and a writer. I also learned to care about what I do, whether I am teaching, doing research, or being part of the community. I learned that from the professors at UW who were my models.”