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Ms. Roseanne Gauthier (MA 2005)

"One experience that persisted throughout her time at UW was the feeling that 'her brain was expanding all the time.'"

     For Roseanne Gauthier (MA 2005), the University of Waterloo is “more than a school.” During her time here, she came to realize that she would learn not only about literature; but about herself and others.

     When deciding which school to attend for her MA, she was originally attracted to the University of Guelph. However, she chose UW because the courses offered here intrigued her. She does not regret the decision. She will never forget the lessons she learned here, and she is thankful to have studied under professors who taught life lessons and skills as well as literary history. Two of her favourite classes were taught by current faculty members Dr. Fraser Easton and Dr. Shelley Hulan.

     Roseanne recalls that the course taught by Dr. Easton focused on the writings of Daniel Defoe, the author of Robinson Crusoe. Roseanne remembers that the class was not so much a series of lectures as it was one large group discussion broken up into many different classes. The informal style of the course developed partly because it was taught in a student lounge area, since there were fewer classrooms than classes on campus that semester. Dr. Easton’s course aided Roseanne in realizing one principal lesson: the importance of perspective. Hearing the opinions of her fellow students allowed Roseanne to see that people can view the world in an infinite number of ways, with each viewpoint as relevant as the next.

     The class taken with Professor Shelley Hulan, “Canadian Writing and Patriotism,” built up Roseanne’s ability and confidence in her public speaking to new heights. She recalls the seminar presentation she gave as part of this class as the first of which she was truly proud.

     One experience that persisted throughout her time at UW was the feeling that “her brain was expanding all the time.” This was an experience she enjoyed yet found difficult—just as an athlete feels pain when he or she trains to increase physical strength, Roseanne experienced a kind of mental pain at learning so much in such a short time. Roseanne also came to understand the old adage: “Practice makes perfect.” When she looks back through the hundreds of pages she wrote over the course of a year at UW, she notes the astounding improvements she made in the quality of her writing.

     After completing her studies at UW, Roseanne returned to her home in PEI and contemplated the pursuit of a PhD. Instead of doing this immediately, however, she moved to Nova Scotia and worked towards a Master of Library and Information Science degree at Dalhousie University for two years. She then worked at Mount St. Vincent University in Halifax for two years. Recently, she has returned to her home province of Prince Edward Island and is working as a librarian for Veterans Affairs Canada.

     Overall, Roseanne sees her time here as incredibly rewarding on many levels, as it gave her independence of thought and confidence in herself as well as a great number of friends, with many of whom she remains in contact.