“Breathtaking, immersive and profound” is how popular CBC radio host Shelagh Rogers describes her impression of Trent University. As the 2014 Jack Matthews Fellow, Ms. Rogers is spending the week of January 27 to February 2 interacting with students, faculty, and staff, while participating in various events on campus and in the Peterborough community.

Her busy schedule has included visits to Lakefield College School and Curve Lake First Nation, as well as a public panel discussion on residential schools held at Champlain College’s Great Hall on January 29. Additionally, she has spent time in Trent classrooms where she has found the students to be “energized and excited” and the professors “on fire when talking about their specialities.”

She described the Northern Studies Colloquium, which she attended at Peter Gzowski College on January 29, as exemplifying the interactive education students receive at Trent.

“Not only were scientific papers presented, but also papers that were socially-oriented. Humanities students were asking questions of science students.  There was such a great dialogue going on, it makes me excited about the future,” she said.

Ms. Rogers, who has a passion for collecting and sharing stories, see Trent’s story as one of conversation and of opportunities to bump ideas up against each other.

“There is a collision of disciplines, ideas and cultures at Trent. The physical spaces at Trent encourage that interaction and its beautiful setting allows those ideas to settle in,” she said. “My feeling is that Trent is a place where students are respected and when I’ve met with students and professors together, it’s a meeting of equals.”

A defining moment for Ms. Rogers came at the panel discussion on January 29 when an Indigenous student sang a song about keeping alive the memory of people who had attended residential schools. “It was a moment of grace that carried the story further,” Ms. Rogers said. “That is what Trent does. It takes the existing story and expands it in surprising ways.”

On the evening of January 30, Ms. Rogers was the guest speaker at the Canadian Canoe Museum where she talked about writers, writing and the North. Her visit continues Friday, January 31 at Market Hall where she will share personal perspectives on depression.  On Saturday, February 1, she will be the keynote speaker at the annual Elders Gathering at the First Peoples House of Learning at Trent University as well as the guest of honour at the Champlain College Bon Temps Dinner in the Great Hall on Saturday.  

Trent University’s Jack Matthews Fellowship was created to honour Jack Matthew’s founding contributions to the Trent International Program, Lakefield College School and the Canadian Canoe Museum.

Posted on Friday, January 31, 2014.