Elizabeth (Libby) Birch

Oshawa, Ontario
Cultural Studies
Trent University Oshawa

By going back to school later in life, Elizabeth (Libby) Birch says she “found the missing piece.”

A true life-long learner, Libby holds a diploma in Early Childhood Education, an undergraduate degree in English/History and a Masters in Canadian Heritage and Development Studies. Now at age 82, she graduates with yet another degree – a B.A. in Cultural Studies from Trent University Oshawa.

Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1929, Libby immigrated to Canada after meeting and marrying a Canadian pilot after the Second World War. She is mother to five children, including three daughters, Lois, Elizabeth and Jo-Ann, all three university graduates. Her granddaughter, Jennifer, is a Trent graduate.

Describing her own late start to education, and how she became inspired by reading The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan, Libby says, “Education for women is a major concern in our family.” She adds, “Studying at Trent has meant the world to me.”

Starting at Trent in Oshawa in 1979, after spending five years working as an early childhood educator, Libby was looking forward to an academic challenge.  “I thoroughly enjoyed the work. However, nursery rhymes were beginning to pall so I thought that I would try a university course. Then I got hooked,” she says.
Making her home in Oshawa, Ontario, part-time studies at Trent in Oshawa has been a good fit for Libby. With incredible encouragement from her husband and family, she has engrossed herself in academia. Extolling the benefits of Trent University Oshawa’s small class sizes that “make for excellent rapport between professors and students,” Libby says that on the occasion of another convocation, she is proud of her accomplishments. Reflecting on her own experiences, she adds, “I would definitely encourage older people to keep learning.”