Concordia’s spring 2019 honorands describe a turning point in their lives

Kent Nagano discovers Bach

The first chord hits me with full force, bouncing off the walls of the nave and filling the entire space within seconds. That chord, which so abruptly emanates from the organ, is potent, powerful, majestic. Nothing remains untouched by it; everyone can hear and feel it. My whole body feels it.

The vast space seems to resonate. That first sound penetrates deep into the farthest corner of the church, instantly charging the building with its tremendous energy, straining it to bursting point.

All of a sudden, a single voice separates itself, escapes the tension of that stunning chord, seems to run away from that group of notes, returns and beckons the next. That one, deeper, follows it. They chase each other, unite and part again. Suddenly, a third voice rings out. I gasp for air.

What’s this? I hear a play, a conversation. Sometimes like a chat, then again like serious talk. I now think back to that time, remembering that first chord, which shook me so deeply half a century ago. I see myself in our own church as a child, around five years of age and completely under the spell of that configuration of tones. It is the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Kent Nagano will be conferred at a special ceremony.

Caroline Ouellette is pushed to excel at academics and athletics

My grade 10 math teacher, Jocelyne Pilote, had an incredible impact on me. She challenged me to work as hard in school as I did in any sport in which I competed.

Until then, I had been pretty lazy, just happy to get by with average grades. Yet I was a driven, competitive and hard-working athlete.

I shifted my mindset to excel at everything in which I participated. I finished the year with a 98 per cent grade average and was accepted into a police technology program in CEGEP.

Ms. Pilote was smart, strong, outspoken and fearless, and all the students feared and/or respected her. 

Caroline Ouellette will address the Faculty of Arts and Science on Monday, June 10, at 3 p.m.

Kamaljit Bawa rides the slow train to a world of biodiversity

The moment that most affected my life, affected my work, affected almost everything I do and I live for, was my first visit to the eastern part of the Himalayas as a botany graduate student in India.

The first day, I took this very small, slow-moving train from the plains of India to the mountains. It went through a tropical forest that was incredibly diverse. Everywhere I looked around me I saw vibrant life of all forms, colourful flowers, beautiful birds, amazing diversity. Every tree I saw belonged to a different species.

I found out later that I was passing through one of the greatest hotspots of biodiversity, which is incredibly rich in the number of species and those that occur nowhere else on earth. I was like a kid in a toy store. It was a wonderful moment. It was to affect my life for years to come.

All I wanted to then do was study this diversity of life. Why are some places more diverse than others? How is this diversity generated? How is it maintained? How has it evolved?

Later in my life I came to realize that this diversity of life is highly vulnerable to human impact. And then I devoted the last half of my career to how to save this biodiversity — this incredible rich supply that sustains humanity.

Kamaljit Bawa will address the Faculty of Arts and Science on Monday, June 10, at 7:30 p.m.

Louis Vachon finds his passion

Probably the most influential professor I had was Ted Walters in my freshman year at Bates College in Maine. He taught Economics 102, a macroeconomics class in my second semester.

In our curriculum, we had to read a novel called The Billion Dollar Sure Thing, written by Paul Erdman, who was a banker.

We were assigned the novel because it was a financial thriller. Aside from the story itself, it did a good job of explaining the workings of the international monetary system in the 1970s and early ’80s.

When I read that book, I fell in love with the intellectual challenge of international finance and banking. Since that time, international finance has been my track from a professional standpoint — and it’s also been a personal passion. On a daily basis, I continue to enjoy what I do very much.

Louis Vachon, C.M., will address the John Molson School of Business on Tuesday, June 11, at 3 p.m.

Natalie Panek learns to fly

I set a personal goal during university to obtain a pilot’s license. The lure of flying was the promise of freedom — the beauty of a different perspective.

But taking the leap to enrol in ground school took a lot of self-convincing. I was afraid that I did not have what it takes to be a pilot. I was intimidated and scared, particularly to be surrounded by people who might know more than I did.

Despite the fear, I signed up anyway. And after weeks of ground school and a number of in-flight lessons with an instructor, the time came for my first solo flight.

Here I was, alone in an airplane, enjoying the foothills and mountains with a light dusting of fresh snow. I kept thinking that in just a few hours I would arrive back home in Calgary to tell my parents that I had just flown to Vulcan, Red Deer and back — by myself!

My confidence skyrocketed after that flight. And I have held onto that feeling and that memory as a reminder of how courage can balance vulnerability in moments outside one’s comfort zone.

Natalie Panek will address the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science on Wednesday, June 12, at 3 p.m.