Three generations of University of Ottawa graduates

Caitlin Price, a new graduate from the Faculty of Arts, attended her Convocation ceremony on Saturday, June 2. Her mother, Caroline, and her grandmother, Jane, were in the crowd cheering her on as she walked on stage to receive her Bachelor of Arts. Three generations of Horsburgh-Price women have now graduated from the University of Ottawa—but not in the order you might expect.

First up was Caitlin's mother, Caroline Price, who graduated from the Faculty of Science in 1988. A member of the Canadian Forces at graduation, Caroline was later posted to Lahr, Germany. During her posting, she and her family—husband Graham and baby Caitlin—visited many European countries. After Germany, Caroline was sent on missions to Honduras and Turkey with the Disaster Assistance Response Team. Today, Major Caroline Price oversees a program that assists returning reservists who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Next to graduate was Jane Horsburgh, Caroline's mother and Caitlin's grandmother. After digging out her high school transcripts from decades earlier, Jane was admitted to the University of Ottawa and took eight years of night courses to complete her degree. Her motto was "If all my family can get a university degree, I can too." She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1997. "The eight years of work—all evening classes because I was working full time—were well worth it, but I was sure glad it was over!" says Jane.

Caroline, who graduated long before her mother and daughter did, is impressed with how much the University of Ottawa has evolved over the years. "I am so interested in and impressed by all that is available to Caitlin online, and I suspect other resources such as the library have evolved as well," she says. Caroline recalls her most useful resource when she was studying. "By far, my most useful piece of technology in university was my electric typewriter. Very few of my friends had one; not only did I use it for my own papers, but it also helped me earn some money as I typed for other students."

And now it's Caitlin's turn. With a plethora of career options, she has not yet chosen her particular path, but she knows that acquiring a degree will open doors for her in the future. And as for Caroline and Jane, Caitlin's Convocation was a chance to relive the excitement of graduation. "I still remember how thrilled and proud I was when I graduated," says Caroline. "I feel it again thinking about my daughter Caitlin graduating—'Look out world, 'cause here I come!'"

Two things are clear: all three women are proud to be University of Ottawa graduates, and they all place a high value on bilingualism. "I'm so proud to be an alumnus of the University of Ottawa, because it's a bilingual university, and that's rare," says Jane. Caroline agrees: "The University of Ottawa has definitely opened doors for me since I graduated in 1988, and I have always been proud to come from a bilingual university. It's very important!"

Text: Geneviève Joly
Photo: Robert Lacombe
Published: June 2012