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Pres. Paul McM - introduced our two guest speakers - Milja G, and her daughter Serena. First - we had Milja give her 'who am I' talk - I hope I caught the highlights! - Milja has a sister 3 years older, and one 8 years younger - growing up she was a life guard - her dad was a math teacher - - and following suit Milja graduated from Waterloo with a Bachelor of Math degree! - although not hoping her kids follow in her footsteps, she was married while still in school - out of school, she joined RIM as their 80th employee, but rather than stay and become a multimillionaire, Milja moved to a more rewarding job with SYBASE - Milja and Scott were married during COVID - days before they were allowed to increase attendance to 30, as long as it was outside - following they had 3 separate dinners with 10 people each; Milja IS a rule follower! - Milja has 3 kids - Evan 23 (in Fredericton), Boyd 21 (he's 6'4"!), and Serena 17 - Scott also has 3 kids - Eli 27, Hunter 21 (in Calgary) and Charlotte 20. - there are 7 grand kids! - Milja's dad isn't doing very well, he moved to LTC in 2023 - Milja loves to travel, and she has told Scott to love it too... - her most significant life impact was taking a Social Sabbatical in 2019 - an organization would source out households with under $150/month income, then offer them 'low end work' for half days, and education for the rest of the day - after 3 years, the individuals would be educated, and be able to move on to much better jobs; the affect this has on each family, AND the community is incredible - Milja was also a hand model with RIM, and an extra on Heros Reborn, Sunday Bloody Sunday. - Milja is most passionate about any assistance she can lend to young girls, grade 6/7, to encourage them to join the coding or a tech field, and/or, any mentoring she can offer women AND NEXT - we heard from Milja's daughter, Serena - - Serena was a Rotary Exchange student, going to Japan from August 2023 to July 2024 - Serena had NO idea what an incredible/life altering experience she was in for - she had 4 host families during her stay; the 4th with two kids 8 and 5 was her favourite - Serena was in a 'GC class' at school, which is Global Communication - this made it fairly easy to make friends, as many kids appreciated being able to practice their English with her; she would also help with their homework etc. - over time, she needed to ask them to speak to her in Japanese more often, so she could better learn their language - Serena participated in Art Club, and Calligraphy Club, both of which she enjoyed - she, another exchange student, from Quebec, completed a piece of art influenced by Canadian Indigenous culture and presented it to the school - Serena also participated in the school sailing club - she commented on how incredible the student bands were - Serena's biggest challenge was learning the language, and, knowing when to use the more formal version, or the informal - she did feel more homesick that she thought she would, but being able to communicate with her family and Canadian friends was VERY helpful, and got her though some tough times. - Serena participated in a inbound exchange student Japanese speaking contest, and came SECOND out of 25 kids - one custom that is quite different is that everyone will bathe and do laundry each night To be in Japan, for 325 days, at such a young age is an incredible experience! Matt thanked Milja and Serena for their excellent presentations! Todd related another wildlife story, and Pres Paul McM wrapped up the meeting! |
