Reflections on my journey through the Boys’ Grammar School (final episode) – CHAPTER EIGHT – MY LIFE AFTER BGS

Fri, May 25. 2012

by OSWALD FEREIRA
madungo@shaw.ca

Many of my peers may be wondering what became of me after BGS. On the basis of the St Vincent Agricultural Scholarship 1967, I graduated from the University of the West Indies with a B.Sc. Upper Second Class Honours in 1970. Upon my return to SVG, I was told that there was no job for me in the Agriculture Department. I found this strange because everyone knew that as the Agricultural Scholar, I was studying for a career in Agriculture and my due date of graduation was 1970. Did they expect me to fail and flunk out?{{more}} No, I committed the cardinal sin of growing a beard while I was at university and even though it was neatly trimmed and cropped close to my skin, it was a symbol that I had turned into a radical. After all, it was the 1960’s mentality; if you had a beard, like Fidel Castro, you had to be a Communist, someone to be feared.

I then went on to start a M.Sc. in Soil Science at McGill University. Funding dried up after my first year and I was bored with the constant laboratory work of washing beakers and petri dishes day after day. I discontinued my studies and went instead to the University of Reading in England, where I completed a M.Sc. in Rural Planning in twelve months. When I returned to SVG in 1972 I was given a position in the Agriculture Department, but I was assigned work from the Planning Office. I was not allowed to take up the vacant post of Planning Officer, but once that post was filled there was talk that I should become the Assistant Planning Officer. I declared a very strong non-interest.

During this time, I discovered that I was made to sign a bond for accepting the St Vincent Agricultural Scholarship and, by legislation, the Agricultural Scholarship, like the Island Scholarship, was not bondable. So, a long struggle ensued with the Public Service Commission and the Training Office, until I was finally released from the bond. I then served as the Manager of the Central Water and Sewage Authority for about six months, but because of interference from the then Minister of Health, I decided that I had had my fill of SVG and I left for Canada in December of 1975. By then, I understood why there was a constant brain drain.

In order to break into the Planning field in Canada, I was told that I needed a Canadian degree. It was just an excuse to deny me a job, but I was intent on accepting the challenge. I did some teaching for a while and was accepted to do my Teaching degree at the University of Toronto. I almost accepted that offer, because no university would accept me to do a second M.Sc. in Planning. They reasoned that my M.Sc. degree from the University of Reading was sufficient and they would rather have me do a Ph. D. I did not want to do a Ph. D., so I was ready to get my Teaching credentials when the University of Toronto finally accepted me into the M. Sc. Program in Urban and Regional Planning. I graduated in 1979. I was then offered an opportunity to study Planning Law at York University, but after seven years of university and three degrees, I had had enough so I declined. I was ready to work and pay off my student loans. Even with the Canadian degree, I still faced difficulty getting a job. So, I accepted a post in Labrador and then worked in Newfoundland and Northern Alberta before I found employment in Edmonton. I have worked in several municipalities in Alberta, did a short stint in interior British Columbia, and even worked for a while in the Insurance business when jobs in the Planning field dried up during tough economic times. I continued studying over the years. I gained a Certificate in Building Construction; a Certificate in Urban Design; and completed all the course requirements for a Certificate in Risk Management.

For the last few years, I have been an employee of the City of Edmonton in various capacities. I am currently a Principal Planner with Edmonton Transit, where my main focus is to ensure that the infrastructure for Public Transit is protected. I ensure that roadways, Transit Centres, and bus stops are in place for bus transit and I work on the planning for light rail transit.

For those of you who may wonder, yes, I did get married, although late in life. My wife is from the Philippines and we have two children, a daughter age 15 in Grade 10 and a son age 13 in Grade 8. So, while my peers are grandparents, I am kept young by two teenaged children.

Unlike some of my peers, it is unlikely that I will be retiring to SVG. My children need me here for several years while they complete high school and university and for medical reasons I need to be located where medical help is readily available. By the time my children are sufficiently independent, I will be too old to retire anywhere. But, circumstances can change – I can always hope to win the lottery!