In the late winter of ’67 I was finishing up the second year MA program in Commmunity and Regional Planning. The Lasserre Building where the school was based sat right across from the now old Admin building. When the possibility of completing my final year was looking bleak due to lack of funds, someone suggested I should approach Dean Gage in that Admin building across the way.
A Geog grad friend had sold me her ’56 VW beetle for $250 which was saving me precious time and energy, but was the real reason for my financial shortfall. I knocked on his office door in a worried state, because I’d never had to ask for such help before, and was convinced I’d be rebuffed for being reckless with money.
Dean Gage was serious, listened to my story, nodded his head and said I could be given a loan. A week or two later a cheque for $250 arrived in the mail, and I was extremely surprised to discover it was not a loan but an outright grant. It was a totally unexpected gift from an unexpected corner! I’ve been grateful to that well-loved UBC figure ever since.
Janet Kidnie
MA 1969
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