Back in the Classroom

The Humanities Capstone is a course for English, History, Christian Studies and General Studies students to take in their final year of study. The course invites students to look back and reflect on what their Ambrose education has contributed to their intellectual, personal and spiritual formation and then to look ahead and leverage this for success in the next phase of their lives. To help students get a sense of the wide variety of opportunities open to Humanities graduates, Dr. Kenneth L. Draper, Professor of History, invited alumni to speak to the class about how their Ambrose education has contributed to them personally and how it has informed their work as they moved into careers.

On Wednesday, Heather Mack, an English grad in 2021 took time out of her vacation to speak to Capstone students. Heather works as the Literacy Coordinator with the Calgary John Howard Society. Her work there provides learners with foundational skills so that they can positively reintegrate into society. Heather regards her time at Ambrose as transformational. As a child and young person, she experienced difficult circumstances that made even completing high school a challenge. During this time, she often turned to books for comfort. When she had an opportunity to attend Ambrose, English was the obvious choice. While studying literature, she came to the realization that literature could do more than comfort, it could transform. This revelation became the beginning of a journey of personal healing and the deep conviction that literature could bring healing to others as well. This is a daily reality in her current work with learners at the John Howard Society.

Heather concluded her presentation with following summary of her own experience and a challenge to students to use their Ambrose education for redemptive engagement in the world. 

“Being a Humanities student has shown me the social injustices of the world in all their awfulness. But having a Humanities degree has also given me the tools to go out and do something about them. I truly hope that you, too, recognize, if you haven’t already, that your BA is more than a fancy piece of paper. It’s the most dangerous tool in the world because with it, you can change the world.”