Scholars and Explorers - Trafalgar School for Girls

Allana Reid Smith 1939Attended Trafalgar: 1929-1940Education: BA (First Class Honours); PhD, (Philosophy), McGill UniversityPrincipal/AdvocateAllana Reid Smith dedicatedher life to learning andcontributed much to theprovince as an historian and teacher.Allana received First Class honoursat McGill in 1943 and earned herPhD in 1950. A pioneer in the fieldof education, she was awarded aFellowship by the Social Sciencesand Humanities Research Councilfor her work on the early history ofQuebec. Part of her career was spentat her beloved Trafalgar, where shetaught from 1945 to 1948 and wasdescribed as a brilliant teacher. Hervocation also took her to the publicschool system as a teacher, Vice-Principal and Principal at severalWest Island schools. She was thefirst president of the LakeshoreAssociation of Protestant Teachersto negotiate directly with thegovernment of Quebec instead ofthe school boards. She also becameE d u c a t i o n“her legacy lives on in theQuebec school system”a member of the Quebec SuperiorCouncil of Education. Allana passedaway in 1977, but her legacy liveson in the Quebec school system. Forher dedication to education in theProvince of Quebec, Allana has beenchosen as one of our 125 Women ofTrafalgar.Traf History Lesson Matriculation Years: Students officially graduated after completing five years of high school, butreturned to complete an additional year for entrance into university. As a result, graduating years in Traf’s archives vary fromthe Trafalgar diploma year to the final Matriculation Year.Anne Begor Lancashire 1958Attended Trafalgar: 1951-1958Education: BA Honours (English), McGill University; AM, Harvard University; PhD, Harvard UniversityProfessor EmeritaAnne Begor Lancashire citesher proudest moment as“receiving my PhD in Englishfrom Harvard only three years aftermy BA from McGill (the first woman– and at that time only the secondHarvard student – to have achievedthis).” In that same year, at age 23,she became the first woman since the1930s to be appointed to the Facultyof English at University College,University of Toronto. Since then shehas served the university in variouscapacities: as a professor crossappointedto University College (since1965), to the Graduate Centre for theStudy of Drama Centre (since 1975),and as Continuing Senior Fellow,Massey College (since 2009); asVice-Dean Academic, Faculty of Arts& Science; Vice-Principal, University“At age 23, she became the first woman since the 1930s to beappointed to the faculty in English at University College,University of Toronto.”College; and University Vice-Provost.She has taught a wide range ofcourses, ultimately reflective of herlove of British and Canadian drama,as well as of American popular andscience fiction film. She has authoredseveral books and numerousarticles over the years, includingLondon Civic Theater: City Dramaand Pageantry from Roman Times to1558 (Cambridge UP, 2002) andanticipates publication in 2013 ofRecords of Early English Drama: CivicLondon, 3 vols. (Boydell and Brewer).She is also a contributor to thewebsite Mayors and Sheriffs of London,a public-access database launchedin 2009. Anne proudly served asthe first Canadian President of theShakespeare Association of America.She credits Trafalgar and its dedicatedteachers for giving her the foundationfor all her accomplishments as wellas “three close friends for life.” Shereturned to Trafalgar in 1987 todeliver the Trafalgar Ross Lecture.Honored for her scholarship and heradministrative accomplishments inthe academic world, Anne is one ofthe 125 Women of Trafalgar.Judith Irwin Simser 1958Attended Trafalgar: 1956-1959Education: BEd, McGill University; Overseas Dip. in Deaf Education, NCTD, England; Certificates (Auditory-Verbal Therapy,Listening and Spoken Language), Academy of the Alexander Graham Bell Association of the Deaf (USA)Order of OntarioEducatorJudith Irwin Simser’s career asan educator for children withhearing impairment began inthe 1970s – a career choice that wasno doubt shaped by the fact that sheis the mother of a profoundly deafson. He has gone on to completean MBA and practise law; hernormal-hearing son holds an MA inDeaf Education. In Canada, Judithpractised in and then supervisedthe Aural Habilitation programin the Audiology Department ofthe Children’s Hospital of EasternOntario (1975-1994), simultaneouslyteaching in the field at McGill’sSchool of Human CommunicationDisorders (1977-1989). For six years(1995-2001), Judith lived in Taiwan,where she developed two audioverbalcentres and trained therapists.She did the same in Singapore(where she is still an internationalconsultant) training therapists andparents from several countriesthroughout southeast Asia andAustralia. She has also contributedsignificantly in the US through boardand task force work, particularlywith Auditory-Verbal International.Judith has also contributed tomany publications and audio-visualeducational media. In 1992, she wasawarded the Order of Ontario forher “contribution to education anddevelopment of spoken language inchildren with hearing impairment”.In 1993, she was awarded a Canada125 Commemorative Medal bythe Government of Canada. Since“awarded the Order of Ontario”2007, she has been an AlexanderGraham Bell Global Ambassador,recognized and sought-after at homeand internationally as a consultant inAuditory-Verbal Therapy (AVT) and asa mentor for training and establishingtherapist and parent programs.For her unstinting devotion, hercontributions and her widelyacknowledged expertise, Judithhas been chosen as one of our 125Women of Trafalgar.Additional source: AGB Association forthe Deaf and Hard of Hearing24 | 125 Women of Trafalgar