Inspiring Women SUMMER 2020

24
Scientific Expertise Informs in Belgium
HEATHER DAVIS
Member: American Women’s Club of Antwerp
From: Canada Lives: Belgium
I was the second of four children (with two sisters and one
brother) and grew up in Canada, in the smallish city of
London, Ontario. My entire childhood and university days
were spent in the same city, as my father had his law
practice there, and as a family, we never left Canada even
for vacations.
Visiting my grandparents had an impactful experience in
my childhood. The two sets lived not far from each other,
but not near us, so we often visited them both on the same
trip. One side was well-educated (my grandfather was a
scientist who had an important job in the government,
grandmother who was born in late 1800s had gone to
university) and they had a lovely house with elegant
furnishings. From them I learned that the value of education
was paramount. The other side were farmers (my grandfather had grade 3) and their simple
farmhouse was heated by wood and had no running water or interior bathroom. From them I
learned the importance of resilience, finding pleasure in simple things and how to be a foodie (a
large garden provided fresh high-quality food and grandma was a fantastic baker). The
juxtaposition of my two sets of grandparents taught me to not judge people by external
trappings (my farmer grandfather was super smart – he could do my algebra homework by
intuition), and that quality of life (fun for a kid) was not commensurate with wealth or trappings. I
feel I got the best from two very different worlds.
I had from a very young age intended to be a geneticist (I know, strange for a 7-year-old). While
in undergraduate university biology, curriculum changes rendered the program a shambles. Lots
of students were changing to other universities but that wasn’t an option for me. One day a girl in
my lab announced that she was going into physiotherapy and I thought: what a great idea; it
will provide me an undergraduate degree with medical training and while I am in graduate
school, I can have a well-paid part-time job. I loved the program (only 24 in my class) and really
loved working with patients.
After graduating, I did work
for a year as a physio,
treating head- and spinalcord-injury
patients (mostly
young men in motorcycle
and motor vehicle
accidents), which was both
challenging and rewarding. I
then went to graduate
school and became a
scientist (although not a
geneticist); I never worked
part-time as a physio and I
had a scholarship, but I never
regretted taking that
undergrad as it came in
handy on many occasions. Summer 2019, exercising Oscar in our pool in Belgium