Engaged
\inˈgājd\
Walks the walk.
Whether in Quebec or spread across some 180 countries, McGill alumni make things happen. Our 200,000-plus grads include scientists, politicians, educators, artists and activists. Their contributions to society reflect their drive and skills – and the education and experience they obtained at McGill.
Lili-Anna Pereša (DipMgmt'97) was an electrical engineer when the mass shooting at the École Polytechnique in 1989 shook her world. She set off down a new path, teaching chemistry and physics to young Africans, in Malawi, before leading a number of non-governmental organizations, including the Women's Y in Montreal, Amnesty International in France and UNICEF Quebec. Today Pereša is executive director of One Drop, established by the Cirque du Soleil's Guy Laliberté to support access to water and raise awareness of water-related issues around the world. On top of traditional capacity-building projects, such as rehabilitating wells, One Drop is using arts and culture as an education tool. It's "a beautiful adventure," she says of this pioneering endeavour. "There's not a second that resembles the one before." After all, during her first week on the job, her boss announced his intention to blast into outer space. "The sky," says Pereša, "is the limit."
Paul Lamontagne (BA'94) has headed up the Enablis Africa NGO since its 2004 launch. He's driven by the belief that nurturing entrepreneurship can help alleviate poverty; Enablis gives promising small- and medium-sized enterprises in Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania better access to the resources they need to grow. A proud second-generation McGill grad (his mother, Joan McElroy, graduated in physiotherapy in 1957, his father Pierre graduated in law in 1958), Lamontagne traded a successful career as a telecommunications CEO for one that may see him helping a restaurateur in Soweto with her cash flow, or giving management advice to an up-and-coming fashionista in Kibera. And happily so. "You can have an amazing and fulfilling work life in the non-profit field," he says. "I practice the 3F rule: fun, faith and funds."
A sampling of McGill’s distinguished graduates:
JEAN-MICHEL ARÈS (BEng'86, MEng'88, MBA'92), former senior vice president and chief information officer for Coca-Cola.
MIKE BABCOCK (BEd'86), coach of the 2008 Stanley Cup-winning Detroit Red Wings.
WILLARD BOYLE (BSc'47, MSc'48, PhD'50), co-recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize for Physics.
WIN BUTLER (BA'04), lead vocalist and co-founder of the Arcade Fire.
LEONARD COHEN (BA'55), poet and singer-songwriter.
KEN DRYDEN (LLB'73), politician, former National Hockey League goaltender and winner of six Stanley Cups.
JAKE EBERTS (BEng'62), producer of the Oscar-winning films Dances with Wolves, Gandhi and Driving Miss Daisy.
DARREN ENTWISTLE (MBA'88), president and CEO of Telus Corp.
SHEILA FRASER (BCom'72, LLD'08), Auditor General of Canada.
GUY HACHEY (BCom'78), president and COO of Bombardier Aerospace.
JOHN HUMPHREY (BCom'25, BA'27, BCL'29, PhD'45, LLD'76), prepared the first draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
HUBERT LACROIX (BCL'76, MBA'81), president and CEO of CBC/Radio Canada.
MARY LAWSON (BA'68), best-selling author of Crow Lake and The Other Side of the Bridge.
JACK LAYTON (BA'71), leader of the federal NDP.
MARC MAYER (BA'84), director of the National Gallery of Canada.
JULIE MAZZIERI (PhD'06), 2009 Governor General's Literary Award winner for fiction for Le discours sur la tombe de l'idiot.
KATE McGARRIGLE (BSc'70), singer-songwriter.
JAMES NAISMITH (BA1887), inventor of basketball.
AHMED NAZIF (PhD'83), prime minister of Egypt.
STEVEN PINKER (BA'76), author and experimental psychologist.
JADE RAYMOND (BSc'98), producer of the popular Assassin's Creed video games.
MOSHE SAFDIE (BArch'61, LLD'82), architect whose works include the National Gallery of Canada and Habitat 67.
KIM ST-PIERRE (BEd'05), two-time Olympic gold medal-winning hockey goaltender.
WILLIAM SHATNER (BCom'52), actor famous for the TV series Star Trek and Boston Legal.
EVAN SOLOMON (BA'90, MA'92), host of Power & Politics on CBC News Network.
JENNIFER STODDART (BCL'80), Canada's Privacy Commissioner.
JACK SZOSTAK (BSc'72), co-recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Medicine.
ROBERT THIRSK (MDCM'82), astronaut who holds Canadian records for longest space flight and most time spent in space.
STEPHEN TOOPE (BCL'83, LLB'83), president of the University of British Columbia.
MORTIMER ZUCKERMAN (BA'57, BCL'61), editor-in-chief of U.S. News & World Report and publisher of the New York Daily News.
