Lest we forget...

Today is the 20th anniversary of the Montreal Massascre - and also Canada's national day of remembrance and action on violence against women...

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/734817--lessons-of-the-montreal-massacre

When the massacre happened in 1999 I was in the 9th grade and trying to decide about what course to pursue in university - I had thought of teaching, then law, but was keen on engineering since I really enjoyed science and math.

Then the Montreal Massacre happened and the thought of going to engineering school seemed 'scary' - but I remember hearing the girl mentioned in the above article urging '...Canadian girls to not be frightened by the event and to pursue engineering careers...'.

As most of you know, I did end up doing an engineering degree at Queen's University between 1992-6 and was involved in promoting various women in engineering efforts at the university, provincial and national levels over a number of years.

Although I have now moved into working in international development, I still cherish the time that I spent in engineering school and I encourage all young women to pursue their dreams, whether they be in engineering or other technical fields, or in any other field that they are passionate about.

Don't ever let one man's craziness limit what you can contribute to the world...