A small but mighty gathering of Western Ontario Institute of Technology (W.O.I.T.) alumni assembled this past weekend for a reunion at St. Clair College.
The gathering was hosted at Eatery 101 restaurant on campus on Saturday, July 6. It brought together grads from the 1960s from programs including Business Accounting and Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, and Industrial Engineering Technologies.
W.O.I.T., which operated from campuses on Mercer and Erie Streets in Windsor, Ont. from 1958 to 1967, was the predecessor of St. Clair College before the schools amalgamated in 1967.
Over those nine years, nearly 1,000 men and women received diplomas from W.O.I.T. in various technical, engineering, and business specialities.
The weekend gathering, sponsored by the St. Clair College Alumni Association, was an opportunity to honour some of the remaining alumni, who are now mostly retired but still hold fond memories of their time at W.O.I.T.
“All these graduates ended up working in positions as administrators, vice-presidents and presidents for companies around the globe,” said John Fairley, the Senior Vice President, Communications, Advancement and External Affairs at St. Clair College, who was also at the reunion Saturday. “They really made a mark in their professions with their technical skills and know-how, but many moved on to leadership roles during their careers.”
Previous reunions for W.O.I.T. grads were hosted on campus in 2005 and 2010. In 2013, a pedestrian bridge linking the college’s main building to the Ford Centre of Excellence in Manufacturing was renamed the “Bridge to Excellence,” bearing the crests of W.O.I.T. and St. Clair College at the time of their merger.
Along with the alumni in attendance Saturday were former teachers and spouses who regaled each other with stories from their time at the institute, bringing one another up to speed on their latest pursuits.
One of the highlights of the evening was when Lewis Kryk, a member of the very first graduating class, explained how he designed the W.O.I.T. logo back in 1958.
The accomplished professional, who worked as a chemical engineer and consultant for more than 50 years after graduating from W.O.I.T., also had a knack for graphic design.
In creating the logo, Kryk explained to the group the various elements contained within. The sun, he said, signifies the growth of knowledge radiating out to the world. The triangle in the logo is an homage to structural integrity and architectural soundness, and the trillium represents Ontario’s provincial flower.
Kryk told the captive audience he even received $50 for winning the logo contest, which in today’s dollars would equate to $534.
Paul Allsop, who graduated from W.O.I.T.'s Chemical Engineering Technology program in 1965, was also among the attendees. A past alumnus of distinction, Allsop said it was nice to reconnect with classmates and even got the chance to catch up with a former teacher nearly 60 years after graduating.
“I’m really happy that the college does that for us,” Allsop said. “I think it says a lot about how important they think we are.”
