��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ played key role in alumni couple's story

trevor.kenney — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 23:08:27 +0000

Some would call it luck, others fortune, but when her father, Dr. Keith Roscoe, accepted a position with the Faculty of Education at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge in 1996, an entirely new world of possibilities opened up for Catherine Roscoe Barr (BSc '02) and her future husband, Aaron Barr (BFA '02).

Aaron, now a technical artist for Pixar Canada, and Catherine, a freelance writer, first met in Grade 7 in Grande Prairie but their friendship was cut short when Aaron's family moved to Lethbridge. With her father's new position at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, Catherine was able to rekindle a friendship with Aaron in her final year of high school. After graduation, she enrolled at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in the pre-vet program then quickly switched to pre-med studies.

"I realized I really didn't like physics so I switched to neuroscience. It was awesome," explains Catherine. "I had three favourite professors: Drs. Gail Michener, Peter Dibble and Glen Prusky. They communicated the material, which was often very complicated, in such a way that was fascinating and easy to understand."

Aaron and Catherine Roscoe Barr have parlayed their U of L educations into exciting, satisfying careers.

While Catherine concentrated on the sciences, Aaron enrolled in fine arts. He loved to draw and had a great interest in computer graphics and animation, but he was unsure about the reality of an artist making a living in the world of computer graphics, so he entered the U of L with plans to pursue a career in architecture. When the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ created the multimedia program in Aaron's second year, however, he quickly applied.

"There were college programs offering similar type programs but I really wanted the more universal experience I got at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ," says Aaron, who was among the first to graduate from the program.

During one of his classes, Aaron had the opportunity to interview John Kahrs, a senior animator for Pixar, regarding Kahrs' work on the animated film Monsters Inc.

"I loved what he was doing and how passionate he was. I decided then that I wanted to abandon architecture and pursue my interest in film. I thought it was just a shot in the dark but he said go for it, you'll get there," remembers Aaron, who recently ran into John at Pixar. "I told him how I had met him at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and how he had inspired me. At Pixar, I build characters, sets, props, paint texture onto them, and add surface qualities and hair, anything involving the look of the character or object."

Catherine too had a life-changing moment while she was a student at the U of L. As a teenager she was always quite active but with her studies taking up so much time, her activity level dropped and she found herself eating a lot of unhealthy cafeteria food. One of her roommates in residence encouraged her to get a personal trainer.

"It changed the course of my life," she says. "I had wanted to become a doctor but I found that fitness was a proactive way to help people. I started taking fitness classes and got my fitness instructor certificate. The year after I graduated I got my personal trainer certification."

In July 2000, the couple was engaged, and in August 2002, just a few months after graduating, they married. A move to Toronto followed, where Catherine started her own business working as a personal trainer and teaching fitness classes at Sheridan College. Aaron earned a diploma in digital character animation at the college, and then began working for C.O.R.E. Feature Animation. Several career moves later, Aaron was given the opportunity to work on the movie, Legends of the Guardians, in Australia in 2009. It was a move that would affect Catherine's career as well.

"About three days after we moved to Australia, I was walking in downtown Sydney. I walked by this beautiful building, with all these beautiful people. I didn't know what it was but I knew I had to be a part of it. I went home and Googled the address. It was ACP Magazines, an enormous magazine publisher," says Catherine, who subsequently spent the next five months there as an intern.

She has since developed a successful career writing about her passions: fitness, health, food and travel. In May 2011, Aaron landed his dream job with Pixar Canada.

"Working for Pixar has been a long-time goal; they always put quality first and are determined to create original, compelling stories," says Aaron. "I said to Aaron the other day that if I won the lotto I would keep doing exactly what I am doing," says Catherine. "I feel so blessed."

GET THE FACTS

· Catherine writes for publications such as the Vancouver Sun, The Province, BC Home and Garden, Homes and Living, Western Living, Real Weddings, TV Week and BCLiving.ca

· Catherine's writings and adventures can be found at: thelifedeliciousblog.com

· Catherine recently returned from Jamaica where she ran the Reggae Marathon 10K

· Aaron's career path has seen him work for C.O.R.E. Feature Animation, Rainmaker Animation, Animal Logic, Image Engine Design Inc. and Pixar

· Aaron's major projects include: Partysaurus Rex, Legend of the Guardians, The Thing, The Wild, The Ant Bully and Escape from Planet Earth

This story first appeared in the January 2013 edition of the Legend. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Oordt remembered as a prof who inspired students

trevor.kenney — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:57:34 +0000

The following is a story that appeared in the Apr. 13 edition of the Lethbridge Herald

By CAROLINE ZENTNER
Generations of university students were blessed to be taught by Marty Oordt although they may not have known it at the time.

Oordt was one of the first faculty members hired at the fledgling ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge in 1967. Owen Holmes, the dean of arts and sciences at the time, remembers meeting a lively and enthusiastic young man who wanted to inspire students.

"Marty was a real enthusiast for liberal education. I think of him as Mr. Liberal Education at the university," Holmes said. "In that context he was a great inspiration to a whole generation of students and a really great colleague when we were all trying to foster that kind of a beginning for the university."

Oordt passed away April 8 at age 73 after a brief illness. Born and educated in the United States, he joined the English department at the U of L and stayed for 30 years. He received the Medal for Distinguished Teaching in 1996.

Oordt was a writer and poet and, after he retired in 1997, publisher of Lethbridge Living magazine. He supported several local organizations as a volunteer.

"He was certainly an inspiration and a mentor to many students and to many people," said Jenn Schmidt-Rempel, a former student who took over Lethbridge Living from Oordt and his wife Mary in 2006. "He was always easy to talk to and you could always pick up where you left off when you saw him last. He was certainly more than just an instructor and he took a great deal of interest in his students and the projects they were working on."

Schmidt-Rempel had been a freelance writer for Lethbridge living for several years before she became managing editor in late 2006. As a student, she said Oordt helped her learn to think critically about her creative work, to take a step back and look at plot, structure and development. At the same time he was encouraging.

"Out of all the things that I really remember is probably my first day at university sitting in his English 1900 class. He was asking us to come up and develop characters for a short story that we were working on," she said, adding she had what she considered a ridiculous idea about a child and a cat. "He was really encouraging about that and he said 'You know what, it's your idea, go for it.' The whole thing spawned a series of probably 12 to 15 stories about this kid and her cat."

When Oordt joined the U of L, he came with the attitude that students should come first.

"Education was the flourishing of the student more than just the transmission of information. That was the spirit of it and Marty was right in that spirit all the way through," Holmes said. "He and some others organized a special program called Colloquium Study at the university. That was a pure form of liberal education; it was a
wonderful experience."

A celebration of Oordt's life is scheduled for Saturday, Apr. 30 at 6:30 p.m. at the Galt Museum.

UNews - freelance writer

��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ played key role in alumni couple's story

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