d'mensions/the d'youville college Journal summer 2oo6

one’04
At age 27 one does not usually go off to
college (university) in the U.S. to see if could indeed succeed in earning a degree in education to
become a teacher in Canada.
Robert Hamaway of Toronto did just that after completing two years in the
general arts and science program at Seneca. It all began when Professor
Jim Moran, his mentor at Seneca, “physically grabbed me and said go to
D’Youville College in Buffalo because I can see you as a teacher.”
“I never conceived the idea of being a teacher but he saw that in me, so
while apprehensive, I looked up D’Youville on the Web site and spoke
with Jim about it,” Robert said. “He said if you want to become a teacher,
go to D’Youville.”
Robert finished at Seneca and after looking at the package D’Youville
offered—a scholarship, 20 percent discount for the Canadian exchange
and the chance to earn both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in three
years—he made the decision to enroll as an education major at the
“institution over the Peace Bridge.”
He moved to Fort Erie and soon
felt at home at D’Youville. After
9/11, he moved to an apartment
on the West Side of Buffalo and
could easily walk to the campus
daily and enjoy easy access to the
library. “I got to know people on
and off campus and made many
friends.”
As generations of students have
found, the small classes and the
personal attention provided by
the faculty are a well-known
hallmark of D’Youville. “The
faculty are phenomenal, second
to none and it is the faculty that
make the institution,” Robert said.
“I owe much to Dr. David Kelly,
[professor of history] a great
teacher and now a life-long friend,
who instilled confidence in me and
pushed me to be a teacher. The
faculty make it easy for students to
learn and I felt at home there.”
A history major, he was elected President of Kappa Delta, the History
Club.
Robert graduated in 2004 with his degree in history and a master’s in
education and today is a part-time faculty member of Seneca teaching
media and pop culture, human geography and current issues in Canada.
He loves teaching and plans on getting a second master’s degree in history
and, if D’Youville offered it, he would return to campus.
“If I hadn’t gone to D’Youville it’s uncertain that I would have been a
teacher. I felt at home there and miss it.”
Robert Hamaway ’04
27