Former SD73 Superintendent honoured by university that provided him with opportunity

“A lot of good things have been accomplished during this time working and volunteering in Kamloops,” said de Bruijn while addressing TRU graduates on Thursday. “We’ve developed a wide variety of education programs to serve our students. We’ve developed many social equity programs attempting to address community challenges.”

For all his work in education, de Bruijn was awarded with an Honourary Degree by the university on Thursday — the same university he attended and in which he has deep roots dating back to childhood.

“It’s a terrific honour,” he said. “It’s really important to me because I have a fairly lengthy history with TRU. I don’t know if most people know, I grew up on this campus actually at one of the houses that are now incorporated into the fabric of the university.”

De Bruijn remembers the construction of Cariboo College in the late 1960s before it opened in 1970. It wasn’t an easy childhood growing up in Kamloops, living on the former Navy Depot Road that is now Dalhousie Drive.

“We didn’t have a lot of money. I came from a low-income family. The houses I lived in were subsidized. It was affordable,” said de Bruijn.

Education, however, was the great equalizer de Bruijn needed to propel himself out of poverty.

Once built, he attended Cariboo College from 1972 to 1974 before going to Simon Fraser University to finish his education degree. De Bruijn says as a small town kid, living in the Lower Mainland was daunting. He survived, though, and has carried on to do great things. His accomplishments make him especially proud given where he came from.

“I’d like to think I would have overcome everything, but the reality is, I got a great start here [at TRU], I got a boost,” he said. “I think a lot of people and parents and students appreciate the fact that we have an institution like this today.”

Thompson Rivers University has partnered with School District 73 to implement essential programs for high school students.

“We have things like the TRU Start [high school transition] programs. We have TRU instructors teaching our introductory construction and trades courses,” noted de Bruijn. “We’ve had multiple committees and things to work out stuff. They do research that helps [SD73] in the classroom. I don’t think you get that in every city.”

Since retirement, de Bruijn has put his energy into volunteering. He’s worked with the Special Olympics, Rotary Club of Kamloops, and has been President of the YMCA-YWCA board in Kamloops.

“Wherever you find employment, wherever you make your room, I hope that you’ll consider taking some time to volunteer,” de Bruijn told the graduates at the TCC. “It doesn’t take a lot. Whether it is helping to build a home with Habitat For Humanity, helping with medical screening at the Special Olympics, or helping to prepare a meeting at a local shelter, your efforts will make a difference.”

by Chad Klassen

Former SD73 Superintendent honoured by university that provided him with opportunity

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