In 1970, when Terry Green, BA’74, MBA’79, began her undergraduate studies, she planned to major in mathematics. However, an introductory course in geography unexpectedly sparked a lifelong passion for understanding how humans and their environment interact.
In her second year, Terry enrolled in the geography program, met her future husband and established connections with classmates that have spanned five decades. Looking back, she has endless gratitude for those formative years and recognizes how her geography education opened her eyes to a different worldview.
“The class of 1974 had its share of long-haired hippies,” Green said.
“We bonded over a desire to study and understand the world around us. Human activity influences our environment and vice versa, which is a fascinating perspective that builds understanding and acceptance of different ways of life.”
Members of the Western geography class of 1974 at their 10 year reunion in 1984. (Submitted)
Green and her classmates gathered this fall to celebrate 50 years since graduating from Western. A tight-knit group that champions each other’s accomplishments, Green said fellow alumni have enriched her life in many ways.
Memories to last a lifetime
Green lights up when speaking about her peers – particularly when she recalls working into the wee hours of the morning drawing maps in the cartography lab.
“I remember walking home from Middlesex College after 14 hours of schoolwork. We had a heavy courseload and would listen to music and share meals to get through long days and nights. We could truly rely on each other.”
The class’s passion for geography was bolstered by a growing environmental movement in North America as Canadian activists began sounding the alarm on the need for sustainability practices. The first-ever Earth Day, observed in the United States on April 22, 1970, triggered a widespread recognition of the political landscapes and practices threatening the natural environment.
“It was just starting to dawn on people that we are stewards of the environment – and we’d all better wake up and take that more seriously.” -Terry Green, BA’74, MBA’79
“Our class was inspired by the shifting culture,” she added.
Green recalled Western professors ahead of their time who made a profound impression on her class, including the late Gordon Nelson, a Canadian geography legend.
“Gordon treated us with such respect. He was working with Indigenous Peoples in Northern Canada, trying to understand how we could reconcile the country’s harsh history. There wasn’t widespread recognition of that at the time.”
The class took many memorable fieldtrips, including to local farm fields, Lake Erie to measure erosion and even to the Canadian Rockies. One life-changing trip involved exploring a West Virginia cave system with professor Mike Goodchild.
“We dropped into a hole in the ground with flashlights on our heads, at times swimming through underground rivers and pushing one another through narrow pinches. Twelve hours later, we emerged filthy, exhausted and exhilarated. It was amazing and unlike anything I’ve experienced before or since.”
Life beyond Western
Following graduation, Green worked at the National Provincial Parks Association (now the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society), advocating on behalf of creation and stewardship of natural areas through public education, government lobbying and organizing programming in provincial and national parks.
She returned to Western in 1977 to begin her master’s of business administration. She taught at Ivey School of Business for five years before starting a successful London-based market research business, Insights.
A trailblazer in qualitative research, Green served national and international companies. Her entrepreneurial drive was rooted in a desire to be her own boss, though she admitted it was challenging to be a woman in business in the 1980s.
“Through my example, I always felt that I was carrying the torch for women.”
Fellow classmates have had diverse and influential careers as educators, lawyers, social justice activists, writers, urban planners and property appraisers. Many have worked in international business, government jobs in the foreign service and at Ontario Parks. Green’s husband, Hugh Fraser, BA’74, LLB’79, opened a general practice law firm in London, Ont.
Her class was one of pioneers, including Derek Stephenson and Tom Scanlan who helped set up a pilot curbside pickup for bottles and cans in The Beaches district of Toronto in 1974.
“It was the genesis of what has evolved into the blue box program,” Green said. “They were on the ground at the start of a now global phenomenon. Derek is an internationally renowned consultant on recycling, having worked in 35 different countries.”
A remarkable reunion
The class of 1974 gathers every 10 years. Their reunions start on Friday evening and end Sunday morning with meals at classmates’ homes. On Saturday the group boards a school bus for a mystery tour.
“We rode so many yellow school buses during our undergrad that it wouldn’t feel like a reunion without one,” Green laughed.
Western geography class of 1974 gathered in October 2024 for a reunion to mark the 50th anniversary of their graduation. The tight-knit group gathers every 10 years for a weekend reunion hosted by alumni in London, Ont. (Submitted)
This year’s reunion included a visit to the geography department, where professor Jason Gilliland gave a talk and showed the group around the department. Twenty-two people attended, including just four London, Ont. residents. Classmates travelled from Western Canada, the U.S. and the U.K.
When her husband passed away in 2023, Green once again felt the warmth of their lifelong friends.
“A group arrived at the memorial. I didn’t realize how much I needed their support until I saw them.”
A shared set of values has continued to tie the group together, Green said.
“We have diverse interests and are curious, open-minded people. This 50-year milestone feels simply remarkable,” she said.
“Being together is always a joy.”
