Ontario Agricultural College,
University of Guelph
Alumni Oral History

Melanie O’Shea
B.Sc.(Agr.) 2008

Interviewed by Isabel Sinden

What year did you start at OAC, or the University of Guelph?
I became a student at the University of Guelph and OAC in 2004.

Where did you grow up? Where did you attend high school?
I grew up in Joyceville, which is just east of Kingston. I went to LaSalle Secondary
School, which is located just outside or just within the city limits of Kingston.

When did you graduate from the OAC/University of Guelph?
I graduated in 2008, I was an OAC 2008 Maverick.

What made you decide to go to the OAC/University of Guelph?
I wanted to pursue my education and career in agriculture, and I had an above 90
average in high school, so I wanted to go to University as opposed to going to the
satellite campus in Kemptville which was actually closer to home. Since that was
college program, it wasn't the right fit for me. At that time in my life, it was good for me
to move away from home. The thing that drew me the most to Guelph and the OAC was
my sister. She was a 2005 Aggie and hearing all of her stories, and knowing what the
atmosphere was like at Guelph and the OAC specifically was probably the biggest draw
for me to go and get out of my homebody shell. I was intrigued by the social aspect and
the opportunities that OAC offered.

Did you visit the campus before you started? What was that like?
I did. Even though I had already been there when we dropped my sister off, I went
again. There was an agriculture convention that was happening in Guelph right around
the time of College Royal. They had arranged for campus tours, and it was one of my
sister's classmates that did the tour for my group. I knew the person who was giving us
the tour. While we were getting the tour, he was telling us what campus life was like and

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while he was giving us the tour, we saw so many OAC Aggie jackets and every single
one of them greeted him and called him by name. He would say “see you at hockey
tonight.” I just felt that connection even while we were on the tour. I was 3-4 hours from
home, and I felt so connected to everybody and it just felt so close knit, like a family. I
saw jackets of all colors, so it was that he wasn’t just friends with his own respective
class, he was friends with the first years, the second years, the third years. To me that’s
a really unique experience.

Did you have family members or friends with a connection to the
school?
I had my sister. Just about everybody that I knew that was in agriculture who came from
a farming family was either going to Kemptville close to home, or they were going to
Guelph. The house that I lived in after I was done in residence, someone from my
county and the Kingston area had lived in that house for 20 years. It had gotten passed
down from somebody in the community to the next person. So, I knew all kinds of
people that went to Guelph.

What did you major in? Did you decide on your major right away?
I ended up majoring in animal science. I thought about choosing the Agriculture Honors
program because you get more electives with that program. While I was really
interested in the animal side and biology side, I thought maybe it would be smarter for
me to take more crop electives. I took a second-year genetics class that’s a requirement
for Animal Science, but not for the Agriculture Honors Program. It was such a hard
class, and truth be told, I left it up to, “if I pass genetics, I'm going to be an Animal
Science major, and an Agriculture Honors major if I fail it.”

Do you remember any of your professors?
I do. I wrote a list. Another thing that's really special about the faculty at the OAC is that
just like the students, they get to be part of the OAC family, and I think that's part of
what you share with alumni. Part of what you share with current students is talking
about the professors that have either come before you or are there now. I narrowed it
down to four that were my absolute favorite. I have John Walton. He was our
reproduction professor. And then Vern Osborne, he had such a big personality. He
forces you to ask yourself the hard questions. He was my class's honorary president.
Andy Robinson and Stephen LeBlanc were also my favorite professors. There were
also individuals that I consider part of the faculty of OAC, but I didn't have them as
teachers. One was Betty Clyde. She used to be the secretary at the Dean's office, and
I'm still friends with her on Facebook, we still stay in touch. Then, Mary Buhr, who was
the interim Dean while I was in fourth year. She was the interim Dean before Rob
Gordon. She was another very iconic individual. Whenever she spoke or participated in
a student event, she just left such a great impression on us. So those are my favourites.

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Did you have a favorite class?
Most of my 4th year classes were my favorite because for our program, that's really
where the rubber meets the road. I remember we joked about it when one of our Animal
Nutrition labs was feeding pigs. We were saying, “Wow, we finally got to see a live
animal, we've only been here for 3 1/2 years and here we are”. My favorite class would
be Dairy Challenge. It was spearheaded by John Walton and Mark Carson, who are still
involved with the class today. Then, the uniqueness of Crop Tour and having the
opportunity to go to Costa Rica in my third year. The Costa Rica trip was my first time
on a plane. This was exciting for a kid from a small town who wasn't sure she wanted to
move away from home. The OAC encouraged all these new opportunities and gave
them to me. That's something really special about the OAC. Just about anything that
John Walton or Steven LeBlanc taught. They were such dynamic individuals; they really
knew their research and they were just as passionate about the topic that they were
teaching us as we were about learning it. Those were always some highlights. I always
enjoyed going to those classes.

What was it like when you first arrived on campus?
When I first arrived, I handed the orientation team my ticket that showed which room I
was in, and they all laughed. They said: “oh, you're on the 6th floor, you're at the highest
we can go”. My dad was so annoyed that we had to carry all my stuff. Then, this swarm
of people showed up! Everybody grabbed something and I moved up the stairs in one
trip. It was amazing. I wasn't in the Aggie cluster in residence. I had a single room in
South, so I was very fortunate. I loved my view of the 6th floor, “the penthouse”, as they
called it. At the time, I really liked the room. I always felt really safe on campus. It was a
beautiful campus, part of the reason that I chose Guelph, it was easy. Once I got
comfortable on campus and found the Aggie cluster and other girls that were in South
who were also in my program. I just loved campus life. The most fun and organic times
just occurred naturally.

Where did you live your first year? Did you enjoy the experience?
I lived in Prairie Homestand 2, on the 6th floor. There were the logistics of moving in
and out, but I loved walking easily to and from class. It made that first year of transition
really easy, and Mountain Cafe is amazing. We'd always go for Sunday dinner type
meals at Prairie since they were a bit more traditional. Campus life was a lot of fun. It
was really organic. We got warned about it when we were moving off campus, the
second-year students said to keep in mind that when you want to hang out next year, it
requires more effort.

Where did you live after your first year? Did you like where you lived?

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I lived in the Janefield subdivision which is just on the other side of the Stone Rd mall. I
always visited Cole Road, which is a traditional hub for the Aggies. I was walking
distance to it so I always participated in the shenanigans that went on there, but I could
also always leave and retreat back to Janefield when I wanted to. There were a number
of Aggies that lived in Janefield as well. There was a group that lived right across the
road from us. They always had fun parties that we attended all the time. I enjoyed the
Janefield area. It was a way to be close enough to all the action that was going on, but
then have that quiet study time as well. And again, it was really safe. I love Guelph so
much that even though I don't live there now, it's a great city.

Were you involved in any extra-curriculars on campus?
I tried to narrow this down and to highlight my favorites, because honestly, the list of
what I wasn't involved in could possibly be shorter. I was involved in my class executive
for my first three years, then I moved on to Student Federation of the OAC after that. I
was involved in the dairy science club. I was actively part of the judging club. I pretty
much participated in everything. I wasn't on College Royal executive, but I attended
every single event. Aggie Pub was an absolute must for me. I think in my 4 years that I
was attending the OAC, I only missed four Aggie pubs.

What was the social life like on campus? What did you do for fun and
for relaxation?
I joke sometimes that sometimes sitting in class was the relaxing part because I just
needed to focus on one thing. The OAC students are so lucky to have the Aggie lounge.
They've redone it and it's now in the basement of Johnston Hall, but for us it was
upstairs, and it was just such a cozy spot. Surprisingly, for the number of students that
are in the OAC, whenever you walked in, there was always space for you. That was
mind blowing to me. There were iconic people that we joked about living in the Aggie
lounge and who never went to class. They were just there all the time. It was having that
space that you could always go to if you needed to. I'm dating myself now, but we didn't
have laptops, so we used our computer lab that was up there. We had the Ontario
Farmer publications, and we had all the agriculture magazines up there, so if you just
wanted to sit and focus on something else other than classes, you could always retreat
up there.

Did you feel a part of the OAC? Can you remember taking part in any
OAC traditions?
I would say my classmates, still to this day, make fun of me for using the word tradition
or spirit points too much. I'm still bringing up all these things that we should be doing
and participating in. There weren't too many traditions that I missed out on. We had our
leather jackets, College Royal, traditions like Crop Tour and being part of the Costa
Rica trip. I represented the Guelph judging team in Quebec. We would go over to McGill

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University and drive to the judging competitions and everything there, and I participated
on the dairy science trip as well. The dairy science trip went to Quebec and toured
farms in Eastern Ontario, and we got to tour my farm in my first year. Then, of course,
Aggie pub. There weren't too many things that I didn't participate in. My favorite part
about the OAC is that if you want to be a part of the OAC, the OAC is more than happy
to have you. I can think of three classmates in my class, and they technically weren't
OAC students, but they either lived with OAC students or two of them came from farms.
They just didn't pursue the OAC for their post-secondary. One of them was the biggest
city guy and landed in the Aggie cluster by accident. We wholeheartedly adopted all
three of them. We made them honorary Aggie certificates. I certainly felt a part of the
OAC. From my perspective, I would say that part of that was that I made myself part of
the OAC. One of the most beautiful things about the OAC is that anybody is welcomed
into it, and you can be a part of it if you want to be. The OAC Aggie Good Times
Banquet, is by far my most favorite event. It's a night where we celebrate all the
achievements and the accomplishments of the individual classes and acknowledge
those friendly rivalries. My Aggie Spirit Cup gets a little fuller every time I attend it. I still
attend as an alumnus and as part of the Alumni Association. If you ever need a feelgood moment, you just need to go to that event, and it'll pick your spirits up.

What are your favourite memories of your time at the University of
Guelph?
I would be amiss to not mention that my 2008 class was the class that came up with the
Tractor Tug for Tots. We started that as a class executive. The first year we ran it was
back in 2006 and it's still going today. That is something that is very near and dear to
me and the legacy of our 2008 class. It showed that the OAC looks beyond ourselves,
and that we can make charitable donations that go outside our specific industry. That
was something my class was really passionate about. The first children's charity that we
had was in honor of our classmate's sister. Other memories I have are Super Thursdays
at College Royal, Square Dancing at College Royal. I'd be chatting with friends from
high school, and I say, “I’ve got to go to square dance practice” and they say, “are you
actually kidding me right now?” and I'd be like, “no 7:00 AM square dance practice. I’ve
got to go.” And truth be told, my favourite memories are just walking between classes;
the ones where we're being silly, or we're all walking in a group, and everybody can
identify who we are because of our jackets. For me, those are my most cherished
memories. There's so many favourites, I can't remember them all. Honestly every
memory that I have at OAC is my favourite.

Are you still friends with people that you went to university with?
Without too much of an exaggeration, I would say that it's almost impossible for me to
go a week without talking to a classmate. I'm hard pressed to go a day without talking to
someone that went to OAC. My husband went to the OAC, he wasn't there when I was
there, but there's that connection. My husband and I got married in 2019, and I'd say the
majority of our guests had an OAC connection.

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My closest girlfriends, the majority of them are all OAC or honorary OAC members.
When I was doing this interview, there was a group of them that I texted and chatted
with and I said, “they're asking me if I'm involved in traditions” and they all just laughed.
We are very much still a close-knit class.

You don’t have to answer this if you don’t feel comfortable, but did
you go through any tough times during your university years? What
caused the difficulties and how did you deal with them?
When I was in my second year, it was Friday, the end of Reading Week 2006, and I was
scheduled on Sunday to be picking some of my classmates up and driving them back to
Guelph. My dad passed away suddenly at home. That was very traumatic for our family.
I didn't go to school the next week. I had family arrangements and I wasn’t able to
emotionally process what had happened. When we were in the receiving line at one of
my dad's wakes, someone asked me if I would be going back to school. I kind of looked
over at my mom because the thought had never even crossed my mind to not go back.
She said your dad would still want you to continue your education. Part of the reason
that I am still so close to this day with my class, is because my class is so tight knit.
Somebody once used the tagline “once you were a part of the 08 class no one got left
behind”. We had a group project that was due after reading week, and I happened to be
in a group with three guys in my class and all their girlfriends texted me. They were all in
our class as well, and they said, don't worry, we will keep the guys in check. We will get
this project finished for you. My classmates were just so supportive of me coming back
out. Our OAC program coordinator, she was so supportive. She met with me frequently
to make sure that I was still keeping my classes on-track and she worked very closely
with me and recommended that I drop a class and pick a couple up in the summer. She
said we don't really know what to expect in the next couple months. She said things
might get tougher. You might have a tougher time as exams get closer. I had missed a
midterm. The professor was so amazing about it, he basically just told me, “don't even
worry about making it up. We will just allot the percentage somewhere else on another
project - I know you.” You expect that from the students and from your fellow friends. I'm
sure anybody would have had that experience. When I talked to the guidance
counselor, when I talked to the professors about it, they were all very human about it.
They completely understood. I still graduated on time with all my classmates and for me
that was what it was all about. I didn't want to lose out on keeping those friendships or
living those experiences with my classmates. It was not an easy time and I hate to think
of where I'd be had I not had them all there with me.

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