One of the most memorable and powerful movies I have ever watched was Finding Forester. As a young black man I still remember the very first time I saw the movie and how powerful of an impact it had on my life. It changed the paradigm of how I looked and viewed myself and of my potential as a young person in the world.

One of the lessons I learned from the movie Finding Forester was the invaluable knowledge and education that comes from having a mentor in you’re life. For the longest time my mentor was my grandfather and he still is to this day. However I was recently fortunate to have the opportunity to meet Mr. Issac Goodine Mount Allison Alumni 1959. At just over 80 years of age he still has the fitness and energy level of a man in his 50’s.

Ike Goodine, showing me his year book from Mount Allison University in the 1950’s. A track and field star at the time he competed in the poll vault after never trying it before and placed second in the competition.

After several weeks of calendar adjusting and emails Mr. Goodine and I finally got a chance to sit down.  Having a mentor is important because it allows you to learn different things about yourself, and more importantly it gives you the advantage of learning from the experiences of others. To me the value of people is not just what is in their bank account; it is the human capital of experience, wisdom and accomplishments collectively combined that determines ones total worth or value to society.  We had a discussion on the modern state of education policy globally and in Canada. Mr. Goodine was a senior consultant with the World Bank Institute for over 30 years, a Canadian Military Officer, Author, Engineer, and Educational Professional who worked directly with the Chinese government in the 70’s helping them develop and build their modern educational systems that have contributed to their countries rise and success in the recent generations. Mr. Goodine worked and lived in over 75 countries across the world including Kenya, Hong Kong, Zambia, and many islands throughout the Caribbean.

When talking about the current conditions of my Generation Y peers he compared us to that of his fellow seniors who were born in the 1930’s. He used the word “limited edition” to describe his generation, the generation that was born after the great world wars that rose from the depths of the depression and poverty to achieve heights of global prosperity.

“Human begins are fundamentally just creatures of emotions and positive/negative energy on a scale of time. How we decide to live is a choice unto ourselves. We can choose love over fear, and hope over despair and tackle the modern life challenges before us or we can circum and be defeated by ourselves which is something that is not impossible. However I am very optimistic  and have bared witness with my own eyes to what is possible when the power of the human spirit combined with perseverance and will is put into action.” 

FINDING FORESTER TRAILER 

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