Lydia Danard’s support reflects the powerful impact grandparents can have on a child’s journey
Ask Lydia Danard about a grandparent’s most important role and she’ll answer: listen to your grandchildren.
It was listening to the experiences of her granddaughter Audrey, then in Grade 5, that sparked a transition into Rundle Academy.
“When Audrey told me about how she was being treated in school, I was so angry. I’m a firm believer in respecting people, especially kids,” Danard says. “My own parents were from Europe and couldn’t speak the language well. I remember putting up my hand in class, thinking, ‘I know the answer,’ but being ignored because of who someone thought I was.”
Rundle has been an eye-opening experience for Danard, who says she’s watched Audrey blossom from an isolated fifth grader, struggling to keep up, to a confident and outgoing junior high schooler who speaks proudly about her neurodiverse learning style, her love of school, her friends and making a difference.
“These kids are talking about kids they know who are successful in university — someone on the Dean’s list — and Rundle is where they got their start,” she says. “Now, it’s all the more possible for them, too.”
Danard grew up in farm country in Delta, B.C. in the 1960s. She remembers rarely being afforded time to study, as she and her siblings were expected to work on the farm before and after school. Still, Danard was one of the first in her family to graduate high school, complete post-secondary education and build a successful career in the energy sector. Today, at 67, Danard is confident her education made the difference.
“My parents had a Grade 3 and Grade 6 education, and I saw how that hindered their ability to provide,” she says. “I had so many opportunities, and I want those same opportunities for my grandchildren. To know the school you are going to will help you learn means the whole world opens up to you.”
Audrey’s experience has been so transformational that Danard dedicated support, in Audrey’s name, to the Building Futures campaign to ensure more kids will find an open door at Rundle.
“When I think about the future, I want Audrey, and other kids, to have opportunities. It’s up to us to provide those chances so they can hold their heads up high,” Danard says. “You’re looking at future engineers and scientists and entrepreneurs … It’s amazing to see who people become when they know they have a voice — and when they know you believe in them.”
