Chronicle 2019

By Alex Bittner Howard 2002

I n these hyper-mobile times, it’s increasingly rare to find someone who has chosen to stay put. Katie Rennie Osler is one such specimen. Together with her husband Matthew, Katie has raised her children in the same neighbourhood in which she grew up, and sent her daughter to her alma mater . Megan, who graduated last year, is a fourth generation Havergalian and follows in the footsteps of her mother and aunt Julie Rennie Stanton 1987, her great-aunt Penny Harris 1956 and her great- Starting in the Junior School, Katie and Julie immediately took to the green and gold by joining as many clubs and teams as they could while thriving in academics. Like Katie, who was an avid rower in her high school days, Megan enjoyed many aspects of the school – as a member of the swim team, a writer for Behind the Ivy and senior year president in her final year. Katie lives and works in Lawrence Park. She and her mother and sister have a successful realty company, which specializes in the neighbourhoods around Havergal. She loves the sense of community and belonging that comes from living and working in the place where she grew up. great-grandmother Isabel Cooper. Tradition is at play here, and a sense of stability that Katie has come to appreciate.

There is a straightforwardness about Katie that is both welcoming and warm. When we chatted, both she and her daughter Megan (on FaceTime from King’s College in Halifax) were very open about their love of Havergal, which, they say, has been more than a school for them. It wasn’t long before the three of us were completely off-track comparing stories about our days behind the ivy. This idea of sticking with one career, one school, one partner and one house seems almost old-

fashioned these days. Many find the thought of committing to one thing terrifying. But Katie never gave it a second thought. Havergal was always where she wanted to spend her school years and where she wanted to send her daughter.

Megan has cousins still at the school, and it is clear that the love of Havergal goes beyond the nuclear family. Interestingly, all the women in Katie’s family have chosen their own post-secondary path. Maybe the solid beginning at Havergal has enabled them to branch out confidently on their own. As Havergal celebrates 125 years, it is amazing to hear the stories passed down from generation to generation – to see how the uniform has changed, the curriculum has evolved and the campus has grown. At the root of it all is loyalty to a school that has been a constant for families like Katie’s.

17