Barbara Godin is a graduate of Athabasca University. She writes the “”Dear Barb” and the “Women of Interest” columns. As well, Barb has written many personal interest stories and enjoys connecting with others through her writing. She has been writing for The Voice since 2003.
If you enjoy reading Dear Barb, you can also purchase her curated collection, Dear Barb: Answers to Everyday Questions at her website, http://www.barbgodin.com.
Dear Barb: My wife and I have been married seven years and we have two girls, ages 3 and 5. When my second daughter was born my wife and I decided that I would stay home with the girls. Since I was working at a low paying factory job, it made sense that I would… Read more »
Severn Cullis-Suzuki, an environmentalist, was born November 30, 1979. Severn has followed in the footsteps of her well known father and environmental activist, David Suzuki. At the age of nine she founded (ECO) an Environmental Children’s Organization where she strives to teach other children about environmental issues. Three years later, Cullis-Suzuki, along with her friends,… Read more »
Dear Barb: I am in my early thirties and have been working at a low paying job for about 10 years. I thought about returning to school, but I couldn’t afford to quit my job and go full time, so I decided to try distance learning. I applied to AU last year and I’m already… Read more »
Lillian Helena Smith was born on March 17, 1887 in London, Ontario, and died at the age of 95 in 1983. In 1912 Smith became the first trained children’s librarian in Canada. At 25 years of age she began working at the Toronto Public Library, children’s collection, where she remained for 40 years. She introduced… Read more »
Dear Barb: I grew up in a farming family, three previous generations of farmers. So it was always expected that me and my brother would become farmers. My brother is heading in that direction, but I chose to go to university instead. My parents are heartbroken that I did not choose farming. I can tell… Read more »
Helen Irene Battle was born August 31, 1903 in London, Ontario and died June 17, 1994. She was the first woman in Canada to earn a PhD in Marine Biology. She earned her degree through the University of Toronto in 1928. She joined the faculty of the University of Western Ontario and remained there from… Read more »
Dear Barb: I am in my early twenties, have just completed my second year of university, and I still have three years left before I reach my goal. My marks are pretty good, but I’m feeling overwhelmed by my student debt. I already have $10,000 in school loans. If I keep going the way I… Read more »
Julie Payette was born in Montreal, Quebec, October 20, 1963. Payette is an engineer and was chosen as an astronaut in 1992 from a pool of 5330 applicants. She obtained her commercial pilot license, studied Russian, and logged 120 hours on board a reduced gravity aircraft in preparation for her 1999 space mission. Julie Payette… Read more »
Dear Barb: I am in my late twenties and work full time while taking courses through AU. My parents always had high expectations for us and we all strived to meet those expectations. Throughout high school I was easily able to maintain marks in the high eighties and nineties, so my parents are expecting me… Read more »
Dear Barb: My wife and I recently divorced. We had been married for ten years and have one daughter who is fourteen years old. My wife has had addiction problems throughout our marriage. She comes from a family where addiction and substance abuse problems are rampant. Eventually it became too much for me, so my… Read more »