Because of You - Donor Report 2011

Framing a Future for SAIT Students

Harvey Williams is a Renaissance-man and jack-of-all-trades. He has lived in many places and worked at many occupations. His travels brought him to Calgary in the early 90s in search of opportunity.

He found work and a community to call home.

“After 17 years I consider myself a real Calgarian,” he smiles, “so I get to complain about the weather and the Flames.”

At 62, Harvey decided to retire in his adopted city but, more than that, he decided to leave a lasting legacy for future students by naming SAIT Polytechnic as the sole beneficiary of his estate.

Harvey arrived at this monumental decision while commiserating with a close friend. In his retirement, he is pursuing his passion of wood working by building frames for an artist friend. But the two chums discuss more than art. One day the subject of their wills came up. Both pondered their legacies and decided each would leave his possessions to a charity. Harvey, who is not married and has no children, reflected on his life and the lives of his parents and decided on SAIT.

“I was already leaning towards setting up scholarships someplace and I began to see more and more about SAIT in the media. It was 2009, when the WordSkills youth work-skills competition was happening. I read a lot of the coverage and learned about SAIT.”

“SAIT teaches people to build things. I like that. I worked in construction with a lot of tradespeople. I also appreciate that SAIT instructors come from the industries they teach and that SAIT keeps up with technology.”

Harvey’s estate will create three scholarships, one each for his parents and one in his name. His father is the late H. Leverne Williams, a Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry at the University of Toronto so he says it’s fitting one will go to a Chemical Engineering Technology student.

“My mother Molly was a librarian so hers will be a scholarship for a Library Science student. As for me, I have been a life-long-learner so mine will go to an older person who returns to SAIT to improve his or her lot in life.”

“I remember how tight money was when I was in school,” says Harvey, “and how a little financial help can go a long way and I'm happy that my name as well as my parents’ names will live on in the scholarships after I'm gone.”