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He’s been a ski
guide in the French Alps and built homes in coastal Ecuador. And Danny
Béasse credits much of his adventurous life to Stanstead College.
“Stanstead made
me the person I am,” said Danny, Class of `94. “The international crowd
made me realize the world is smaller than it seems. It gave me the
confidence to travel worldwide and get to a place where I could prove
myself in my career and in sports. That was part of the lifestyle at
Stanstead – you work hard and you play hard.”
While he now
designs 10,000 square-foot homes for a living as an architect with Ellis
Nunn & Associates in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Danny says his three-month
volunteer stint in Ecuador was among the most rewarding of his career.
A graduate of
Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, Danny made the trip to Cojimies with
his parents, Roland and Adele Béasse, in October 2003 at the invitation
of a childhood friend of Adele’s who works as a missionary in the
country. The Stanstead couple encouraged their son to join them to put
his design and building skills to use.
“I’ve always been
interested in environmental architecture and this was a way to integrate
those principles in a Third World setting,” he said.
Specifically,
Danny and his parents helped build three homes for families selected by
their missionary friend. Living in isolation and poverty, the families,
like many in this coastal region, had seen their homes washed away as
the mouth of their river steadily widens.
Besides the basic
homes, built in a style similar to those elsewhere in the village, Danny
developed a rainwater collection system for drinking water and a
prototype composting toilet that locals could reproduce. Ideally, the
compost will be used for gardening.
“I was shocked to
learn that there was no gardening at all going on. The people were
living off fish and rice,” he said.
Danny stayed a
month longer in Cojimies than his parents. On his final day, he attended
a baptism at a church packed with 200 people. About a dozen came up to
him at the close of the service, with tears in their eyes, to thank him
for his work.
“It felt really
good,” he said.
Two days before
Christmas, Danny returned to Wyoming – and the culture shock of modern
life, wealth and snow.
Though it was
tremendously hard work, Danny says he would gladly make such a journey
again.
Danny is one of
four Béasse family alumni. Sister Anne-Marie (Class of 1988) is a school
teacher in Richmond, Qc., Martin (Class of 1991) is an aerospace
engineer working in Seattle and Julie (Class of 1994) works for Bell
Canada. Mother Adele worked for several years in the Headmaster’s
Office. |
