By Cecilia Nasmith
While 2020 may not go down as a happy year for many, Cobourg Councillor Adam Bureau will recall it with some pride – as it's the year he finally completed work for his GED at the Centre for Individual Studies.
The video ceremony even announced that Bureau won one of their academic honours, the Academic Growth Award.
It was a project he had put off for 30 years, having dropped out of school at 16 to become a parent and start working to support his family.
“Back then, that was kind of normal,” he said.
Bureau did want to complete his studies – in fact, he would tell his three daughters and the foster children he welcomed into his home that education is the most important thing.
Along with the kids, much of his time went into establishing a very successful business, the Cobourg Buy and Sell that has been a downtown fixture for 13 years now.
Bureau joined the Downtown Business Improvement Area and served a stint as chairperson. Realizing he really enjoyed working with the members, running the business of the association, presiding at the meetings and making the decisions, he decided to go a step further and run for town council.
His campaign was chaired by the late Bill Patchett, and it was a success.
Already familiar to so many as a figure who loved taking the time to stand outside his store and talk with passers-by, Bureau found his council position a good starting point for initiatives for the larger community, such as the 2019 round table on the opioid crisis.
Then, one day, Mayor John Henderson asked him to appear on his behalf at the CIS for one of their graduation ceremonies.
“I'd never done that before,” he recalled.
“I knew most of the graduating class, and one of the older people – someone I knew quite well, Al Bovin – started talking to me and inspired me to go back and get it.”
He talked to the guidance counsellor, and they got all his high-school transcripts and made it easy for him.
Though he was by far the oldest member of an English class, Bureau said there are literally students of all ages (Bovin, for example, is in his 60s). And the accommodating staff – from guidance counsellors to teachers and the principal – are with you every step of the way.
“I was really excited and really happy it was something I did for myself,” he said.
“And my kids were ecstatic. They loved it.”
And Bureau took the moment to remind them (even though all have gone on to successful post-secondary education), “even if you are finished, there is always room to grow.”
Still busy on council and still involved with his business, he's not about to rush off to college or university. But he is looking into possibly pursuing some independent courses he can do on-line on his own schedule.
Which was the beauty of getting his GED at CIS - “I could do it on my own time, be it 2 in the morning or 2 in the afternoon.
“For me, it was important,” he stated.
“If I can do it, anybody can do it, and if I have inspired someone to start back with their education – we all make mistakes, we all have life experiences that pull us away. But it's never too late to start learning again.”
