Sally Horsfall Eaton has a passion for the college

Sally Horsfall Eaton, the chancellor of George Brown College, is described as a well-known philanthropist and volunteer. Her term as chancellor was recently renewed through to 2018 according to a press release by the college.

During her long career, Horsfall has been a nurse, a board member for non-profit organizations, and served in the Canadian Forces for 18 years. She also founded Voice for Hearing Impaired Children and the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

However, what she originally wanted to be was a veterinarian.

In the late 1950s, when Horsfall Eaton had to choose a career, very few women went to university. Her father didn’t want to pay for her getting an “Mrs. degree”, a term to describe a young woman who attends college or university with the intention of finding a husband.

The Ontario Veterinary College in Guelph only took two women a year across all of Canada. “You had to really prove your interest. Being raised in the city, I understood that was very unlikely,” said Horsfall Eaton.

Careers for women at the time included nursing, teaching and secretary work. “I really wasn’t given any choice,” said Horsfall Eaton. Nursing seemed more natural to her and she got into The Wellesley Hospital School of Nursing.

“Those were three very long and very hard years,” she said. Within six weeks, Horsfall Eaton was on the floor taking care of patients.

Horsfall Eaton said that training has become better, but she wants more hands-on experience for nursing students. “Students are not doing procedures on real people, not working 12-hour shifts, weekends, holidays and summers where there is no air conditioning,” she said. “But that does teach you a huge amount about coping, making decisions and living with your decisions whether they are right or wrong.”

Despite her many positions, Horsfall Eaton said she has only had one job interview. At the time, she was working night shifts in the Victoria Hospital in London, Ont.

“There was a day job coming up and I didn’t know any better than wearing a hat and gloves from my wedding for an interview,” she said. She was so nervous that “yes” or “no” were the only words she could say. After that, she commented, “I seem to be making my own jobs.”

Having a number of careers, Horsfall Eaton believes, “broadens your life and exposes you to a lot of interesting things.” She also believes in not being involved in something for too long. “It is very important new blood is brought in,” she said.

Despite all the honours she has received, including the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, she believes having a happy and wonderful family is her biggest achievement. She is also a grandmother who tries not to give her grandchildren advice, but rather makes them think about things.

As the chancellor for the college, Horsfall Eaton hopes to carry on providing guidance to students. The college is currently her main focus, and she enjoys meeting George Brown students across Toronto and learning their stories.

“I developed a passion for the school, the programs and for what George Brown stands for.”