Through the Years - Janet Dryden, P.H.Ec.

Tell Us About Yourself
I was born in Vancouver and moved to Montreal where I attended high school. I attended McGill University taking a Bachelor of Education (Home Economics) and graduated in 1970.  I taught for two years in Hudson, Quebec before moving to Peterborough, Ontario where have I lived ever since. 

​I taught Home Economics, now Family Studies, for 33 years. I first taught at Kenner CVI and then at Adam Scott CVI.  I also spent three years as Summer School Principal for the Kawartha Pine Ridge School Board.  Upon retirement, I was consultant to Ontario Agricultural Foods Educators’ Association for three years.
 
During my career, I was fortunate enough to serve on the OFSHEEA (Ontario Family Studies Home Economics Educators Association) Board for several years, as well as the OHEA Board.  Both Associations led to my growth as a professional and I believe that I became a better home economist because of my involvement in these associations.

In retirement, I remain active with a myriad of activities including playing bridge, golfing, curling, archiving for the Canadian Federation of University Women Peterborough, travelling, a member of a book club, and as a member of a gourmet club, among others. My Home Economics background has contributed in many subtle ways to my retirement activities.

How long have you been involved in OHEA and what roles did you hold?
As a very young and inexperienced member of OFSHEEA in the 80s, I was asked to attend the inaugural meetings of the then to be OHEA. It was an eye opener for me.  Here was a group of immensely dedicated professionals who believed that Ontario needed an association to represent Home Economists throughout the province. 

Many of those at the initial meetings were members of Canadian Home Economics Association (CHEA), some members of the Toronto Home Economics Association (THEA) and other local associations, and I represented OFSHEEA. The vision of the members of this group about the potential for a provincial association provided the direction for the formation of OHEA.

I continued to be a member and OHEA and proudly became a Professional Home Economics (P.H.Ec.). I did not become actively involved again until I became Director of Public Policy and then President in the 2000s. 

I can say that this was a time of professional development for me as I worked with a team of professional home economists who brought a breadth and depth of knowledge of the field to their participation. This group was committed to the mission of the association and worked tirelessly on behalf of the members. They were incredibly generous in sharing their expertise.

How has being a P.H.Ec. positively affected your life?
I well remember receiving the designation and it was a colleague in our Board who proudly wrote to our then Director announcing that several teachers had received the designation. We all received a letter of commendation. 

​Quoting from the letter:
“Your membership in this professional organization can provide many networking opportunities for the expansion of your professional development in the area of Family Studies…I would encourage you to share your achievement with the public organizations to which you contribute.”

Speaking personally, just last week I was asked what I did before I retired and I proudly replied that “I’m a retired educator who is a professional Home Economist who taught Family Studies.” The P.H.Ec. designation is how I identified, and continue to identify, myself when describing  my working life.