Heart and Soul
For Bill and Julie Dodd, education has always been a way of life. Now they are enthusiastically sharing their expertise, decades of experience and their heart and soul with medical students in the Windsor Program.
The Dodds are fairly regular fixtures at the Dr. Murray O’Neil Medical Education Centre. For the past five years, they have been Standardized Patients (SP) in the clinical skills area, with the interview process, the tutoring program and clinical skills day. More recently, they have taken on other roles as exam proctors and overseeing the MedPals program.
Windsor has been home for the Dodds for nearly 45 years. A business graduate of the University of Windsor, Bill started teaching at the high school level. He quickly progressed through the ranks, taking on new responsibilities as a vice-principal and then serving as a principal at three different high schools. An athlete, Judy dedicated her career to coaching, teaching Physical Education, Math, English and Guidance, and dedicated more than 30 years to special education.
And when they weren’t teaching all of their energy was directed to raising their three sons.
Once retired and with a little more time on their hands, the Dodds sought out opportunities to become more involved with the community. They had heard about the SP program through a relative who was involved in London. It didn’t take long before they got involved. And it seems like a match made in heaven. “I love being with students,” said Bill. “And I always wanted to work at the university level in some capacity; this was the perfect blend of everything.”
Having been with the Program for several years, the Dodds find themselves getting very attached to the students and enjoy watching them mature in their roles. “We see the students in first year when we are supervising their exams, and then three years later, we see them in their scrubs and we get tears in our eyes; you get very attached to them,” said Judy.
The Windsor Program has become an important part of their lives. “After an assignment we always leave here happy,” said Bill. “It’s an exhilarating experience to see and work with young people.” And after five years, the Dodds consider themselves ambassadors for Schulich Medicine. “I’ve never met a more dedicated and passionate group of educators,” said Judy.
When the Dodds aren’t helping out at the Program, the energetic couple are spending time with their grand-daughters, and travelling around the world to exotic locations such as Bora Bora, Istanbul, Venice, Berlin and the southern Caribbean.
They are proud of their involvement and will continue to teach with their heart and soul.
