Benjamin Torchinsky
Benjamin Torchinsky, DSc(Hon)Convocation Address
University of Alberta, June 11, 2003
Eminent Chancellor Ferguson, President Fraser, Chairman Edwards, Honourable Faculty and Staff, Graduating Students, and Guests.
First of all, I want to thank the University Senate and other officials for your unexpected recognition in selecting me to receive an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree. I don't know why I deserve such an exceptional honour, but I'm certainly thrilled and happy to accept it. I graduated from this University more than 55 years ago. The convocation class was much smaller, but the same excitement and anticipation of new beginnings was as evident then as it is today, and I must confess that being here makes me feel very nostalgic and brings back warm memories of the good old days. So I would like once again to thank the Senate for this great honour and also congratulate the University Administration for the fine job they and their predecessors have done in expanding and enlarging the University in physical size, in quality of education, and in excellence of research work now being carried out on the campus.
When I was invited to present today's convocation address, it was suggested that you might like to hear about my personal philosophy, including some guidance based on my past experiences. Well, I recall one experience during my early engineering practice which taught me a couple of lessons that proved to be of great help as I built my career over the years. It happened in the early '50s when television was just coming to Western Canada. At the time, I was teaching in the Civil Engineering College at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. I was also involved with consulting work in my spare time and during the summer months.
One day, I received a letter from RCA in Toronto asking if I would be able to conduct a foundation soils investigation at a site for a proposed 600-foot television broadcasting tower to be located a few miles out of the city, and if so, what my fee would be. I replied that I would be happy to undertake such an assignment and that my fee would be $500. By return mail, I received a map of the site and authorization to proceed immediately, which I did. On completion of my study, I received another letter from RCA containing my fee and asking whether I would be available to design and prepare construction drawings, call tenders, and oversee the actual installation work for all the foundations (i.e., for the tower itself and for all its guy lines). I had never actually done such a job for a client before and was nervous about my ability to do the job properly. Nevertheless, I decided to try it. So I estimated the time all this would require and advised RCA that I would be able to do the job for $2,000. RCA agreed to my terms and sent me a contract for the project. But there was a joker in the contract. It called for my personal guarantee that the foundations would safely support the tower under all weather and storm conditions.
Now, I was certain that a 600-foot TV broadcasting tower would be worth many, many hundreds of thousands of dollars. Suddenly, my $2,000 fee looked pretty tiny compared to my risk of guaranteeing the tower against all disasters. Was I really prepared to take full responsibility for the safety of a million-dollar tower just for the sake of a $2,000 job? I spent a sleepless night during which I seriously considered giving up on the whole thing. But in the brightness of a sunny morning, I concluded that if I were to have a successful career, I'd better have confidence in my own ability as a professional engineer. I signed the contract and returned it to RCA.
Within a few months, the foundations were installed, the tower was shipped in from Toronto to Saskatoon. And I was paid my $2,000 fee and erected a TV transmitter; it was installed on top of the tower, and A.A. Murphy & Sons went on air as the local TV broadcaster in Saskatoon.
Several months later, in March, Saskatoon was hit with one of the worst storms in history. Strong winds and lots of wet snow foretold serious damage to come. I went to bed that evening with the sound of howling wind in my ears and only one vision in my mind: a 600-foot tower and transmitter lying twisted and broken on the ground.
After a restless night, I awoke to a bright, sunny morning to find there was no power, no telephone, and no TV. I was almost certain that my tower had collapsed. By midday, a snowplow finally came by our street and I was able to get my car out of the garage. I needed gasoline, so I stopped on my way to University at a service station. As he filled my tank, the attendant remarked: "Boy, that was one of the worst storms we've ever had. Roads are blocked, power and phone lines are down. Even the TV tower fell down!" My heart stopped. My worst fears were coming to pass and I felt faint.
There were no classes that day because of the blocked roads, so I joined several professors in the lounge who were drinking coffee and socializing. Eventually, the conversation came around to the storm prompting someone to remark that one of the casualties of the fierce winds during the night was the big TV tower which had collapsed. Again my heart stopped. But then I heard my friend exclaim: "No! No! Not the main tower. Only the small microwave tower on top of Murphy's downtown studios. The one that shoots the signal back over to the big tower. That's what fell down and they should have it back up by tonight!" My heart leaped for joy.
This story illustrates a couple of lessons that started to become obvious to me at the time of my story and subsequently became more and more obvious as time went by — lessons which apply equally whether you're a graduate in engineering, in physical education, or even in law or any other field:
Don't be afraid to "push the envelope" or "stick your neck out." It's the best way to learn and to advance your career. But always apply common sense and a degree of caution before taking on major responsibilities directly. Be sure you know what you're doing, and then have faith in yourself.
Remember that nothing of value comes easily. Everything worthwhile comes only as a result of hard work. So make sure you select a job that you enjoy because the hard work required to be successful is so much easier if you're having fun along the way. For example, when I first started out, I was involved for about seven years in both engineering teaching and engineering practice. While I enjoyed the teaching experience, I found the engineering practice to be more exciting. There were always new challenges, and I experienced great pleasure when I was able to deal with them successfully. So eventually, I chose engineering practice ahead of teaching because I enjoyed the work more. In the end, and with the help of many hard working associates and employees, we managed to build our company into one of the largest of its kind in Canada.
In conclusion, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate those of you who are graduating today and to wish you all the very best of luck. I hope the lessons I've described will help you, as they helped me, in building your own careers.