Grief and Connectedness are Changing Us More Rapidly Than We Thought Possible

Midway through my four-year tenure as the University of Nebraska at Omaha's Digital Communications Director, we did a team-building exercise using Emergenetics. It allowed us to see our own thinking and behavioral factors used by Human Resources as a framework to maximize human performance.

The thinking and behaving factors, according to their science, stayed consistent for most of your life, with one caveat. Life-changing incidents. A baby. A wedding. A move.

And of course, a loss of life to someone close to you.

Last week, the University of Alberta lost dozens of scholars and family members in the Ukranian plane being shot down over Iran. It once again, felt like the Humboldt Bus Crash again. One degree or less of separation combined with the country's, city's and university's connection to each of them.

As we saw with the Humboldt Broncos, an immediate outpouring of Canadian grief spread. In the Higher Ed community, like the hockey community, we lost some of the best and brightest people, young and old. We cannot underestimate the loss to Edmonton (and the world) this will have. Directly with the 30 who perished, but the many hundreds and thousands they touched directly or indirectly in their roles as scholars and students. As Premier Jason Kenney noted Sunday during his speech:

"Edmonton is a city of more than 1 million people but it is in many ways a small town. This is because of the inter-connectedness of communities and welcomeness of institutions like this great university. This sense of intimacy and this shared experience has been deeply apparent among Edmontonians in the wake of this atrocity. It is startling how many people can cite direct or indirect connections to the victims that have been lost."

This connection and sense of community is not unique to Edmonton but its social connection to so many across Canada, and then and into the world, through the University of Alberta, is. As those came to microphone Sunday and spoke, those who listened, those were taught by, studied with, or worked with the victims will undoubtedly see their look on life and career change.

"It is startling how many people can cite direct or indirect connections to the victims that have been lost."

Higher Ed like hockey, but even moreso, is a small but massively wide-reaching community to literally every corner of the earth. A bus crash carrying 20-plus hockey players can impact many countries the way losing a similar amount of Canadians, most working within our Higher Ed community, can change the world. This relation to those lost is what makes grief so strong. So life-altering.

Even those who did not know someone on the plane directly will be affected. As our communities become more and more globally connected, the loss of life of our family will continue to shape our dreams and goals. For me that included my grandmother, but also followed by the Humboldt bus tragedy and now this in less than two years. For my dad, my grandfather's passing led him on a different course than before - enlisting in the military and leaving home for a new career.

Maybe our personalities and behaviours are changing faster now in this hyper-interconnected world than Emergenetics predicted. News travels so fast, and we are all more connected than ever. I sometimes wonder if the new workplace is ready for this. Ready to adapt to tragedies that hit so close to home even when we have somewhat traditional indirect connections - either to a place, person or institution. A shared experience, as Premier Kenney noted. And are communities like Edmonton and UofA more susceptible or more resilient in the face of these moments.

As with most loss, being together leads to the next path. An outpouring of organ donation signups to an endowment in the victim's names. Where we go next is up to us. I know it has me thinking. How about you?

Share your condolences and memories on UAlberta.ca