My name is Alistair Mahood, and this is my journey to becoming a student at Ambrose University.

I grew up in Red Deer, Alberta, where I was the youngest of four siblings. I took the French Immersion program from grade school to high school where I graduated with a bilingual certificate.

I played a variety of sports which ranged from Red Deer Minor Hockey to high school sports like football, basketball, handball, tennis, and rugby. I enjoyed playing whenever I could, but I balanced my athletic interests with student leadership at Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School. My school was made up of about 2000 students, and as a student executive member, I got to create and organize events for students and staff at the school.

In grade ten, I joined student council as the Junior Athletic Representative and then became the Senior Athletic Rep the next year, where I organized intramurals and promoted school spirit. High School was fabulous, and I didn’t want to imagine graduating or doing anything besides sports or leadership.

I never thought I would come to a small university because I never thought I would go to a school other than the large university my three other siblings attended. When I started looking for schools to go to, I was very interested in another private Christian university that some of my friends went to. I even attended the preview weekend.

The other university had more programs, but I didn’t get the same vibe as when I came here. Calgary is just better. It’s right beside the mountains, and I’ve never been so close to a group of individuals who are on fire for God and who want to grow in their individual relationships with Him.

I decided to come to Ambrose for a number of reasons; I received a scholarship; I was close to home; it offered the major I wanted to study; and I would be in an environment with friends of the same values.

I also have family ties to the location. The Ambrose University campus in west Calgary is built on land that was once my great grandfather’s farm. My grandfather and father lived at this location, waking every morning to see the same mountains that are visible from the dorms here at Ambrose.

With a different school and a different social life, I’ve gotten involved with new things: the Ambrose hockey team, a role as ambassador for the school, and the dorm life community. I feel very blessed to be at Ambrose, and I am very happy with my decision to attend.