No Corners Cut: Julia Rivard Dexter

03/21/24 • 38 min

Today's story comes from Julia Rivard Dexter of Loon Lake, Nova Scotia.

Like many children, Julia struggled with reading. This would become a source of strife and insecurity for the young girl, until she found her fit in competitive canoe kayaking. In the world of sports Julia excelled. Her dedication and commitment would lead her to the top of her game, and eventually, the Olympics in 2000.

After the games, it was time for a new challenge, so Julia threw herself into entrepreneurship. At the time, her son Max started to have his own struggles with reading. Not wanting Max to feel the same insecurity she had felt in school, Julia would go to found and launch Squiggle Park, a learning platform that gamifies literacy education. The goal at first was simple: find a better way for her own son to learn how to read. The impact, however, became much larger than that.

This fresh, fun approach to learning was embraced by students and teachers alike, and since launching in October 2016, Squiggle Park has grown to be used in over 12,000 schools.

Presented by Charm Diamond Centres

Hosted by Nancy Regan

Produced by Podstarter

Do you have a great love story? You could be the next guest on the Canadian Love Map! Apply here!

Today's story comes from Julia Rivard Dexter of Loon Lake, Nova Scotia.

This fresh, fun approach to learning was embraced by students and teachers alike, and since launching in October 2016, Squiggle Park has grown to be used in over 12,000 schools.

Presented by Charm Diamond Centres

Hosted by Nancy Regan

Produced by Podstarter

Do you have a great love story? You could be the next guest on the Canadian Love Map! Apply here!

Previous Episode

Creating an Empathy Exchange: Deborah Bakti

Today's story belongs to Deb Bakti, of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Deb's story belongs like many love stories do: girl meets boy at a bar and the two fall for each other. The "boy" in question was Ty, Deb's late husband. Deb and Ty had built the perfect life together with happy, healthy kids, and a gainful career working as a seniors' home executive. This idyllic life would be shaken to it's core when Ty, out of the blue, started to experience the debilitating symptoms of an extremely rare disease.

The next few years of their lives were dedicated to the search for answers. As Deb ferociously pursued a diagnosis for her ailing husband, an inevitable conclusion lingered on the couple's horizon: that Ty's needs would eventually bring him to a long-term care home.

Ty would live his final years in a care home, an experience which forever changed the trajectory of Deb's personal and professional lives. Her credentials as an industry executive and her experience as a resident's wife uniquely positioned Deb to become a conduit for the empathy and care she felt the industry needed. Following Ty's passing, Deb would quit her corporate job and start her own consultancy and training business, dedicated to preserving the memory of Ty by helping to foster the kind of human, relational conversations between staff and family that lead to better care for the residents.

At the centre of each of these conversations is empathy, curiosity, and of course, love.

Presented by Charm Diamond Centres

Hosted by Nancy Regan

Produced by Podstarter

Do you have a great love story? You could be the next guest on the Canadian Love Map! Apply here!

Next Episode

A Second Chance: Anita and Kevin

This week's story belongs to Anita and Kevin Kirkbride, of Florenceville, New Brunswick.

Have you ever wondered what became of your high school sweetheart? For former flames Anita and Kevin, this common curiosity became a window of opportunity two decades after the young couple parted ways. However, a series of coincidental synchronicities kept the two connected.

Having broken up at the end of high school, Anita and Kevin would both go on to meet new lovers during their college years, eventually getting married and starting families. Neither could shake the deep connection they shared when they were together as kids, and when both marriages ended in separation, the smouldering embers of their former love began to burn brightly again.

Listen to hear a story of courage, rediscovery, and embracing life's coincidences.

Presented by Charm Diamond Centres

Hosted by Nancy Regan

Produced by Podstarter

Do you have a great love story? You could be the next guest on the Canadian Love Map! Apply here!