Mark McDowell is an Innis alumnus, Canadian diplomat, and former Ambassador of Canada, credited with opening the first Canadian embassy in the Union of the Republic of Myanmar. On this particular brisk morning, he came from an important meeting to sit down for an interview with me on his way to deliver food to his son. Around us were students studying with headphones in, people rushing to and from class, in and out of the library. McDowell scooted his chair closer so that my phone resting on the windowsill to the side could pick up a full transcript of our conversation.

We had met the week before at a dinner organized by Principal Charlie Keil to introduce students to successful alumni working in their fields of interest. McDowell was one of two featured alumni guests. The other was Sheila Htoo, alumna of the World University Services Canada (WUSC) Student Refugee program at Innis and doctoral candidate at York University. Htoo graduated from Innis’s Urban Studies program and is now researching ethnic conflict in Myanmar, whence her family had once been forced to flee.

Although the dinner was intended for students to learn more about the alumni’s work and career paths, McDowell began by asking what each student was studying at the University of Toronto. Where were they from? What were they interested in? Where did they see themselves going after undergrad? It was an absolute delight to talk about everything from how much I loved Vancouver to the effect of cyber-hacking and deep fakes on the integrity of elections in developing nations. As dessert was served, McDowell wanted to hear each student’s future plans as much as we wanted to hear about his experiences.

It was an absolute honour for me, as well as for all the other students, to meet the distinguished alumni guests and hear their stories. I asked both for the opportunity to interview them if they were ever in downtown Toronto again and available. Not a week later, I sat down with Mark McDowell outside the Innis College Library with my voice memo recording app and clipboard of handwritten questions ready.

How does one go from a Bachelor’s of Arts degree at the University of Toronto to opening a new Canadian embassy? McDowell is now known for his extensive work in foreign service and international organizations but one of the first things he told me during our interview was that “I had absolutely no plan for my life when I started [my undergraduate degree].” That uncertainty characterized his graduating class. In his time at Innis, McDowell knew of only one friend who had a plan (to go into medical school), but nobody else studying arts and science thought their goals and plans for the future through. Now, he says, there is an impression that even high school students should be worried about their lives after school.

When McDowell came to Innis in the 1980’s, he was attracted to the “counterculture” of Innis College. He remembers meeting “oddballs” and “off-beat people” who even avoided College sports and intramurals because “no organized activities are counter-culture.” He described the one negative memory from this time was having to commute and missing out on further experiencing the College culture (his era was that before the current Innis Residence building was built). His undergraduate degree collided with the beginning of the punk and new wave era; he even learned to play the bass guitar from a friend who happened to be missing a bassist from their band.

While I was frantically worrying about how I could finish my own degree within four years, McDowell described his undergraduate experience as a “happy mess.”  He spent his first two years at Innis without a strong direction. In third year, he “hitch-hiked” around Europe and decided on studying social science. He later spent another year abroad in China where he learned to speak Chinese fluently and found a vague desire for a future career that was somehow focused on Asia. McDowell credits this time that he took off of university as a crucial opportunity to discover what he loved and open his eyes and ears. Later on in life, the languages he learned would give him an undeniable advantage when applying for a job at Global Affairs Canada.

“Foreign affairs was a much later thing,” McDowell waved his hand as he described his Master’s degree and the beginnings of a PhD at Harvard University. Perhaps like many current students, he liked school and decided to roll into graduate degrees. “[Academia] was the one thing I was good at… I wish I had thought a little bit more about it.” Although he had a vague idea of pursuing a professorship in undergrad, he later left the doctoral degree to leave the student life behind. He took the foreign services exam and began his career. Years later, McDowell eventually went back to school for another Master’s degree.

In every alumni interview, I like to ask my guest for advice to give to current students. And although each piece of wisdom often sounds similar, these truths are distilled from lives of experiences that give meaning and background far more useful to students than the simple words themselves.

McDowell’s advice for students is to work hard, pursue beyond what you know you are interested in, and never miss classes. “Don’t waste time playing video games or sleeping in. Take advantage of all the opportunities and meet new people.” In his case, he had no plan to study Chinese, but bumped into some people in the library that piqued a curiosity that had a lasting impact in his life.

Although he took longer to complete his undergraduate, he made it clear that his path is not a recommendation for current students to “relax and goof around,”  especially given today’s increased competition both academically and economically. Instead, he urges students to really pursue their interests. “You’ve got to accept that you’re going to have to work hard and suffer to an extent… you have to not see this as a daily grind in order to be able to get through.”

“When I did my second [Master’s] degree, I did get much more out of it… I was much more disciplined about doing my work… and able to take advantage of extra-curricular activities. You get a third of your benefits from your class and a third from your classmates and then a third from everything else that’s going on around the university.”