Denis Fortin
Episode 193

Narrator:

Welcome friends to another episode of The Story and Experience podcast. Join your host, Japhet De Oliveira with his guest today, and discover the moments that shape us, our families and communities.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Hey, welcome friends to another episode of The Story and Experience podcast. I'm delighted, delighted, absolutely delighted for you to be able to meet this guest who happens to be a very close friend of mine. And it's been a long time chasing them down so you will get to hear some amazing stories and experiences that shaped them into the leader that they are today. We have a hundred questions, obviously we don't cover all a hundred. But they become more vulnerable closer to 100, and they get to pick where they want to go. I'm going to ask the first 10 and we'll dive in straight away. All right, here we go. Could you tell us your name and does anybody ever mispronounce it?

Denis Fortin:

My name is Denis Fortin. And I usually hear Danny Fortin.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes. I've never said that about you. Oh, my. We've known each other nearly 20 years.

Denis Fortin:

It's a French name. It's a French Canadian name. Fortin, Fortin in Quebec in Canada is perhaps like Johnson or-

Japhet De Oliveira:

Smith?

Denis Fortin:

Not quite Smith.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Not Smith, okay.

Denis Fortin:

But one of those prominent names in Quebec. They are streets named after my name, Avenues, Boulevards.

Japhet De Oliveira:

You gave them permission? Your family did.

Denis Fortin:

One of the very first settlers of New France near Quebec City was a Fortin.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh wow. That's fantastic. That's fantastic. Well, Denis, I'm delighted to be able to have you as a guest on this, and could you tell us what you do for work?

Denis Fortin:

I'm a professor, teacher at Andrews University. I've been here for 30 years. I teach historical theology, which is a combination of history and theology together. So looking at the development of ideas, doctrines, concepts over time.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Over time. And do they change?

Denis Fortin:

They do. They do.

Japhet De Oliveira:

What causes the change?

Denis Fortin:

A number of factors. Sometimes it's simply social factors. Sometimes it's generations begin to think differently about some ideas, some Bible doctrines, sometimes an event like a war will change people, the way they think about a particular concept. Controversies, difficulties, arguments between each other will sometimes tamper a doctrine, make it less prominent. Yes, ideas change over time.

Japhet De Oliveira:

So what would you say ... this is a bonus question. What would you say to somebody who says, "But truth is truth, it's the same, it's never changed ever at all."

Denis Fortin:

Well, we also understand truth through our own perspectives, pair of eyeglasses, and that impacts how we understand truth. So let's say we have a document like the scriptures, the Bible for Christians and Jewish people. We read what it says, it talks about stories and events. And through those we understand a truth, a concept of some kind. But we look at that concept through our own perspectives. So somebody in Asia from a Buddhist perhaps culture may understand the same concept very differently from us here that are North Americans or Western Europeans. So yes, truth is truth and only God perhaps is ultimately truth, capital letters. But we understand truth from our own perspectives as well. There's a subjective element in how we understand reality or even ideas.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's great, that's great. Now, you've done this for 30 years here. What did you do before that?

Denis Fortin:

Before that, I was a pastor of local churches in Quebec, in Canada for about 10, 12 years before moving to Michigan.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Now, when you were a child, you grew up in Quebec, right? As a child.

Denis Fortin:

Yeah, yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

When you were a child, what did you imagine you would grow up to be?

Denis Fortin:

An astronomer.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Really?

Denis Fortin:

Yes. Yes. I had a telescope.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, really? Okay.

Denis Fortin:

And I learned to distinguish, to find the constellations, even though I lived in a city with a lot of light pollution. Some nights were very, very dark. And yes, I did, I wanted to be an astronomer for a long time.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Really? Do you still study the stars?

Denis Fortin:

I do, I do. This morning I let the dogs out before sunrise and there in the south was Orion.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. Did I see that the Northern Lights were out?

Denis Fortin:

Oh yeah, last night.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Right? Last night, right?

Denis Fortin:

Oh, yeah, lots of them. Beautiful Northern Lights.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I missed it all. I woke up this morning to hear about it all, I'm like, oh, okay.

Denis Fortin:

Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That was great. Oh, that's fantastic, man. Are you an early riser or a late night owl?

Denis Fortin:

I am an early riser.

Japhet De Oliveira:

And what's early for you?

Denis Fortin:

Between 6:00 and 7:00, for sure.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay, all right.

Denis Fortin:

Sometimes before 6:00.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Sometimes before 6:00.

Denis Fortin:

And the older we get, the less we sleep.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I don't know what you mean. It's true. And this morning when you woke up, first thought that went through your mind.

Denis Fortin:

The dogs need to go out.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, really? Is that a joyous feeling?

Denis Fortin:

I'm sorry. We have two little dogs.

Japhet De Oliveira:

They're beautiful. They're beautiful.

Denis Fortin:

Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I love them on social media. I think sometimes they may have more of a life than anyone else.

Denis Fortin:

Sometimes do.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Tell me, after you let the dogs out and you are up and around, do you have water, tea, coffee, liquid green smoothie? What's your first drink of the day?

Denis Fortin:

Water, usually. And then right after that, coffee.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, and how do you have your coffee?

Denis Fortin:

You mean-

Japhet De Oliveira:

Do you have ... is it a black coffee?

Denis Fortin:

Oh, no, no, no, no, no. It's-

Japhet De Oliveira:

No, no.

Denis Fortin:

It's a oat cream.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, really? Okay.

Denis Fortin:

Yes, yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

It's developed.

Denis Fortin:

It's developed, yes. It could be an espresso or French press.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, nice, nice. Hey, that's fantastic. That's really good. Denis, if people were to describe you, would they say you're an introvert or an extrovert, and would you agree with them?

Denis Fortin:

Some people may say I'm an extrovert, but I am not. I am an introvert, I'm a shy introvert. So in a room filled with people I don't know, which happens once in a while, I am shy about reaching out. And, oh, hi, this is my name. Who are you? What a beautiful day we have. No, that's hard.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. Hey, that's fair. That's fair. But people see you as an extrovert rather than introvert.

Denis Fortin:

Because perhaps of my roles.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Because you speak.

Denis Fortin:

I speak, I'm a speaker, I teach. So in front of the classroom, I'm animated. I preach also once in a while. So that also perhaps gives that impression.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. Hey, that's good, man. That's good. A question about leadership, are you a backseat driver?

Denis Fortin:

I am more of a facilitator. So somebody has a good idea, I probably know how to implement it or not implement it. I am better as part of a team than to be the leader of the team. Although I know how to do that, I've done that many, many times in many roles. I know how to do that. But yes, I would say I'm part of a team to work together.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's good. That's good. Well, the floor is open, and so you get to pick a number between 11 and 100. And where would you like to go? Yeah, this is going to be fun.

Denis Fortin:

That's a little scary sometimes too.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, it's great.

Denis Fortin:

Let's go with 19.

Japhet De Oliveira:

19. Oh, what's your exercise routine?

Denis Fortin:

Exercise routine?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, yeah.

Denis Fortin:

I love to walk. I try to walk a few times a week. We have a farm here nearby and a long trail along the river.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, that's great.

Denis Fortin:

It's a beautiful place. I love to do that when the weather permits. And I don't have an early assignment in the day, I'd love to go walk early in the morning or in the evening with the dogs. But in the morning it's tense to be alone. So a little bit of solo walking. Biking, do a little bit of that. Stretching exercises, those kinds of things too.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, that's fantastic. You've done that your entire life or you've kind of modified it more?

Denis Fortin:

More or less. Yeah, the walking certainly has been-

Japhet De Oliveira:

You've always stayed very much in shape.

Denis Fortin:

I tried to.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. That's good. That's good.

Denis Fortin:

I tried to.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Well, well done. All right. That was the 19. So where next, up or down? I love this. This is great.

Denis Fortin:

11.

Japhet De Oliveira:

11, all right. Tell us about the most adventurous food or meal that you've ever eaten.

Denis Fortin:

Adventurous.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah.

Denis Fortin:

I am not adventurous when it comes to meals. It has to be known. No, no surprises.

Japhet De Oliveira:

No surprise.

Denis Fortin:

Because there might be mushroom in it.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I'm with you on that.

Denis Fortin:

If there's ... if I don't-

Japhet De Oliveira:

Fungi.

Denis Fortin:

No fungi. No, no. It has to be predictable. So Indian food, Mexican food, vegetarian. Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

So has anybody by accident in an Indian restaurant giving you something that's like, whoa, that was a surprise.

Denis Fortin:

Or maybe the spice content. But apart from that, no.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. Fair enough. No worries, all right. That was 11, so where next?

Denis Fortin:

21.

Japhet De Oliveira:

21. Oh, share the best compliment you've ever received.

Denis Fortin:

You're a good teacher. It's not the best, but I receive it once in a while. I got it even this morning. I met with a student and he said that to me. I get that, it's beautiful, it's humbling. You're one of my best teachers I've had. That's good. I like the way you explain scripture or ideas, thank you for doing that, you've touched my life. Yeah, those have been beautiful comments.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. I think of you as a really faithful brother. You are a person who cares deeply. Yeah, I love that about you. And that authenticity is actually really true. It's the integrity part of you. So I really enjoyed that about you.

Denis Fortin:

Somebody came to see me this week. Well, no, I just happened to be walking in the hallway at the school and there was a group of students, maybe five or six of them together. I know most of them, they've taken my classes, but one, I don't know, I've never met him. And he said to me, "Professor, could I ask you a question? Can I walk with you?" I was on my way out, I had my briefcase and leaving, said, "Sure, sure, come with me." And he said, "I've been told you are very approachable."

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay, okay.

Denis Fortin:

Could I have a chat with you? That was nice.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That is good. And that's true.

Denis Fortin:

That was unexpected. So, we did.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's great.

Denis Fortin:

I said, "Well, I am not in a rush to go home. Do you want to talk now?" He said, "Yes." "Okay, let's go."

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's beautiful, man. Beautiful. All right, where next then?

Denis Fortin:

Where were we?

Japhet De Oliveira:

21.

Denis Fortin:

That was 21?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah.

Denis Fortin:

Let's do 55.

Japhet De Oliveira:

55. All right. Share about something that frightens you.

Denis Fortin:

Scary monsters. You know I have started once to watch ... man, I forget the name of the movie.

Japhet De Oliveira:

It's good.

Denis Fortin:

And it's a series now. You know with these dinosaurs on this island.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Jurassic Park.

Denis Fortin:

Jurassic Park. There's three or four of those movies.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, 500 of those. Yeah, yeah.

Denis Fortin:

Okay. So I started to watch the first one. I said, "No way. No, no, no, I can't do this, can't do this. I'm going to dream about this all night." So I have never watched them.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's good. That's good.

Denis Fortin:

It scares me.

Japhet De Oliveira:

You haven't missed out. It's all good. It's all good. The soundtracks great, but that's about it.

Denis Fortin:

That's about it.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. All right.

Denis Fortin:

That's about it.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right, where next then?

Denis Fortin:

59.

Japhet De Oliveira:

59. In your opinion ... this is actually ... I don't know how you ended up picking this number. But in your opinion, what subject would you add to school curriculum? What age would it be for?

Denis Fortin:

Wow. Okay. And I've been an educator all my life.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes, this is what's so fun about this. I'm like, of all the questions. Yeah.

Denis Fortin:

And what would I add and why? I would certainly ... I don't know that it would need to be added, but certainly to be emphasized. I believe strongly in the humanities. So English, history, social studies, I'm a strong believer in the importance of those subjects. And I see currently that they're being neglected at multiple levels. Undergrad, graduate, for sure, but also in high school. And I would say this is an important subject that needs to be studied. And let's not push it aside for some other curriculum activities. To me, that's an important one. It's there already, but I would say let's not neglect it any more than it is already happening.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. They're essential, they're core.

Denis Fortin:

I think that's essential core for me. Critical thinking to learn, to understand events or ideas in a text and relate to them and decipher them, understand them and critique them. I think that's an important aspect of education.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Bonus question here, this is actually a 59A. A student comes out, finishes their entire course, whether it's undergrad, post grad, PhD, what kind of person are they in your eye? What kind of person would they be and that would be successful?

Denis Fortin:

To know that they don't know everything and that they need to continue to learn to study, and that they don't have all the answers to all the questions. I think of all things, I think this is what education is all about. To know some things for sure. Through high school you learn the facts, you memorize them, whether it's science or history. But I think throughout the rest of your education, undergrad, graduate, post grad, you need to realize that there's more to the world than what you're able to grasp. And out of that, you get a sense that it's together that we make the community, not me alone. I don't know everything, but together as a group, we'll find the answers.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Beautiful, beautiful. Thank you for that. Every university should pick that up now. All right, so let's move.

Denis Fortin:

Yeah, yeah, sure.

Japhet De Oliveira:

No, that's true. All right, 59. Where next?

Denis Fortin:

78.

Japhet De Oliveira:

78, all right. Oh, tell us about what gives you childlike joy.

Denis Fortin:

Like fun and laughing. I don't know. TikTok videos about little cats and dogs.

Japhet De Oliveira:

It's true. It's true.

Denis Fortin:

And you see the foolish things that they do and it makes me laugh. Okay.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right. That's great. That's good. All right, where next now?

Denis Fortin:

I listened to too many of those Reels.

Japhet De Oliveira:

They have an ability to grab us. All right.

Denis Fortin:

81.

Japhet De Oliveira:

81. What is something you've given your absolute best effort towards and why was it important?

Denis Fortin:

For a period of time, I was a school administrator here on campus. I was a Dean of a school and I really gave it all my best, long hours every week, lots of thinking about it, putting all my energy into it. Yes. Professionally, probably, that's one of the places. I still do, I think, when it comes to teaching, preparing my lectures, my classes, I try to give it my best, for sure.

Japhet De Oliveira:

How often do you recreate the things that you're teaching?

Denis Fortin:

Every lecture is different.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Every lecture?

Denis Fortin:

Every lecture. My slide, my content, my explanations are a little different. Ahead of time, I do.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Wow.

Denis Fortin:

Every lecture, every day.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's good for your own mind [inaudible 00:16:33].

Denis Fortin:

Oh, yeah, it is. It is. And it makes the content fresh to me. It has to be fresh.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's fantastic. Good, good. Thank you.

Denis Fortin:

The problem though is that you add too many slides and you can't go through them. Your PowerPoints become too long. So you got to cut.

Japhet De Oliveira:

The pain of new knowledge. All right, good. All right. Where next?

Denis Fortin:

44.

Japhet De Oliveira:

44. What is something that you're proud of created?

Denis Fortin:

I've done a fair bit of writing and I think recently one of the books that I published was really a great work creation. The biography of George I. Butler. For the Adventist folks, he was a general conference President in the 1800s, and that was quite a work. I really poured my soul into preparing that book. That's a creation, yes. It's an academic creation, of course.

Japhet De Oliveira:

A retelling of something.

Denis Fortin:

It's the retelling of somebody's story to try to get into his mind and how he operated or how he thought.

Japhet De Oliveira:

No, you must've had many insights. What would be one that would just be like, that was a learning moment for you or, yeah.

Denis Fortin:

The subtitle of the book is, An Honest But Misunderstood Church Leader. He was an honest person and I saw how he tried his best to have integrity, to be a genuine human being. And to really live honestly in his personal life, but also in his dealings with others. He was an honest person. That is not the vibes that have come out through Adventist history regarding this man. He's been portrayed as being rugged, as being harsh, difficult, stubborn. Yeah, to some extent he was. But on the core of his personality was honesty.

Japhet De Oliveira:

And I mean, that's an elaborate exercise to distill in a few seconds. But what helped you discover that about him that's different to what other people had believed for so long?

Denis Fortin:

Reading so many letters that he wrote to others and how he explained himself and how he tried to explain events and see things. I mean, that came through the letters that he wrote. And he wrote hundreds of letters, so I tried to read all of them. And yes, the honesty that came through, the faithfulness to ideas, to his church, his work, his people, his family. That was beautiful.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Brilliant, brilliant. All right, where next?

Denis Fortin:

33.

Japhet De Oliveira:

33. Tell us about the best gift you've ever given someone else.

Denis Fortin:

It's not something tangible. But so many times in my classes, I encounter students that have all kinds of difficulties and I don't know about it. And it's in the background and they don't necessarily need to share how difficult of a life they're having. But some students sometimes lag behind when it comes to assignments. And you give them a moment of grace, you give them, oh, I'm sorry to hear that something has happened to you. Yeah, turn in your assignment next week. And the relief that the students feel at that moment, when you look at their expression, some of them become teary-eyed. Because I gave them, yeah, okay, sure. Take more time to turn it in. It will be fine, it won't be late. Will be okay. I have seen that a few times and that has meant a lot. Sometimes you want to be careful not to do that too many times because everybody takes it for granted or this professor doesn't mean what he says when there's a deadline. But for some people, it really means the world to have a moment of grace. Be gracious to others.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes.

Denis Fortin:

That's a gift.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That is a gift. A gift we receive, as well.

Denis Fortin:

It's a gift we receive, as well. We need that too.

Japhet De Oliveira:

We do, we do.

Denis Fortin:

A lot, yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. Is it easy to give grace to yourself, Denis?

Denis Fortin:

Oh, that's always harder. As a perfectionist streak that does not allow grace.

Japhet De Oliveira:

So for somebody who's struggling to give grace to themselves, what would you say to them?

Denis Fortin:

It's okay. Be gentle. Be kind. A good word, a word of grace is okay. And it creates a lot of goodwill, but also may just be the moment of sunshine that somebody needs one day.

Japhet De Oliveira:

It's good. Good. All right, where next, sir?

Denis Fortin:

Oh yeah, sure. I picked the questions.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, you pick them, yeah.

Denis Fortin:

25.

Japhet De Oliveira:

25. All right, let's see here.

Denis Fortin:

Am I supposed to go up?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh no, you can go up or down.

Denis Fortin:

Okay.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, yeah. Since it's your story. So yeah, your journey. Share the most beautiful thing you've ever seen.

Denis Fortin:

Seen?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, seen.

Denis Fortin:

Oh, that's hard. Oh, last night, Northern Lights, that's always beautiful. But also visiting some places. I love traveling and there's always, in some countries, a beautiful site, a building. Or you go to Rome, you go to the Alps.

Japhet De Oliveira:

What's that walk that you and-

Denis Fortin:

The Camino?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes.

Denis Fortin:

The Camino, the Santiago that I have walked a few times on different trails, of course, in Spain to do the Camino. Yeah, you enter into a little village and you see something beautiful, an old church, an old monastery. And then also natural sites, there are so many beautiful places in the world. I love traveling and see things. Yes, and there are beautiful things to see.

Japhet De Oliveira:

There are, there are.

Denis Fortin:

Everywhere. And I appreciate that very much.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's good. That's good. All right. Where next?

Denis Fortin:

87.

Japhet De Oliveira:

87, all right. When you're under incredible stress, what helps ground you?

Denis Fortin:

Time out.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. What's time out look like for you?

Denis Fortin:

You sit quietly in a chair, read a book, or listen to music or go for a walk.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. Okay. And it resets you?

Denis Fortin:

It resets.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's fantastic.

Denis Fortin:

Yeah. It's helpful. Very, very helpful.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. It's to get your mind to another place.

Denis Fortin:

That's right. Change what you think.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's true.

Denis Fortin:

How you relate to things.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, it's true. The way you think changes the way you feel.

Denis Fortin:

That's right. It does.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Good. All right. Where next?

Denis Fortin:

61.

Japhet De Oliveira:

61. Tell us about a time in your life that required incredible courage.

Denis Fortin:

Given my personality of being introvert and shy.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, okay.

Denis Fortin:

That's probably confronting issues that I know are going to upset either myself even further that I'm already upset or people. People that I like, people that I love working with or being with and confronting an issue that is just not right. You need a lot of courage to do that for an introvert. And sometimes you even back away and you don't do it because you lack the courage to do that. Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Before I go to the next number, I just need to ask, has anybody ever told you that you look like a particular actor or sound like a particular actor in Hollywood?

Denis Fortin:

No.

Japhet De Oliveira:

No? Really?

Denis Fortin:

I get all the time that my accent sounds like when I speak English, my accent sounds like Dutch or Northern German, something like this. Now I get that all the time. In fact, I go to Netherlands. I remember one time I was in the Netherlands, I was filling up the car. I had a rental and somebody was hitchhiking and he approached me speaking English. And so asked me if I was going in a particular direction and I answered, of course, in English that I was not going in that direction. He switched to Dutch because he thought I spoke Dutch with an English.

Japhet De Oliveira:

And nobody's ever said to you, Denis, you remind them of Christophe Waltz.

Denis Fortin:

I don't know who that is.

Japhet De Oliveira:

No, you don't? This fellow here.

Denis Fortin:

All right.

Japhet De Oliveira:

You've never heard him?

Denis Fortin:

No.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay.

Denis Fortin:

All right, all right, no.

Japhet De Oliveira:

We will share a movie sometime together.

Denis Fortin:

Okay, you need to do that.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Bonus. Bonus. All right. All right. All the listeners are going to Google this and they'll see.

Denis Fortin:

Okay, okay.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right. Where next?

Denis Fortin:

64.

Japhet De Oliveira:

64. When you look back at your life, could you tell us about a moment that was like, what was I thinking?

Denis Fortin:

I'm such a stable person, I don't do anything rash.

Japhet De Oliveira:

This is good. So maybe they weren't.

Denis Fortin:

I don't do anything off the cuff. I think things through too much.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Maybe is there a moment when you look back, you're like, boy, why was I taking so long?

Denis Fortin:

I'm not sure. Maybe tomorrow I'll think of something.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's okay.

Denis Fortin:

Perhaps accepting some responsibilities, sometimes take too long to think about those. That may have happened a number of times.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay, all right. No worries. All right, good. You can tell me tomorrow. Good, all right, where next?

Denis Fortin:

87.

Japhet De Oliveira:

87, when you're under ... no, we've done that one.

Denis Fortin:

Oh, we've done that one?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Denis Fortin:

Okay, we'll do 86.

Japhet De Oliveira:

86. Who was influential in shaping you to be who you are now and why?

Denis Fortin:

A number of people, for sure. My mother and my parents certainly influenced me in some ways, in many, many, many ways. My grandmother, as well. I remember her when she lived with us after she got older and could not live on her own anymore. She certainly had an influence in my youth. I would think also of mentors I had in undergrad. There's a number of teachers I had that I really looked up to, they seemed to be such wise people, wise man, good pastors or good ... just good people. They would invite us to their home or we'd chit-chat after class. Yes, a number of undergrad professors were like that, for sure.

Japhet De Oliveira:

And did you ever have the chance to tell them?

Denis Fortin:

Yes, a couple of them. Two or three ... yeah, I did. I did three or four of them for sure. I can think of a few names right now. Yes, I did tell them that, as recently as in the last six months.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, really?

Denis Fortin:

They're still alive and yeah. And I've talked to some of them. Yeah, they did.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. That's fantastic.

Denis Fortin:

Profound influence of people who seem to have it together and that's good.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. I saw this brilliant advert on TV in England years ago where they talked about ... all these famous people talked about a single teacher that shaped their lives.

Denis Fortin:

Isn't that something?

Japhet De Oliveira:

It is.

Denis Fortin:

Yes, I believe that.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, I really believe that too.

Denis Fortin:

I believe that very, very, very much.

Japhet De Oliveira:

One teacher can actually make you so positive.

Denis Fortin:

That makes me think of one. Yeah. A grade school teacher, grade five and six. Grade five and six, I had the same teacher for both years. And probably in sixth grade, he said to me, it was a he. He said to me, "You're going to go somewhere one day. You have a good mind, you think well, you understand things." And he said to me, "You're going to go somewhere one day."

Japhet De Oliveira:

Wow.

Denis Fortin:

Wow.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Wow, that's amazing.

Denis Fortin:

That's amazing.

Japhet De Oliveira:

What a good utterance.

Denis Fortin:

That stayed with me, I remember that. I remember that. We were having, once or twice a year, the teacher would go through every kids in the classroom, we'd sit with a kid and do a little bit of mentorship. Here's where I see things are happening with you and your scores or your grades and so on. He did that. And I remember him saying that to me and that was very impactful. Gave me the impression, at least the sense that I could go for it. I've always been a school nerd. I love to go to school and to learn to read and to do my homework. I loved to do that and I think he sensed that.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Now, in your 30 years of teaching, obviously, I mean, you must have had thousands of students.

Denis Fortin:

I have had, yes. Yeah, it's true.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Thousands of students.

Denis Fortin:

Yeah, it's true.

Japhet De Oliveira:

You must have seen some diamonds come through.

Denis Fortin:

Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. Did you have the privilege to speak that kind of truth into them, as well?

Denis Fortin:

I did. I did. And some of them are still diamonds today.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's beautiful, isn't it?

Denis Fortin:

And some of them you work with.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's fantastic, man.

Denis Fortin:

And they're all over the place and yes. And they're diamonds, they're successful. Yes, I'm proud of them. I'm proud of them.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's good. That's good. We have time for two more, two more numbers. Where would you like to go for your last two?

Denis Fortin:

94.

Japhet De Oliveira:

94. Oh, if you could change one thing in the world, one thing in the world, anything in the world, what would it be?

Denis Fortin:

If I could change one thing in the world, what would it be? I would close some social media.

Japhet De Oliveira:

We would all agree. We will conquer.

Denis Fortin:

That's against the First Amendment. I would try to make the world a better place by providing food to those who don't have it. We have a society here in North America and Western Europe that is so consumer oriented. We spend so much money on frivolities and things we don't really need. Yet, there are so many people who need to be able to grow food to have better sustenance. If I could have a magic wand, I would try to do that.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's good.

Denis Fortin:

So that everybody would be a little bit more equal when it comes to just basic resources.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Food and water.

Denis Fortin:

Food and water.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Essential.

Denis Fortin:

Essential. And when I think that some of our own food goes to create gas, ethanol, I'm appalled by that when there are so many people who would benefit from having corn tortillas.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Exactly. It's true, it's true. Good word. All right, my friend, last number.

Denis Fortin:

75.

Japhet De Oliveira:

75. Do you remember the very first thing that you bought with your own money? What was it and why?

Denis Fortin:

A telescope.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Really? That's great. That's great.

Denis Fortin:

I think.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That actually makes sense.

Denis Fortin:

It's one of the first. I was early teen, at the most, at the most an early teen. And I had done a few little odd jobs and I had collected enough money and I bought myself a small telescope, tiny one. And that was the beginning of my wish to become an astronomer.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes, yes.

Denis Fortin:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, that's beautiful, man.

Denis Fortin:

I remember that. I think my son has it today.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, really? Keep it in the family.

Denis Fortin:

It's still operates. It's still good. It's a tiny thing, it's not very big.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, that's beautiful. Denis, it was fantastic to be able to share. Thank you so much for sharing your stories. Really appreciate it. I really believe this, and I say this at every episode, that if you sit with a friend and you ask questions, we are changed for it. We grow, we become better beings and God blesses us in that.

Denis Fortin:

That's true. God does that. Thank you Japhet.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Absolutely. God bless you, and God bless all listeners and we'll connect again soon.

Narrator:

Thank you for joining us for The Story and Experience podcast. We invite you to read, watch, and submit your story and experience at AdventistHealth.org/story. The Story and Experience podcast was brought to you by Adventist Health through the Office of Culture.