Outstanding People in Our Midst

By Claire Bilodeau

Let me start off by explaining my choice of title. I hope that, by the time you finish reading this article, you will agree Dean Bergeron indeed is an outstanding person. So much for the first part of my title! As for the second part, I refer to the fact that Dean is an actuary, hence "in the midst" of all the readership of The Future Actuary. It also has another meaning...

Dean and I completed our bachelor's degree in actuarial science at about the same time, in the early 1990s, at Laval University, in Quebec City. We both served on the Actuarial Students' National Association (ASNA) during that period. We even travelled together to attend face-to-face meetings held on other campuses. (ASNA then had members in the provinces of Québec and Ontario only and conference calls were not on our radar.) Hence, Dean also was "in my midst" as an undergraduate student.

At that time, Dean already stood out. How so? He was one of the two (out of 300 actuarial students then at Laval) who went around in a wheelchair. Statistically, that is quite a big number, especially considering that I have not had a single student using a wheelchair, except on a very temporary basis, since I began teaching at Laval in 1998. I do not remember thinking much about their handicap, possibly because both led what seemed to be very normal lives.

So, some 20 years ago, Dean already stood out ... but it is only years later, after I had and missed the opportunity to get to know him better, that I realized he also was very much an outstanding person. How so? For sure, winning Paralympic medals and setting world records is exceptional. Making the front page of a major newspaper bearing the Olympic torch also is an achievement. Yet, beyond all that, I consider Dean Bergeron to be an outstanding person because of the words he lives by and shares. Let me explain.

While going to college (Québec has college between high school and university), Dean was playing hockey in the Québec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). He was a good player, good enough to be willing to make sacrifices to realize many a boy's dream: to play in the NHL (National Hockey League). He also was a good student, good enough to contemplate becoming a physician. All in all, Dean Bergeron seemed to have every right to nurture high hopes. Every single one of his dreams seemed within reach.

That was until one fateful day, at training camp, when players scuffled in front of the net and, losing his balance after being hit, Dean fell to the ice. That one single turn of events meant he would not walk again. He would not make it to the NHL. He would not become a doctor.

Instead, he had to go into rehabilitation to learn how to use a wheelchair. He also had to relearn several day-to-day activities we have long been taking for granted by the time we reach our teens, activities such as grabbing and holding a tissue to blow one's nose. It takes a lot of courage and determination to adapt to a new reality. It takes a lot of strength and character to let go of one's crushed hopes and set one's sights on new dreams and rise to new challenges.

Rather than feeling sorry for himself and focusing on the professional hockey player he no longer could hope to be, he chose to look for characteristics of his dream that he could move forward. He figured out he still could do sports and set out to be a top athlete. That is exactly what he did! Every four years, from the1996 Atlanta games until the 2008 Beijing games, he competed mainly in the category T52 sprint events. He has won a total of 10 medals (three gold, two silver and five bronze). He has set a world record in the 400 m race which has since been broken, but he still holds the world record for the 200 m race in his category.

Likewise, instead of feeling sorry for himself and focusing on the physician he no longer dreamed of becoming because of his lost dexterity, he chose to look for a different career that could be just as challenging and rewarding. When he heard how much an actuary would charge to calculate how much he could ask for in court, he figured an actuarial career would be financially rewarding. It proved to be challenging too! He is now working with La Capitale, a mutual insurance company headquartered in Québec City, on a brand new initiative meant to promote health in companies that have group insurance with them.

Dean is also a motivational speaker. In December 2008, he gave a talk at our local actuarial club. I could not attend but I heard rave reviews. People were touched by his courage and impressed with his determination. What did he tell them? The same thing he told me when I had lunch with him to prepare this article. The very message I hope you take with you after reading this article. "You may have to redefine your dreams, but you should not give up on them."

Claire Bilodeau, ASA, PhD, is associate professor Laval University in Quebec. She can be reached at Claire.Bilodeau@act.ulaval.ca.