How Jennette got her groove back

Jennette White is surrounded by co-workers at Alexander Keith's Brewery Tour. (Danny Abriel Photo)

“I am a tabula rasa,” declares Jennette White, flinging her arms wide. “Just fill me up because I want to know.”

For 18 years, Ms. White was director of education at Neptune Theatre School and led Neptune’s Young Company. Under her direction, the school expanded from offering five to six classes a year to 33 classes a term, with 1,400 students participating.

But in 2005, she was at a low ebb: her mother had died and she felt in need a change. So she got a new job—she’s now the artistic director at Alexander Keith’s Brewery Tour—and resolved to go back to university.

“If you stop learning, you stagnate,” says Ms. White, 49, who found herself back in theatre history class alongside some of her former students. “I feel blessed. Coming back opened up my mind and my heart. The students and professors made it possible for me to feel welcome and valid in what I had to say.”

Now with a year at Dalhousie under her belt, she’s recharged and is raring to go. After completing her degree, she’d like to go on to grad school, do more directing and perhaps teach at the university level.

She encourages other middle-aged people to take a chance and invest in their education: “Going back to school has rekindled the passion I’ve had for theatre … I think people my age get scared because they think it might be beyond them. But it’s never too late to follow your dreams.”