“You should be proud to be who you are.” This is what The Mother of All Degrassi, Linda Schuyler, said to one of her students after he expressed shame for being himself. This moment, and many of her other experiences as a junior high school teacher, inspired her to co-create the Degrassi franchise. 

A Trent honorary alumna, Order of Canada member, Momentous Change Campaign leader, and the partner of Chancellor Stephen Stohn '66, Linda is an active member of the Trent community.  

She recently visited the Trent University Durham GTA Campus to speak to students about her work creating stories that are specific to the teenage experience and that celebrate diversity of all forms. 

Dr. Karleen Pendleton Jimenez’s Thinking about Gender and Social Justice class attended the talk, along with students from the Discovering Feminist Thought course. Students submitted questions for Schuyler to answer and entered a giveaway to win a copy of her book, The Mother of All Degrassi: A Memoir. 

After hearing from Schuyler, Professor Pendleton Jimenez said,” Our students face a complicated world with issues like discrimination, violence, and climate change. At Trent, we want to offer them skills and ideas for how to navigate their lives and become leaders for change. I think Linda Schuyler models the power and beauty of combining art and social justice.” 

Schuyler spoke about developing authentic stories that showcase real experiences of teens and enhancing that authenticity by only working with actors who were the same age as the characters they were playing. She said goal of the show was to be “engaging, educating, and empowering.”