John Hayto, grad of Concordia’s first class of 1975, reflects on the last 50 years

An avid photographer and accomplished athlete, Hayto chronicled life on campus for the Loyola News and raced on the downhill ski team.

“For a photographer, there was no better place than Loyola Campus in the early 1970s,” he says. “The fashions were outrageous, the scene was so vibrant.

“Skiing had been a passion of mine from a very young age. I was thrilled that the college had a team I could join.”

‘It felt like I had my pick of jobs’

As a bit of a polymath and man-about-campus, Hayto eventually drew the notice of Loyola’s administration.

“I was taking too many classes at one point — nine, I think — and with all of the extracurriculars, my grades were suffering,” he recalls. “So I got called into the dean’s office for a chat.”

Hayto promptly buckled down and, like his father before him, earned his civil engineering degree. An MBA from Western University’s Ivey Business School soon followed.

The combination proved potent.

“I was very fortunate to graduate with those two degrees when I did,” observes Hayto, who lives in Burnaby, British Columbia, with his wife, Cindy, a physiotherapist and occupational therapist.

“It felt like I had my pick of jobs. I’m not sure it’s the same for students today — there’s so much competition now.”

With his engineering and business background, Hayto built a successful career in the telecom industry, most notably with giants like Nortel and Alcatel, at a time when fibre optics were emergent.

Wherever his work took him, from Montreal to Saskatoon and then Vancouver, Hayto balanced the demands of his career with an active lifestyle. Cindy, an avid volunteer and former competitive triathlete, was his partner along the way.

“We just get a lot out of being active together, whether it’s golfing, skiing or tennis, and giving back to organizations in the community,” says Hayto, a former president and current board member of the Rotary Club of Vancouver.

“I think a lot of that harkens back to the Jesuit tradition of service that was part of my experience at Loyola.”

As Hayto shares some final reflections on Loyola and Concordia, he says that he’s eager to stay in touch with former classmates. He still spends a good deal of time in and around Montreal every year.

With Concordia’s 50th anniversary on the horizon, Hayto adds that he’s struck by how quickly the time has passed, and how his alma mater has grown.

“When I was a student at Loyola and we heard about the merger to create Concordia, there was some skepticism and questions,” he recalls. “We just didn’t know how it would work and how they would combine these two different institutions.

“Looking back, it’s amazing to see how Concordia’s built its own identity while honouring the spirit of Loyola and Sir George.”