Alumni Spotlight - Alex Templeton
Alex Templeton, B.A. (Hons)’03, has an
abiding respect for tradition. His family owns the oldest
family-run business on the oldest street in North America: R.A.
Templeton Ltd. And now, following in his father Ken’s
(B.A.’72) footsteps, he has opted for a career in the
second oldest profession. And he’s off to a great
start.
Alex was elected as the 2006 valedictorian at UNB for the Law
School’s graduating class. He is appreciative of the honour and
attributes it to his involvement in campus life outside the classroom
during his three years in Fredericton. In addition to being a
full-time student and holding down a part-time job in the law
library, he was coordinator of the university’s Student Legal
Information Centre. There he provided advice to students on legal
matters including real estate, employment and small claims issues and
assisted students with proceedings in both the Small Claims Court and
in the New Brunswick Court of Queen’s Bench.
Alex also served as an advocate for students’ issues, meeting
with government officials including the Minister of Justice.
Alex and his wife, Vanessa Elliott, who are both from St.
John’s, moved back to the city shortly after they both
graduated from UNB this spring. Vanessa is now pursuing a B.Ed. at
Memorial. Alex is articling with Patterson Palmer and is still yet
to write the bar exam, but he’s looking forward to it. And he
is an eager advocate for Community Mediation Services, a local
organization that offers an approach to dispute resolution that he
believes is an alternative to the adversarial approach so prevalent
in the legal system.
Alex is most interested in corporate law with an eye on politics,
“but not right now. I’m not yet affiliated with any
political party. Someday soon.” Looking back on his young
career, Alex says he knew right from his first course in political
science that that was his passion. During his time at Memorial his
mentor was Dr. Peter Boswell. And even while he was immersed in legal
study, he found himself reading political biographies and
theory.
As far as plans for the future go, family tradition figures high on
the list of priorities. “Vanessa and I always intended to move
back to the province,” says Alex. “We both have family
here and it’s a great place to be. We’re glad to be
home.”