After a surprising return to McMaster, Nicolas Dessureault will be completing his final year on the McMaster golf team as he looks to help his teammates and finish strong

During his time at McMaster, Nicolas Dessureault has been a key figure on the McMaster men’s golf team. One of his most notable moments was his performance in the team’s 2022 Ontario University Athletics title win, which saw him shoot much under par helping his team to secure the title.

As Dessureault finished his fifth year of undergraduate studies last year he was unsure of whether he would be returning to McMaster. But the 2024 golf season has seen him return to OUA golf, in his sixth and final year of eligibility. 

“So I'm in my sixth year at McMaster, so I did 5 years in undergrad. I did finance with the commerce program and then now I'm doing a one-year master's in financial math. Quite an old guy on the team.” said Dessureault.

The team has also acquired a new head coach. Long time coach John Najev stepped down at the beginning of the season with Ben McFaul replacing him. “We actually have a new coach as well. The players and the coach are kind of asking me a lot of questions, looking for guidance there, which I am happy to provide,” said Dessureault.

We actually have a new coach as well. The players and the coach are kind of asking me a lot of questions, looking for guidance there, which I am happy to provide.

Nicolas Dessureault, golfer
McMaster men's golf team

As Dessureault has settled into this season, he has already made a great performance. He helped the team secure a medal at a Queen’s University showcase, where the team finished in third place overall. Individually, he completed the course at a par of 70 strokes, tying for third place with three other golfers.

Along with Dessureault's veteran skills, there is returning player Matthew Martel alongside him who played with Dessureault last year. Other new and returning players have stepped up this current season.

“There's just so many good players. I think Liam Fernie is a good guy. I think he's one of the guys I can step up in, especially from a leadership standpoint. He's in his second year so he's got a couple more years on the team and I really like his attitude. But you know, there's a good group,” said Dessureault.

As the team continues with their season, they will participate in the Guelph Gryphon's invitational on Sept. 28 before attending the OUA championships from Oct. 4 until Oct. 6.

“This is one where you kind of would like to perform well and would love to win it [the OUA championship] again, but obviously the goal there for us right now I think is just to be what makes nationals. That's the main goal,” said Dessureault.

Along with having aspiring to make this year’s national tournament, Dessureault wants to leave his teammates with wisdom he's gained over his years of playing golf for McMaster.

 “I think what I want to leave is, and kind of how I played the last couple years, is just I want to just make sure you have fun. You're here to have fun, don't take it too seriously. Obviously try your best but really have fun and enjoy the moment. It's my last year and before I know it, it's going to be done and it'll be September next year, and I'm going to remember the days when I was playing OUA golf, and now I'm not,” said Dessureault. 

I think what I want to leave is and kind of how I played the last couple years is just I want to just make sure you have fun like you're here to have fun . . . try your best but really have fun and enjoy the moment.

Nicolas Dessureault, golfer
McMaster men's golf team

Before Dessureault can fully reminisce on his McMaster golf career, he will have to compete in the OUA championships. He aims to capture another OUA title, rounding out a great career at McMaster.

When Sarah Olutola isn’t working on her dissertation here at Mac’s English and Cultural Studies graduate program, she can be found on bookshelves across Canada under the pen name Sarah Raughley.

Sarah’s first published book, Feather Bound, is the result of her creative writing efforts done after hours, after being encouraged in some of her English classes.

“Mac gave me encouragement in a roundabout way in that I had this class that we had to share our work and get feedback on it every step of the way. It wasn’t something I was used to as I didn’t usually show my creative writing to others,” said Olutola.

The book, an entry into the young adult fantasy genre, tells the story of a young girl with a secretive past getting swept up into a world of glitz and glamour, but soon finds that same world has disturbing connotations.

“It’s more low-key magical realism which basically means contemporary but with a touch of magic. You know, how sometimes fairy tales are creepier than they let on? It’s like those, but transposed into the modern world.”

Though this is Sarah’s first book published, it is not the first work taht she has tried to get bound and sold. “Just because you may have a debut doesn’t mean it’s the first book you try to get published. There are other works I’ve tried but wasn’t able to. This was an outlier for me, a bit experimental, and that’s how it went.”

She talks of her influences beyond other books, being that she plays a great deal of video games and wants people to take the medium seriously. “I’m sort of a geek and I found when I was a kid I did read, but I played video games more than I read. A lot of people dismiss video games as a way of storytelling. You see a lot of really creative, out-of-the-box storytelling in games.”

To aspiring McMaster authors, she stresses the importance of doing your research and investigating alternative publishing avenues.

“There’s the traditional route, which I did. Getting an agent, writing a manuscript, and e-mailing a query to a bunch of publishers. Nowadays, because of the rise of e-books and e-readers, you don’t really need to go through the traditional route. I’m happy I have an agent and that kind of support, but I’m also open to putting myself out there, for a dollar or two on Kindle,” said Olutola.

“Another big tip would be to read, read, and read a lot in your field, and even outside your field. It helps you build your vocabulary and evolve your writing style.”

She is not ready to put her passion to bed just yet, as she has already taken steps towards another publication. “I just wrote another manuscript, along the lines of big epic fantasies that I like [such as LOTR and ASOIAF] and I am currently sending that to publishers. I’m hoping that becomes my next book. It’s something completely new.”

When asked about the pen name, Olutola responded, “I’m eventually going to have to publish works under my professional name, and I didn’t want to get my academic work mixed up with my fiction writing. Raughley is a nickname for my Nigerian name, just a spelled a little differently.”