Discover your passion, Johanson tells LU grads

She's charmed David Letterman and educated more people than she can count about sexual health, but Sue Johanson did something Saturday that was new for her: she became a doctor.

Johanson, 85, perhaps Canada's best-known registered nurse, accepted an honorary doctorate from Laurentian University, part of the school's fall convocation ceremonies.

President Dominic Giroux pointed out she is no stranger to the school, since she has been coming for decades to lecture students on sexual health.

"She's known across North America for her frank handling of all aspects of sexuality in her television program, the Sunday Night Sex Show with Sue Johanson," Giroux said.

"Her non-judgemental approach to sex education has opened our minds and pushed moral boundaries as she covers topics as diverse as birth control, consent and sexual health."

Tannys Laughren, who formally presented Johanson with the honour, said she met her many years ago when she was working with LU's student union.

"I was told the only thing I absolutely had to do was book that sex lady," Laughren said. "Graduates, chances are your parents watched her show -- not that they would ever admit it."

She once picked up Johanson at the airport with her father, Floyd, who was deputy premier of Ontario at the time. The normally outgoing politician was more than a little flustered to meet her, Tannys said.

“Upon being introduced, he told Sue that he knew who she was, not that he watched her show, but, you know, flipping through the channels he might have seen her," she said. "He became a blushing, stammering mess.

"When I was out with Sue, people would ask for autographs, pictures, and sometimes for whispered advice. She always had time to answer any -- and I mean all -- questions about sex."

In her remarks, Johanson said she realized after she became a nurse that she had a passion for learning and teaching others about sexuality. She said she's always been very comfortable talking frankly about sexual health, but she would have to behave herself Saturday.

“And that makes me nervous,” Johanson said, drawing laughs from the crowd at the Fraser Auditorium.

After she became a nurse, she heard about a birth control clinic that had been set up on a high school campus in Sweden – and she wondered why there was no such thing in Canada.

“So we decided we were going to have the first birth control clinic in Canada for teenagers,” she said.

Johanson worked with the public health nurse in North York – who gave her a budget of $100 – and set one up at an area high school in North York, the first of its kind in Canada.

With such a tight budget, she had to “beg and borrow” equipment, and raided the local hospital for supplies.

“I stole everything,” Johanson said, using the rule of thumb that if it wasn't nailed down, she could take it for the clinic.

She lined up eight doctors to volunteer there once every two months, as well as six nurses who were friends of hers to volunteer there, as well. The clinic was popular right away.

“We were flooded,” Johanson said.

The success of that clinic led her to discover she was passionate about teaching people about sex and sexual health. She continued with her studies on the topic, and eventually landed on Q107, a rock station in Toronto with a weekly two-hour call-in show.

“It was me, Van Halen and Guns n' Roses,” she said. “I was answering questions and I loved it … I took to radio like a duck to water.”

That led to her the Sunday Night Sex Show on Rogers TV, where she quickly “learned how to do TV.” And despite some initial fears, viewers were very accepting of her frank approach to the topic.

“I was able to be pretty explicit,” Johanson said. “Nobody complained. Nobody pulled me off the air. And I loved it.”

The success of the show eventually landed her on U.S. TV, she wrote three books on the topic and received the Order of Canada.

“Imagine getting the Order of Canada for talking dirty,” Johanson quipped.

And so, she encouraged graduates to, like her, find what they really enjoy doing and are good at and pursue it. They were passionate about learning, and now they have successfully graduated from Laurentian.

“Now is the time for the antenna to go up and for you to find your next passion,” Johanson said, placing her hands behind her head like they were mini-antennas. “Go for it!”