Profiles
We are always pleased to hear about the diverse experiences and accomplishments of our alumni and to share these stories with you.
True Santamarian: Paul Puma BComm’67, BEd’68
By Elizabeth Peirce |
In 1962, Paul Puma, then a Grade 13 student athlete attending St. Michaels College School in Toronto, received a phone call that would change his life. It was Elmer MacGillivary, former coach of the Saint Mary’s University football team. MacGillivary had just seen the St. Mike’s team play in an exhibition game, and…
Leaders of the Pack
By Krista Keough |
MADDISON EISNOR
Maddison Eisnor was interested in science in high school, but she credits the faculty at Saint Mary’s for helping her discover her passion…
True Santamarian: Karen Ross BComm’77
By Elizabeth Peirce |
When Karen Ross began her undergraduate career at Saint Mary’s in the 1970s as a Commerce major, she knew she had come to the right place: “I was 17 when I came to SMU and from the start I felt at home. It felt like a community. The friendships I made I still maintain to this day.”
Life-Long Dreamer
By Renée Hartleib |
Nevell Provo’s Mom wanted to make sure her son was eating healthy, so she made him a few meals. Short on time as a busy student athlete, Nevell enjoyed the meals, thanked his Mom—Karen Provo—profusely and posted a few photos on Instagram. That’s when the questions started coming: “Where are you getting that food?…
Four Generations On
By Renée Hartleib |
It’s rare for a family-owned business to have a senior ownership team made up entirely of women, but such is the case at Halifax Seed. The 154-year-old company, which has been in the Tregunno family since 1925, is owned by Emily Tregunno (BSc’06), her sister Ali, and their mother Nancy.
Partners in Business and Love
By Renée Hartleib |
It was the Sobey School of Business that brought Tiffany Walsh (BComm 06) and Paul Pedersen (BComm 06) together. Now, nearly twenty years after they first met, business still ties the two together, as do the marriage vows the couple will make to each other next Fall. Sadly, Covid-19 derailed their plans for a Spring 2020…
When Huskies Get the Blues
By Joanie Veitch |
When the St. Louis Blues defeated the Boston Bruins to win the Stanley Cup last June, it was the culmination of a lifetime dream for Jeff McKercher, an Ontario-based scout for the Blues and former defenceman with the Saint Mary’s Huskies.
“I did everything I could to make the NHL as a player. I fell short of that but to get back into the league as a scout and to win the Stanley Cup,…
True Santamarian: Ron Gomes
By SMU Alumni |
Last October, the Saint Mary’s community lost one of its biggest champions, Ron Gomes BComm’65, who passed away peacefully at the age of 76.
His friend and fellow Huskies football teammate Bob Ruotolo says Ron was a true Santamarian in every sense of the word.
“He just loved the school, loved the university, and he always kept in touch with people.”
Born…
True Santamarian: Heather Harris
By SMU Alumni
The Saint Mary’s University community lost one of its most passionate advocates on February 25, 2019 with the death of Heather Harris BA ’70 MA ’72 at the age of 76.
Born and raised in Halifax, Heather attended Saint Mary’s just after it became co-educational, then moved to British Columbia to pursue a career in teaching. She returned to her hometown around 1988, and later she…
A Builder, an Athlete, and a Team Headline the 2019 Saint Mary’s University Sport Hall of Fame Induction
By Cale Loney |
Lisa Haley, former women’s hockey coach, will enter the SMU Sport Hall of Fame in the builder category. Haley arrived at Saint Mary’s in 1996 and in 1997–98 became the first coach of the women’s hockey varsity program. It was that season the conference held their first ever championship tournament hosted by UNB. Fittingly, the Huskies won that very first conference title in double overtime…