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.”
Karen’s SMU connection is also a family affair: she met her husband Peter Ross BComm’76 MBA’88 here, and their son Mark BComm’08 played on the Men’s Basketball team, finishing his university sports career with an AUS championship in 2008. He also served as an Assistant Coach to the Women’s Basketball team for nine years. Before her recent retirement, Karen enjoyed successful careers as Atlantic Regional Manager for a Division of Standard Broadcasting, and as a realtor.
As a university student at a time when women were outnumbered 5 to 1 by their male counterparts, Karen distinguished herself as an outstanding student leader. She served as President of the Commerce Society, Student Rep on Faculty Council, Chair of the SMU Business Dinner, and Co-President of SMU Senior Class. She received the Silver M for her dedication to student life. She credits SMU’s teaching faculty with providing the support she needed to succeed: “The professors were wonderful; you could go to them with anything from academic help to emotional support. It truly was a family.”
Volunteerism has always come naturally to Karen. “Volunteering makes me feel good. I get far more than I give. You come out a better person for the people you meet, and if by chance you have helped in any way, all the better.” Her nine years on the Alumni Council and four years on SMU’s Board of Governors are a testament to that philosophy and made her an easy choice for the 2019 Paul Lynch Volunteer of the Year award from her alma mater.
SMU’s Director of Alumni Engagement Mary Ann Daye speaks highly of Karen’s work for the university: “Karen was the volunteer you want to be involved in your institution. She was there at every level, from leading and serving on the Board of Governors and Alumni Council, to attending sporting events and dinners and offering her help wherever she was needed, often without being asked. You knew that wherever she was and whatever she was doing, she was thinking of ways she could help our work.”
Nor does Karen’s passion for helping others end with Saint Mary’s. Over the years, she has also been involved as a volunteer with many other organizations, including the Quest Society for Adult Support and Rehabilitations, Basketball Nova Scotia, FIBA Tournament of the America’s, and CIBC Run for the Cure.
Before COVID halted her volunteer activities this spring, she had been tutoring a Somali single parent through the Halifax Public Library’s ELL program, and Karen thinks about her student a lot these days. “She is raising five children alone and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t wonder how she is coping.” She is also very concerned about the economic effects of the pandemic in her community: “So many are struggling to keep their business alive. At the end of this, I hope we will all support our local businesses and charities for the good that they do.”
As for the limitations COVID has imposed on her own future plans, Karen is philosophical: “We were very fortunate to achieve and enjoy our ‘someday’ relatively young and utilized that opportunity to see a lot of the world and enjoy a very active social life. I will get back to it again but until then I shall enjoy this wonderful country and province I live in, enjoying it within our family bubble and hopefully be able get back to a new and improved normal when the time is right.”
