We would like to congratulate Rosemarie Pagé, who will be retiring mid-July after working in the Department of Psychology for 21 years. Her presence in the office will be missed dearly, but we are excited for her to begin a bright and new chapter of her life!
Please join us in wishing Rosemarie a fond farewell at her retirement party on Thursday July 13 at 1:00pm in the Suedfeld Lounge.
RSVP here.
Below is a message written by Rosemarie on the occasion of her retirement.
Hi Folks:
As many of you know by now, I am retiring from UBC in mid-July.
May I say what a hoot it has been to live and work in such interesting times through the 3rd Industrial Revolution at the beginning of the 1980s, and now on the cusp of the 4th, dare there be a 5th? Over my lifetime I have lived in four of our great provinces, worked over a half-century 1963-2017, more than two decades on the east coast, and over three on the west coast.
On the east coast, my favorite work memories have been working in a massive world-wide pharmaceutical firm, (Burroughs Wellcome) as a group leader, for their Secretarial Services Department. There I had the opportunity to recruit secretarial staff, and co-lecture on the topic of the 80’s secretary in the new wave of technology at various educational institutions in Greater Montreal. Those were the days of the stand-alone word processors, after the manual and electric typewriters went by the wayside!!
On the west coast, working at UBC, our world-class university, has offered me a diverse number of interesting experiences, including working on the CUPE 2950 Executive. My favorite workplaces have been the Faculty of Law, now Allard Hall, and the Faculty of Arts, Department of Psychology. At the Law School, my favorite memories include working with the Computers and the Law division and being involved for close to a year in preparing for the 2nd International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Law (1989) reporting to the project chairs. As this grant-funded project ended, a new one emerged at Law, the Faculty of Law Artificial Intelligence Research Project, where I held the position of program assistant for several years, reporting to the directors, assisting with the budget and financial planning, and all the while working closely with numerous computer analysts, lawyers and WST students.
In my 21 years with the Department of Psychology, I have enjoyed working in various secretarial and clerical capacities, under five department heads, and three administrative directors. Highlights would be acting as secretary for the Departmental Safety Committee (LHSC) since 1998, and being involved with the UBC Campus Sustainability Office, since 2003. At Psychology UBC, one of the leading psychology departments in Canada and in the world, I have been surrounded by an awesome, talented team of faculty, staff members, and student research assistants. I have especially enjoyed providing administrative support to the executive coordinator and streamlining the hourly payroll system while endeavouring to maintain a smooth running front office in sometimes difficult circumstances. As well, I have fond memories of watching our own graduate school students go on to become professors, or run their own practices, get married and start raising their families.
On a personal note, I graduated from Sir George Williams University, Montreal, in 1974 (now Concordia University) obtaining my BA Major in Sociology, with minor studies in Psychology, after seven years of night school, and working full time. To this day, I remain in close contact with various working and retired colleagues in Montreal, and in Vancouver, maintain a growing network of friends, some being former UBC students, and working or retired instructors.
What a way to begin retirement in the month of Canada’s 150th anniversary celebration. … As I move towards my new life adventure, I plan on working part time, with a local Maple Ridge investment firm; working in my organic garden; developing my interest in singing acapella with various groups in Greater Vancouver; and as a 15 year member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles Society a world-wide organization in charitable causes, doing more fund raising and committee work; and, of course, more travelling, with best travel memories to date being my sensational Viking Riverboat cruise through Russia, my fabulous cruise through the Hawaiian Islands, and my exciting cruise through Alaska.
I will sorely miss my work family at the Department of Psychology, but expect I will visit, from time to time for various functions such as the infamous Suedfeld Xmas Movie event.
Goodbye, Farewell, Averderzane, [Auf Wiedersehen] Goodnight…….
We’ll miss you, Rosemarie! We wish you all the best.
