You may think convocation is a rather predictable experience, given the ceremony is full of traditions and procedures that have been in place for decades.
It鈥檚 not without its surprises, though.
Take Cameron Fraser, for example, who graduated on Monday with his Bachelor of Environmental Design Studies degree. He had no idea that his sister and Dal alumna Kaylyn Fraser (BA鈥�09) was flying all the way from London, UK to help celebrate his joining the Dal alumni family. The elaborate secret was finally revealed just days prior to the ceremony.
Kaylyn is actually co-chair of the and a member of the (DAA) Board. She鈥檚 maintained a strong connection with her alma mater in the years since she鈥檚 graduated, and volunteered some time this week helping 鈥減in鈥� graduates with their new 鈥淒al Alumni鈥� commemorative pins.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really neat how my relationship with Dal has evolved over the years,鈥� says Kaylyn. 鈥淲hen my undergraduate days were winding down, I felt a bit lost because many of the things I was involved with stemmed from Dal. But I knew my relationship with the university didn鈥檛 have to end because I was no longer going to be on campus.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I wanted to volunteer at graduation while I was in town, to not only welcome new grads to the alumni family, but also let them know there are lots of ways to stay connected.鈥�
Family connections
As a student, Kaylyn was involved with a number of activities and initiatives: she was a university senator, played water polo and sang with the Dal choir. She credits her parents, Cheryl Fraser (n茅e Sutherland, BSc 鈥�78, MES鈥�85) and Ian Fraser (BSc鈥�79), for not only encouraging her to go to Dal, but instilling the importance of staying actively involved. 聽
鈥淢y parents are very pro-Dal,鈥� says Kaylyn with a laugh. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e always been great examples of how once you join a community, you are always a part of it.鈥澛� 聽
After Dalhousie, Kaylyn completed a double-degree master鈥檚 program in Europe, which involved first completing a Master of Economics and Public Policy between Sciences Po and the 脡cole Polytechnique in France, and then a Master of Science in Economic History at the London School of Economics and Political Science in the UK. It was an academic path recommended to her by a guest speaker at one of Dal鈥檚 Department of Economics鈥� seminars during her fourth-year.
Today, Kaylyn is based in London and works in a boutique economic and financial policy consultancy, where her work is focused on creating sustainable market opportunities for smallholder and commercial farmers in Africa. Kaylyn says that she continues to use the skills she learned at Dal in her day-to-day work as a consultant.
Links with alumni
As a member of the DAA Board, Kaylyn is one of 13 individuals representing nearly 130,000 alumni around the globe. When she was an undergrad at Dal, Kaylyn received a scholarship from the DAA and says she had always seen the board as a group of accomplished and engaged alumni doing important work.
鈥淚 was humbled to be asked to join and feel very privileged to work towards projects and initiatives that benefit alumni and students.鈥�
She eagerly took on the opportunity to serve as co-chair of the UK chapter as well. 鈥淭he chapter鈥檚 events are a great way to make new friends and network professionally. We have small but terrific gatherings of alumni from a wide range of ages and backgrounds.鈥�
Her advice to new grads, including her brother?
鈥淒on鈥檛 fear moving off the path you feel you should be on 鈥� this is the time to do it. I鈥檝e learned so much about myself and what I am most interested in because I took the 鈥榬oute less travelled.鈥� While it was often challenging, I was able to learn a lot from of taking unexpected opportunities.鈥�