Dear Tony and Karen:
It is quite a challenging task to put into words exactly what your kindness, generosity, and support have meant to me during my time at Clarkson and beyond. I am so very grateful to have had the honor and privilege of knowing you both; Clarkson will definitely feel a little empty without your presence.
I’m sure you won’t remember this, but WAY back in the spring of 2004, I was at an accepted students event and hadn’t fully committed to accepting my admission to Clarkson. In fact, you may have heard me say at one point, Clarkson was actually my LAST choice when it came to my accepted schools, and to make matters worse, the student I was paired with that weekend was an absolute nightmare. As chance would have it, I was the winner of a gift certificate to the university bookstore at the dinner for accepted students, and I very briefly conversed with you both. I don’t recall what was said between us, but all I remember is that the love and respect you showed to your students was so undeniably strong and present that it convinced me to stay at Clarkson. I rarely remember what people say, but I remember how they made me feel. And you both made me feel so welcome at Clarkson that I knew I found where I belonged.
And as we say, the rest is history 🙂
From the groundbreaking, fundraising and celebration of the new student center, to all the alumni roundtable events, to your very thoughtful wedding gift, to ALL the invitations to the alumni receptions at the summer reunions (that I STILL have yet to attend!), to the hugs from you both on my graduation day — you are amazing people and I will never forget all that you’ve done for me and for Clarkson. It truly is a gift to be your friend.
Congratulations on your well-deserved retirement – you will both surely be missed, but I hope you’ll remember to reach out and visit!
All the best,
Jenny Coombs ’09