Susan Conrad
By Doug Flanders
“It doesn’t get any better than this!” So thought Susan Conrad as she walked home along the Rideau Canal from her lectures at Carleton University. Working full time, family responsibilities, taking courses — Susan was a busy woman. She was also a happy one. She relished her course work, thoroughly enjoyed her professors — some became friends — and was grateful for all the opportunities that Carleton afforded.
Susan began as a mature student in 1988 with a course in 20th century French literature. “In the office, I spent my days working in bureaucratic French and occasionally longed for some more elegant language.” She wondered how she would fare, but with a final mark of A+ her concerns were unfounded. Other courses followed as time permitted, and eleven years later she graduated cum laude with a B.A. in English Literature. By then she was retired and so chose to enter graduate school, earning her M.A. in 2001. She remembers this as a very satisfying time.
Susan spent her earliest years in India, where her father was an officer in the Indian Army in the days of the British Raj. With the outbreak of World War 2, her mother moved back to England with the children, and Susan grew up there. Upon graduating from secondary school, she took business training and went to work in an office in London. Life in post-war Britain was very bleak so she decided to try her luck in Canada, starting in Montreal where she had cousins.
Susan worked in several cities before joining the Department of External Affairs. She held interesting postings in Hong Kong, Finland and lastly South Africa, where she got married. At the end of her posting, she and her husband moved back to Ottawa, and over the years she held positions in External Affairs, the Privy Council Office, and lastly the Law Reform Commission of Canada.
Retired for 20 years, Susan leads a full and satisfying life in Ottawa with her husband Walter. They enjoy theatre, singing in separate choirs, concerts, spending time with family and travel. They spent most of this past January in South Africa.
Because of her enjoyable experience at Carleton, Susan strongly encourages others to remember the university in their estate plans. Her future gift — a percentage of her estate — will be directed to the Department of English Language and Literature to be used “where the need is greatest”. While attending classes, she got to know many students, some of whom were “living on the edge” financially. “Carleton is such a good school, but it cannot flourish without our financial support. Legacy gifts are an easy way to help.”
“Keep up the good work, Carleton,” says Susan.