By Carrie Nickerson, Keystone Communications Committee.
After a great chat, with a bolstered feeling of pride in this place, it seems the enthusiasm Sharon Lamont has for this University might just be contagious!
Sharon has worn many different University of Waterloo hats in her time on campus. Once a student, many times a volunteer, currently Director of Organizational Services for the University of Waterloo library system, and long-time proud and dedicated donor to the University of Waterloo’s Keystone Campaign.
Still a student at the time, Sharon started her career with our main campus libraries back in 1975. “Long before Google had all of the answers,” she says with a smirk. Perhaps also somewhere around the time that the Dana Porter Library started to sink? It’s with her palpable enthusiasm, her history on campus, and some ever-spreading UWaterloo family roots, Sharon finds countless reasons and many ways to give back and stay engaged.
It was through small monthly donations that Sharon initially got started as a donor to Waterloo’s Keystone Campaign, and her giving grew from there. Keystone provides plenty of options for making donations and a wide variety of fund options so that donors can direct their gifts to areas, projects, and initiatives that are of specific interest to them. Sharon believes that these options allow donors a great chance to make an impact and enhance the experiences of our students on an individual basis, not just the student collective. Some of the initiatives Sharon has supported through her Keystone contributions in the past include funding improvements to our libraries, experiential education programs for students, and the building of the Hagey Hall Hub.
“Being surrounded by our students gives me so much energy!” Sharon says. “They deserve great opportunities, comfortable spaces to work, socialize and relax in, and scholarships to help them through, just like I had when I was a student here.”
Over the years, Sharon has continually sought out opportunities to stay engaged, give back and create new connections across campus, and she encourages her fellow staff and faculty members to do the same. Her volunteer resume includes stints as Staff Association president, United Way campaign chair, and Keystone Picnic committee member. Sharon tells me she is happy to contribute her time and energy to help make great things happen and create positive change at Waterloo. “I feel incredibly lucky to have a job that I absolutely love at a university that is such a great source of pride for those who study and work here and for this community as a whole. I’m glad that through Keystone we have an easy and impactful way to give back.”