A story of an alumni couple today
Lisa and James in a residence room in the Summer of 1991
This Valentine’s Day, we took the time to reconnect with St. Paul’s alumni couple, Lisa Sansom (BA ’92) and James Fraser (BSc '94) to see what they have been up to since they met back in the spring term of 1989.
While there’s still no clear consensus on how exactly they met at St. Paul’s, they agree, the foundation of their long-lasting relationship lies in open communication, supporting each other’s passions and bonding over ‘nerdy’ TV shows.
James remembers agreeing to sign up Lisa for tennis lessons because she couldn’t make the sign-up time and he was asked to sign her up by a mutual friend. But her story comes after.
“I remember I had a night class,” says Sansom. “I would come to James afterwards to learn about how the Star Trek episode ended because we would always watch Star Trek in the TV Lounge and I had to leave at 6:45 to get to my seven o’clock class.
“After I came back, I would catch up with James in his room and ask, okay, how did the Star Trek episode end?”
The two would frequently run into each other around the College campus, quickly becoming friends as they shared a similar social circle. Much to Sansom’s surprise, Fraser wanted to see if their relationship could grow beyond a friendship and he asked her to go out with him.
“Our first official date was when I invited Lisa to something and I wouldn’t tell her what it was," says Fraser. “I just told her to dress nicely. I ended up surprising her and taking her to see a play at the Stratford Festival and I was able to borrow my sister’s car for the special occasion, who was an upper-year student at Waterloo.”
They emphasize that their relationship was a result of being a part of this small campus community, where they were constantly brought into each other’s orbit to form a strong bond with one another.
Sansom started at the College in September 1987, living on La Bastille for the three years of her studies in the French Teaching co-op program, but left in her third year on an exchange overseas in Nantes, France. While the two are actually the same age, James started his program two years after Lisa in the Physics co-op program. He lived at St. Paul’s for two years and two years off-campus with a roommate he met in residence.
While they lived at St. Paul’s, they both enjoyed the opportunity to get to know other students who were coming from different cities, studying diverse disciplines, and who shared different interests. They felt the College allowed them to experience the University and expose them to new things all in one small place, that wasn’t as intimidating as the larger University.
After leaving the College, the two continued a long-distance relationship as Sansom started her career as a French teacher at a high school in Uxbridge, Ontario and Fraser continued his studies to pursue a Ph.D. They didn’t get married until about seven years later when he finished his Ph.D. in Physics, she completed a Master of Business Administration and they moved to Ottawa. This is when Sansom got into a brand-new field of organizational development, which she still pursues today. She was grateful to employ her French language skills in a new role working for a crown corporation, while he was excited to start his career as a professor. He was hopeful to instill the similar strategies for learning that he gained as an undergraduate at St. Paul’s.
“As a student, I thrived at University because I was part of a small and supportive community,” says Fraser. “And as an educator now, I work hard to help my students understand they can’t do this alone.
“I try to set up my courses in a way that encourages collaboration and learning from each other.”
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, they had settled into normal life raising two boys, Adrien (19) and Alexander (16), and life together looks a little bit different these days. Both are working from home for Queen’s University. Fraser is a professor in Physics and Sansom works in organizational development. When they’re not working, James likes to participate in speed skating and together they still enjoy spending their evenings watching ‘nerdy’ TV shows like Wanda Vision and the Mandalorian.
“We’ve really stuck to our roots in this way,” says Fraser. “The pandemic has provided the opportunity for us to spend more time together and to enjoy our common interests again.”
From left to right: Lisa, James, Alexander and Adrien in Costa Rica (December 2019)
Their son Adrien presently lives at St. Paul’s, studying Mathematics at UWaterloo. As a family, they felt it was important for him to be in an educational environment during his studies, even during the pandemic.
“We wanted him to have a real university experience, as much as possible,” says Sansom. “It’s important for him to learn how to manage his own time and resources.
“As a mom, I also felt more comfortable with having him live in a smaller place that was making a big effort in safety protocols for student well-being.”
While things look a little bit different for Valentine’s Day this year, they look forward to pulling out the good china, silverware and candles to celebrate over a nice meal together.
If you also met your partner at St. Paul’s, we would love to hear from you. Please write to us at stp.alumni@uwaterloo.ca.