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Working with you at the CEPAC and Global Strategy has been a pleasure, your are truly one of a kind that will be missed. I want to thank you for all your kindness, support and guidance throughout these projects, and wish you the very best in your new adventure. Lucky those who get to work with you and lucky the university for all the amazing treasures you will contribute to build!!

Buen viaje y mucha suerte!
:)
Raul Mendoza

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Sending huge congratulations on your new appointment at VIU. You will be missed. It has been great working with you over the years. Wishing you all the very best in your new position! Sincerely, Annalee

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I know how much you will be missed at UVic and hope VIU knows how lucky they are to have you.  I hope you have all the opportunities you dream of and deserve to make magic happen and leave another great legacy.

Sarah Hood, Human Resources
PS I'm sorry I poached Karissa from you please don't poach her back :o)

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Carolyn,
I find it nearly impossible to put into words all of the memories I have of working with you and the impact that you have had on my career and at UVic.

From royal blue polos to lemonade stands, from THAT rain in 2014 to the time our keynote didn't get on the plane! Your support, vision, unflappable nature, mentorship, trustworthiness, and sense of humour has meant so much to me. Your work has positivily impacted the transition of countless new students throughout our time together on Orientation.

Thank you for being a teacher and a friend and leading with integrity and authenticity in everything that you do. I can't wait to see and hear about all of the fantastic things you do with VIU. I am so excited for you, but will miss you at UVic so much!
Best wishes for all that is ahead and please don't be a stranger. I'll likely be bugging you as an alum!

All the best from Kate and Valla!

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What an amazing opportunity! It was wonderful working with you both as a senior member of the student affairs leadership team as well as in your new role as ED Global Engagement. The folks at VIU will benefit enormously from your knowledge and background as well as your incredible commitment to student success. All the best in the transition and I hope you stay in touch.

Jim

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You can depart UVic knowing how much you shaped and contributed to so many outstanding initiatives. Your integrity, intelligence, work ethic and humour are greatly appreciated. We shall try to bear your absence, using as big words as possible. Take care in your new adventure - Denise

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Fun at the corporate rowing challenge with our expert rowing leader Carolyn.

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Carolyn I will truly miss working with you! You have been my leader for the past 10 years and have inspired and taught me so much. We have seen many changes in that time and I always appreciated how you handled everthing with such class and grace. VIU is very lucky to have you and you will be truly missed at UVic. All the best  on your new adventure!

Margy

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Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies

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Thanks for all of your support for all things international. Your appreciation for all that we do in that regard has been a tremendous boost. We will miss you,

Saul Klein

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Carolyn,
Wishing you all the best on your new adventures. I know your considerable talents and skills will be a boon to everyone on your next journey!  Stay well, stay safe and carry on!
Ian Case

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Carolyn,  I appreciate so many things about you but, most of all, your positive attitude, advocacy for international students, and ability to see possibilities .  I am sorry I never got the chance to travel with you personally because I think you would also be a lot of fun! VIU has made an excellent choice and I wish you nothing but success and joy in this next phase of your life.

Best wishes!
Jo-Anne Clarke

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Carolyn, it has been a pleasure to work with you and learn from you on subjects from student recruitment to international travel during COVID.

Thank you for your professionalism, efficiency, and your unwavering support of students! We will miss you greatly here at UVic, but please know that your work has changed our campus for the better.

All the very best in your new stage of career! Lisa Surridge

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Carolyn- I always appreciated your strong support for our Vikes student-athletes.   You were a terrific colleague and a staunch advocate of all things UVic and Vike.   I know you will do amazing things for VIU and wish you every success with your new role and look forward to hearing all about it over a glass of fine bourbon soon!   Of course, as you transition up island remember...once a Vike...ALWAYS A VIKE!
With best wishes,
Clint Hamilton

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Dear Carolyn,
What a tremendous opportunity for you and I have nothing but the best wishes for you on this next stage of your career. I have fond memories of working with you on enrolment management, building international enrolment plans, diversifying enrolment and of course on rankings and reputation. I've enjoyed sharing laughs with you, have appreciated your advice and wisdom and will always consider you a wonderful colleague. Cheers, Carolyn, I wish you every success in the future!
Tony Eder

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It has been a pleasure working with you, Carolyn! From websites to RCTs, our paths crossed often during your time at UVic. You are always so professional and personable, and I will forever appreciate your perspectives and support.

I wish you all the best in your new role at VIU. (I'd wish you luck too, but you won't need it.)

Lindsay Gagel

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Congratulations Carolyn on this amazing new chapter in your career! I’m so happy for you.
You are such a natural leader who truly cares about advancing international education. I’ve always appreciated your intelligent, solution-driven approach and clear communication. And I’ll miss your funny anecdotes and travel memories. VIU is lucky to have you!

Heike

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Good luck on your new adventure, Carolyn! VIU is so lucky to have you. It’s been a pleasure working with you over the last decade.
Nick Clewley

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Carolyn, thank you for your leadership, mentorship and guidance over the years. I have enjoyed working with you, traveling with you, learning from you and dreaming big with you! I hope we can continue this... Wishing you the very best in all you do!

Karima Ramji

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I want to thank you for your wonderful leadership in both with OGE and SRGE.  It has been such a pleasure working with you.  I have appreciated your leadership style - you are deeply committed to the well-being and advancement of international education, to leveraging the strengths of the people you interact with, and to providing institutional services at the highest level.  I'll really miss our monthly meetings - I've so appreciated having safe place to share.  I wish you all the best in your future endeavours.

Andrea Giles

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Congratulations on your exciting new role! VIU is certainly very lucky to have you and I am sure you will make a big difference there. It has been such a pleasure working with you over the years. You have provided outstanding advice and support to me and multiple Presidents during your time and UVic, and you, and your expertise, will be greatly missed by me and many others.

Best wishes for a smooth transition into your new role. I hope we can stay in touch!

Sally Eshuys

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Carolyn,

While we didn't go on any worldly work adventures (looks fun and productive!) we've sure had some interesting times closer to home! It's been my absolute pleasure working with you over the past years on all things related to travel risk management ... even though there hasn't really been that much going on lately(!).

I am going to miss our conversations on AD2210!

Take care and enjoy VIU,

Ben McAllister

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UVic staff at CBIE conference in Winnipeg 2019.

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Carolyn, I will truly miss working with you!

You have been such an inspiration and mentor to me ever since I joined your team in 2018. You put a lot of trust in my abilities and I thank you for that!

I always enjoyed our conversations, laughs and will miss interacting with you on a regular basis. You are an incredible leader and have accomplished so much for UVic and our team. The last few years have not been easy and, to use your metaphor, you have always been there to steer our ship through sunny days as well as stormy ones.

I wish you all the best in your new role at VIU! What an incredible and well-deserved opportunity!

As you know, the international education community is small and I hope to see you sooner than later – who knows, I may enjoy another “Carolyn dance” in an upcoming zoom call ;)

Ruth

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I want to thank you for your leadership and incredible work to advance UVic's international profile and priorities over the years.  I truly enjoyed the opportunities we had to work together.  I wish you all the very best in your new position at VIU -- I know you will be an important addition to their leadership team.  And we will surely miss you here!  Warmly, Valerie Kuehne

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I have only known you for a short time, but I have enjoyed working with you and learning from you. Thank you for your leadership and wishing you continued successes! Gina Wheatcroft

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Carolyn, we haven't worked directly together very much, but I have appreciated you as a colleague and enjoyed our "Wine Wednesday" chats. I wish you the best in your new role and am quite sure that you will be missed by many.
Cheers,
Michele Parkin

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No More Grad School!!!  Carolyn Russell and Karissa Sovdi

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I was Carolyn’s first hire at UVic back when she started in 2012, and worked as her assistant for 3.5 years as we both learned the UVic ropes. One of my first tasks was to help her complete a travel visa application which required me to ask her such personal questions as “what is your religious affiliation?” and “do you have any tattoos?” in my first week of employment. Let’s just say we bonded quickly.

Carolyn and I made quite the team and took to calling ourselves the Dynamic Duo, because of our amazing chemistry as colleagues, the tremendous amount of work we accomplished together, and because we were both graduate students pursuing our respective Masters degrees in addition to working full time—it probably helped to think that we were super-powered rather than just crazy. Some of the work we accomplished together involved coordinating several international trips and delegations, helping develop an international tiering strategy, participating in laying the groundwork for SEM at UVic, and a massive amount of change management including the adoption of 3 units, 2 leadership restructurings, 2 office suite moves and over 20 hiring competitions. We spent a lot of time in committee meetings in those first years and came up with a meeting management process that eventually became the template for UVic’s “Make Meetings Matter Course.”

Since moving on to HR I’ve continued to work with Carolyn and her teams in a consulting capacity, and have appreciated her continuing mentorship and friendship. While I am sad for UVic's loss, I’m excited for Carolyn to continue pursuing her dreams and making a difference in her new role, and proud to have been a part of her imprint at UVic.

Good luck Carolyn! Love, Karissa

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From L to R, Rob Lipson. former UVic President Jamie Cassels, former Canadian Ambassador to Vietnam Ping Kitnikone, Carolyn Russell, Cathie Krull,  SiHeng Tang.

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From L to R, Rob Lipson, Cathie Krull, and Carolyn Russell.  Not quite work-related:)

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From L to R, Peter Wild, Carolyn Russell, Cathie Krull, and Rob Lipson.

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When I was UVic Dean of Science (2010-19) I worked with Carolyn Russell extensively to promote and grow the international profile of my Faculty and the university.  My first serious interaction with Carolyn took place in 2015 when she helped me connect to Soochow University in Suzhou China. This led to an agreement between the UVic Chemistry department and Soochow University where Chinese students come to UVic to complete the last wo years of their undergraduate degrees, ending up with both Soochow and UVic degrees.

Then Dean of Social Sciences Cathie Krull, Carolyn and I began to work as a team to promote areas of common interest; in particular, climate-related research.  This led to several overseas trips to China, Vietnam, and India to make positive connections with many schools and institutes. Later, former Acting Dean of Engineering, Peter Wild, joined us which allowed the delegation to present a broader and deeper sense of the tremendous expertise that UVic has to offer.

Throughout, Carolyn’s organizational skills, advise, and communication skills were critical to the success of these missions.  And man, did we have fun!  When I think back on my time at UVic, those trips loom very large as some of my most positive experiences.  And I owe so much of that to Carolyn.  Alas VIU’s gain is UVic’s loss. I wish her only continued success, health, and happiness as she begins this new chapter in her life.

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After being with OGE at UVic for only a few weeks, Carolyn encouraged me to attend the BCCIE conference in Whistler. She was also attending, of course. It was an incredible experience and I am still so very grateful that she offered that opportunity to me so early on. Although Carolyn isn't pictured here, she actually took the photo, just as we were about to embark on the seaplane flight from Green Lake back to the Victoria harbour. Luckily it was a fairly easy flight. However as those who have travelled with her may know, Carolyn isn't the biggest fan of flying, so she might recall more turbulence than I do.