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Imagine your boss conferring a university degree on you. Now imagine that you’re the right-hand person of the boss who is conferring the degree on you.

SFU graduand Mavis MacMillen, who is SFU President Michael Stevenson’s executive assistant, will enjoy that unique experience when Stevenson hands her, her master of arts degree during the university’s June convocation ceremonies.

MacMillen will collect her MA in communications on Friday, June 5 from the boss for whom she manages budgets, supervises staff, handles communications, troubleshoots and coordinates the flow of information.

“It doesn’t get much better than this—working with key players and pursuing graduate studies at a top-ranked university like SFU. I feel incredibly lucky to have had this experience,” reflects MacMillen, who enjoys the occasional debate with colleagues about the subject of her MA thesis. It weighed the impact of expansive intellectual property rights on research innovation and the public domain.

However, the Port Moody resident looks forward to simplifying her life after living her last 5 1/2 years as both a graduate student and a university president’s assistant.

MacMillen, who also did her undergraduate studies in communications at SFU, acknowledges there were times when she wondered if she would ever finish. The pressures of keeping the president’s office running smoothly and efficiently and the decision to revamp her graduate thesis added years to the process.

“It was often difficult to find the time and the energy, but giving up was never an option,” explains MacMillen.

A passion for learning and an outlet through kayaking kept her moving forward and on track. “Most weekends I’d give myself a few hours to escape on the water,” adds MacMillen, who used all her SFU vacation time during her graduate work to study and write.

—30— (electronic photo file available)

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