"Every event we do, we do something for the community as part of it."
~ Maureen Duffy-Mason '78
When Maureen Duffy-Mason ’78 moved to Yarmouth, NS in 2013, she immediately reached out to the local alumni chapter president. "I sent him an email with the title ‘OLD alumni who is NEW to the area,'" she said with a chuckle.
Maureen immediately got involved, and she is now the Yarmouth Chapter President and sits on the National Alumni Council. She is the leading force behind a small but mighty alumni group in Yarmouth which contributes greatly to the local community.
Maureen’s spirit of giving back to the community is based on her experience at X: “I arrived to StFX as a bit of a lost soul. When I was in Grade 12 my dad signed my application form for me, but he unfortunately died two days before I got my acceptance letter. The loss of my dad at that age was very hard. When I arrived on campus, I felt a strong sense of community and it became my family. The philosophy of the place – we took care of each other and our professors were there for us. I try to spread that spirit in my chapter. Every event we do, we do something for the community as part of it.”
As a chapter, they’ve collected food and clothing donations for local charities, collected school supplies for local students, cleaned up the local highway, created a fund for the Heart and Stroke Foundation, donated to the local fuel bank, and the list goes on.
In recognition of the Yarmouth Chapter’s efforts, the StFX Alumni Association named it Alumni Chapter of the Year in both 2022 and 2024.
Serving the community is a rewarding experience for the group, explained Maureen. “It is good for us to get together as alumni, and our charity work has a positive impact on the local community. It is a win-win!”
Maureen is always trying to come up with ways to bring out younger alumni. She encourages those who live in the Yarmouth area and want to keep their Xavierian spirit alive to reach out. It is a great way to connect with alumni and contribute to the community at the same time, she said.
A proud Xaverian, Maureen holds her alma mater close to her heart. “I bleed blue and white,” she said. “My sisters and my daughter, they went to other universities, and they just don’t get it. There’s something different about StFX that even after all these years, I still feel connected to it and want to keep the Xaverian spirit alive.”
