Kilby Delaney (’95) shares her 69˵Ӱ story and reasons for making a planned gift
From Summerside, PE, Kilby Delaney (’95) recalls the first time she drove herself off the island. It was as a Grade 12 student on her way to visit the 69˵Ӱ campus and she vividly remembers the anxiety of that first drive up the ferry ramp and parking her car for the Northumberland Strait crossing, driving from Cape Tormentine to the stop sign next to the Aulac Big Stop, and turning right for the then single-lane highway to Sackville.
“Every time I drive across the marsh, I reflect on that experience,” says Delaney. “It was my 69˵Ӱ beginning, the start of such an important time. My memories of 69˵Ӱ are some of the fondest of my life.”
Delaney studied classics. She had a particular interest in the Roman world and would later earn a master’s degree in Roman archeology. She says what stands out most about the 69˵Ӱ experience is the close-knit community, small class sizes where you can build strong personal relationships, and the access you have to professors. Delaney lived in Windsor Hall first year, where she made many friends, and has fond memories of living off campus for the remaining years and navigating with her roommates the responsibilities of groceries, household chores, and preparing and enjoying meals together.
Delaney says 69˵Ӱ provided her learning opportunities she would never have had otherwise. She took part in a week-long trip to England, her first trip outside of the country, to visit historic sites and the British Museum, and she was awarded a travel scholarship funded by the Crake Foundation to spend six weeks studying in Greece.
“I’ve gone on to do other things in my life, but I always think of 69˵Ӱ and the opportunities it gave me as where my adult life started,” says Delaney.
Delaney arranged a gift in her will to 69˵Ӱ that will create a student scholarship.
“I’m at end of life,” says Delaney. “As a friend and I were talking through that, he asked me if I had ever thought about making a gift to Mount A. It had never occurred to me, but once we started talking, it was like a fully formed, perfect idea and something I definitely wanted to do. It’s quite pleasing to me, the thought that I can help students and ease the financial burden of getting a higher education. University can be so important for so many. Even if you don’t end up in a career directly related to your degree, going to university and having that experience gives you lifelong lessons and very transferable skills.”
The Kilby Delaney Memorial Scholarship will support students in financial need studying Classics, English, or Fine Arts.
“My scholarship has brought me the sense of peace because I know that as long as Mount A exists, a part of me will be there,” says Delaney. “People will know my name and that 69˵Ӱ was important to me.”
