The journeys we take over a lifetime can be vast and vary in length. That is the essence of how Thomas Robertson, an endearing and thoughtful Canadian, came to graduate from Carroll this past May with his second bachelor’s degree at the age of 73. You read that correctly. Tom is the embodiment of lifelong learning. You could say Tom’s venture to the classrooms of Carroll began when he was just a lad in the halls of his Canadian high school. A precocious student in nature but immature at the time, he was more about finding success on the football team and playing bridge than devoting time to his studies. Everything came easy for Tom, who could have gotten into the likes of Stanford or Harvard but preferred to float at that time in his life. Additionally, he was a “keeper” on the field. One of his teachers divulged that they could have graduated him, but they wanted him to play football one more year, so they held him back. That year they won the championship. At the age of 16, his father died and not five years later his mom passed away. While Tom isn’t one for apathy, he recognizes now that the family who took him in then would be the change agent for his life many years later. Tom found a mentor and surrogate father in his bandmaster, Dr. William Robert Lorimer. Dr. Lorimer’s family, including his wife and four daughters, took Tom in and gave him a home for many years. During that time music was a passion for Tom, but he 6 chose not to pursue it any further after high school because the requirements at the Royal Conservatory required piano skills that he did not have. “It was the easy out to stay with physical education and varsity football,” reflected Tom. Tom ultimately could not continue his Phys Ed studies, so he signed a contract with a Canadian football team and owned a welding supply business. It was only after a short time of applying for other jobs and getting turned down that he decided to return to school. In 1986 he earned his bachelor’s in business administration from Bishop’s University and in 1989 he earned his master’s in marketing and statistics from Concordia University in Montreal. He began pursuing his Ph.D. at Concordia while teaching a full course load as a professor of marketing at Bishop’s and raising a family. During this time, he and his first wife had three kids: Marc, Emilie and Andrew. He recalls that this was a busy time for him since there were over 100 kilometers between the two institutions where he was teaching and earning his doctorate. He stopped pursuing a doctorate and his journey took a turn when he had an opportunity to coach hockey in France for a few years. After that, there were many options before him, but he decided to go to Wyoming to coach the hockey team there. He was eligible to live in the United States through a one-year renewable TN1 Visa. Because of his degree, unique skills and ability to grow the sport of hockey he was able to THE EPITOME OF LIFELONG LEARNING By Kelsey DeMarais ’07 carrollu.edu FOREMOST
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