40 years on campus

A lot has changed since Maria Meneses started working at Ryerson in 1975. When she started in the admissions office, it was still the Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (it would become a university in 1993), and the downtown campus was just a fraction of its current size. “When I started working at Ryerson,” Meneses remembered, “I used to park where the residence is. It used to be an open parking lot—no cement, just soil.”

Meneses, who worked as assistant to the registrar from 1979, saw the university grow in many other ways. “The number of students… oh god, it’s tripled. More than that.”

Meneses retired from Ryerson at the end of 2015, concluding a 40-year career on campus. On November 28, Ryerson held its annual Retiree Celebration, a luncheon for departing employees from all sectors of the university.

“We are so pleased to celebrate you and thank you for sharing part of your life journey with us,” said Ryerson president Mohamed Lachemi at the event. “We will miss your expertise and your friendship—I believe the friendship will stay—and we wish you only success in what the future holds for you. I do hope you find your way back: we always welcome your contributions, your advice, your suggestions.”

In his remarks, Lachemi emphasized the university’s growth. “Ryerson has come so far. We are now the number-one most-applied-to university relative to the number of available spaces. … There is so much to celebrate, and it’s people who made this happen. All of you.”

“I have fond memories of all the people that I worked with,” said Meneses. “To be honest, I could name all our staff in all our departments by first and last name. I worked with those people for so many years, and worked with all the departments for so many years, that I can remember them all.

“I liked the people that I worked with, I like the work that I did, and Ryerson was always a great place to work.”

Meneses now works full-time caring for her two-year-old granddaughter. “I said to myself, ‘Y’know, I’ve done enough for Ryerson. I’ll leave people behind that I love, and I love my work, but someone will come and do my job just as well as I did.’ There are always younger people with different ideas. I never felt, ‘Oh, I’m irreplaceable.’ I think that helps a lot when you have to retire.”

Still, Menese began working at Ryerson on advice from her aunt, an employee, and the university remains a family affair. “I keep in touch with my friends from Ryerson. Ryerson is very special to me because of the age I started there. I got married, I had my kids, now I have my granddaughter—it was very special to me. Ryerson is part of my family.”

For a complete list of 2016 retirees and photos from the Retiree Celebration, visit the university recognition page.