It’s 32 years and counting for the high school student who never left McMaster

Paula Marcoux started working at McMaster as a 15-year-old co-op student and never left.

She’s currently the longest-serving staff member in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics – 32 years and counting.

Paula’s Grade 10 business class at Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary School offered co-ops.  Paula signed on for a placement in the Dean’s Office in the Faculty of Science, working with Ronald Childs and Gayle Griffin.

She kept working in the Faculty of Science after her co-op ended, spending the next four summers working as an assistant secretary in the Office of the Associate Dean of Science Studies while finishing high school and earning a diploma in executive office administration at Mohawk College.

She joined the Department of Mathematics & Statistics in 1992 as a freshly minted grad. Paula started out as an office administrator and now works as an academic program advisor. The advice she was given on her first day still holds true – be a good team player.

“I’ve been blessed and honoured to have worked alongside so many incredible people.” It’s a long list that includes a trio of administrators – Pamela Penny who hired Paula, Andrea Hartin and Julie Fogarty – along with assistant academic department manager Rabia Awan.

There’s one other added perk – “our jobs are always evolving so you’re constantly learning something new.”

Paula’s been part of some history-making changes in the department, including the move to Hamilton Hall from the Burke Science Building.

She’s also seen the department grow over the decades – it now has the most graduate students in the Faculty of Science and undergraduate enrolment’s second only to the School of Earth, Environment & Society.

The one constant over 32 years? “Our dedication to each and every one of our students – we’re so incredibly proud of them.”

On Sept. 27, Paula will be in the Great Hall with alumni and colleagues past and present to celebrate the department’s 80^th anniversary. A bursary for Math & Stats students in financial need has been established to mark the milestone.

Along with guest speakers from the Western, Waterloo and the University of Toronto, the celebration will include a panel discussion on the history of the department.

And should any panelist need clarification and confirmation on what happened in the department since 1992, they can always call on Paula.