Goodbye Bridget . . .

By Emily Paulson

I have spent the last two plus years sharing an office with Bridget Desantis.  She held the position of AmeriCorp Vista with the Campus Kitchen here at CCASL.  During her reign with CKGU, she not only came up with the idea of an on-campus community garden, she saw her dream to fruition.  Bridget has worked tirelessly on the garden, the Campus Kitchen Community Dinner and a host of other service projects.

I was really excited to work with Bridget when she started.  Mostly because she was a rugby player and I was convinced that I could get her to join the roller derby with me.  It took a while for us to bond.  She was very shy and quiet, but I soon realized that she was a powerhouse.  Bridget was always the first person to lend a hand to a co-worker whether it is help programmatically, or a ride to the airport, or pet sitting.  She was always there.

In the spring of 2010, Bridget and another Vista invited Molly Ayers and me to a secret meeting at Starbucks.  There, they shared their plan to build a small community garden behind CCASL.  We informed them that this was not the first garden proposal to go to the university and none had been approved.  Regardless of this, they sent me up to ask Todd Dunfield if we could go ahead with the project.  He was supportive and helped Bridget and Kristina write a comprehensive proposal that was eventually approved by the President of the University.  The Ruellen-Day Community Garden that stands behind CCASL II and the Honors House is the brainchild and legacy of Bridget Desantis.  The garden is currently supplanting the meals that the Campus Kitchen sends out to the Spokane community.

And so it is with a heavy heart that we send Bridget off to the next chapter in her life.  I am happy to have had the pleasure to work with her and blessed to be able to call her my friend.