Alumni Highlight: Tara L. Parsons

Written by Hannah Birru

Thumbnail Photo by Tara L. Parsons

Photo by Tara L. Parsons

I first learned of Tara Parsons’ inspiring journey through a LinkedIn post from about a month ago where she decided to share her resilient path to graduation. A month later, that LinkedIn post now has over 24,000 views.  

Born and raised in Halifax, Tara was drawn to Saint Mary’s University for its respected name and reputation for having a strong Psychology department. When Tara first enrolled in Saint Mary’s in 2005, she had wanted to be a psychologist, but after a few years, Tara found that Psychology did not resonate with her as much as she had expected. She then left Saint Mary’s University in 2007, a choice based on wanting to pursue other paths which was compounded by health issues. Tara then completed two college diplomas, Pharmacy Technology and Professional Counselling at Vancouver College of Counsellor Training, and started working as a Pharmacy Technician. After working for a couple of years, Tara felt stagnant in her career.  She had always intended to go back to school, but as she put it, “life happens and some more.” When meeting with the Fred Smithers Centre to discuss her options for her future, Tara was asked, “why not come finish your degree?” Sold on the idea, Tara made the courageous decision to re-enroll in 2016 as a mature student at Saint Mary’s University to finish her Bachelor of Arts degree.

Coming back to SMU as a mature student was a different feeling and an entirely different experience for Tara. When she had initially enrolled in university after high school, it was a challenging transition. In high school, the environment is rigidly structured, whereas in university, there is so much independence and responsibility, which was incredibly challenging for Tara to navigate as she was struggling with undiagnosed mental health issues. Coming back as a mature student allowed Tara to discover her love for Sociology and succeed in a better state of health. 

 However, in October of 2019, Tara was diagnosed with sepsis. She explains in detail in her Linkedin post how she survived:  

“I suffered from osteomyelitis in my heel bone for ten years secondary to Spina Bifida. Ten years of multiple antibiotics (I’ve lost count of how many), surgeries, hospital stays tests, and a ton of trauma, not knowing whether I would live or die. It wasn’t a good time. 2 years ago, on the 27th of this month (October 27), I survived Sepsis. My foot finally had enough of fighting the infection and put me in the emergency room. I couldn’t remember my medications or my allergies. Luckily, the medical team caught my signs of Sepsis and started treating me right away. My blood work was a mess. No one knew how I was not in the ICU, much less alive at that point. I was on IV antibiotics and going back and forth to both of my local hospitals.

To make a long story shorter, I knew that if I didn’t do something radical with my infected foot, I wouldn’t be able to graduate, so I decided to have it amputated and be rid of the infection for good.” 

Photo by Tara Parsons. Tara’s recent needle art.

Only two weeks after the amputation of her foot and ankle, astonishingly, Tara was back at school. She explained that she needed some type of normalcy and at that time, it was school. Tara arranged to have her in-person classes moved online only a few months before all classes were moved online due to the pandemic. The flexibility of online school allowed Tara to progress in her degree while adjusting to her amputation. However, the closure of rehab centres amidst the pandemic made it challenging for Tara to navigate life after her amputation. She recalls how she did not anticipate how taxing adjusting to her amputation would be. Going to support groups and meeting people who have gone through similar experiences helped Tara the most. During the lockdown, Tara enjoyed catching up with the show Friends and learning how to cross-stitch (needle art).

When asked what drives her, Tara exclaimed, “I am very stubborn. I had to be. It was a survival technique. Enjoy the flexibility of virtual learning. At SMU, there’s still flexibility. You don’t have to take 8:30 classes if you don’t want to take 8:30 classes. I was motivated to prove to myself that I could do it. I had a goal, and I had to reach it. It was important for me to do it, to be part of something bigger than me. University was bigger than me, especially while I was doing it. Now, I have succeeded. Times where I thought I wouldn’t finish... and the biggest thing was proving to myself that I could do it.”

Through her strength, resilience, and determination after a whirlwind 16-year journey, Tara graduated in September 2021 with a BA in Sociology and Criminology. Tara hopes to work in job development as a career counsellor or in the legal field working with victims of crime.