The Department of Linguistics extends its best wishes to Silvana Di Tosto on her retirement this week. For the past nine years, Silvana has been a welcoming and familiar face in the department and she will be greatly missed by all that have had the pleasure of working with her.

Silvana joined Simon Fraser University at the Beedie School of Business in 2005, and later moved into a position in Scheduling with Student Services before eventually joining Ceremonies and Events. During her six years working as an Event Coordinator in a very fast paced position, Silvana especially enjoyed planning and working at Convocation, sharing the pleasure students and guests felt on that special occasion.

In 2011, Silvana was ready to have more of a work/life balance, so after some 30 years of full-time work, she joined the Department of Linguistics working part-time as Secretary to the Chair.

“I was thrilled to work in a completely different environment constantly learning new things working with faculty, students and office colleagues. When I first joined the department, I thought to myself, how fortunate I was to find the perfect job doing what I love with great people.”

Silvana loves to travel to different places and she’s not wasting any time we hear. Just two days after her last day, she is off to Florida where she and her husband will embark on a Caribbean cruise with a group of life-long friends. 

Aside from travelling, Silvana also plans to continue her volunteer jobs for a few different causes including SFU Convocation Line and Load group.

“It is with joy (and sorrow) that I’m announcing my retirement. I have loved every minute of my time in the Department of Linguistics and the experience of working with such a wonderful group of brilliant, kind and thoughtful people.”