Rosie Funk

Each year, several students graduate with BA degrees from St. Stephen’s University and want to stay living here, making St. Stephen their home. One such recent graduate is Rosie Sperling-Funk, who met her future husband Raymond at the university and now works as the Librarian and Front Office Manager at the university.

Rosie is originally from B.C., but came to New Brunswick for the unique experience that St. Stephen’s University offers. “I was looking for a small university, a close-knit community where everyone knows each other, rather than a large impersonal university in a city. I also wanted to travel, so SSU was a perfect fit for me,” explains Rosie. “I grew up in a Christian family, but I didn’t want to go to a more traditional Christian university – I wanted something a little different, something more relaxed. Christian universities can be quite narrow-minded, with lots of rules. I wanted a community with broader perspectives, with a real mixture of people from all kinds of backgrounds. I found that here in St. Stephen. And I also found my husband, so it worked out pretty well!”

Stephanie Bone

Stephanie is a physiotherapist, working in her own private practice, in downtown St. Stephen. Tired of extensive travel in her previous job, she decided to make St. Stephen her home. “We opened our doors September 16, 2013. I had been working two part time jobs split
between Campobello and Saint John, I wanted to settle down in St. Stephen and wanted
to have a full time job here, so I bit the bullet and created one.” Stephanie now employs another physiotherapist part time and her business continues to grow.

Jeremy Barham

Jeremy and his wife Rachael and daughter Amelie emigrated to St. Stephen from the U.K. in 2008. “My wife was invited to teach French at St. Stephen’s University, so we packed 12 boxes and made the move!”  Jeremy runs a marketing company, and was able to continue serving his U.K. clients remotely. “All I need is an internet connection and I can work from anywhere,” explains Jeremy. “I love Canada, and St. Stephen has everything I need. My wife and I wanted to live in a smaller, safer community to raise our daughter, but we didn’t want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere. From St. Stephen it’s easy to fly to the U.K. from Bangor or Saint John.”

Will Bernard

Will is COO of Kindred Home Care, a large independent home care company based in St. Stephen. He moved here from Prince Edward Island and has never looked back. “I love St. Stephen and I am totally committed to this community. It’s a great place to raise a family, and I love being able to walk home from my office on my lunch break.” Kindred has around 400 employees across Southern New Brunswick, and they are all managed from a central support hub in St. Stephen. “Using innovative tech solutions and great people, we are able to operate across New Brunswick from our offices in St. Stephen. You couldn’t drag me back to the city now I’ve experienced this – I love it here.”

Last Christmas we asked children at our two elementary schools to tell Santa what they like about St. Stephen.  Here are some of the things the children at St. Stephen Elementary said…

“I love St. Stephen not just for the very kind people but also for the charitys. They raised $50,000 for my friend that needed a new heart. I was very very proud.”

“You should come to St. Stephen to ouwr new civik centr to see the rink and are new Aces tem! They are osm! I love ST. STEPHEN.”

“I like to play hockey at the new civic center. I like going to school at St. Stephen Elementary. I like to rent movies from Ted at Videotown on Friday night. I like swimming at the pool in the summer. I like to buy Pokemon cards at the dollar store. I like getting a sandwich at subway. I like the splash pad at the park. I like tractor rides at the Ganong Nature Park.”

“I like St. Stephen for lots of reasons!  First of all, I think that St. Stephen is awesome because it’s not too small, and not too big. It’s small enough that you know a lot of people wherever you go, but big enough that there’s a grocery store, so you don’t have to drive an hour or two away just for food! There’s also free parking, and there’s hardly ever traffic, so you can get everywhere really quickly! Don’t forget about the beautiful St. Croix River, loevely colours in the fall, and all the nice parks, like the Chocolate Park, Dover Hill, and Elm Street Nature Park! Last, but not least, we have a Civic Center now! Santa, I hope you love St. Stephen as much as I do!”

And here are some responses from Milltown Elementary School…

“I love this great town because it has all the stuff I need. People I do not know wave to me. Also, I like the beuteful library here. You really get to know people forever! You should come visit more often Santa.”

“I like St. Stephen because it has wonderful people. I love chocolate and St. Stephen makes chocolate and other treats. I like to skate at the arena… I really enjoy my school and playground with all my friends.”

“I love my home town! It has its own ice cream shop! Going to the water park is fun. I love my school.”