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Allisonian Firsts: Violet Bailey & Aileen Lois Sabean

A virtual exhibition celebrating the bold Allisonians who became the "firsts" in their field.

Violet Bailly & Aileen Lois Sabean

First female Bachelor of Commerce from Mount Allison University, 1956


Graduation portrait of Violet Bailey, 1956.Violet Bailly

Violet Phyllis Bailly came to Mount Allison in the fall of 1953 from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. She was the daughter of Fred Perrier Bailly and Violet May Bachman.  At the conclusion of her first year, she earned her Finance and Commerce certificate. She was active in the Commerce Society and the Choral Society, was a staff member for the Argosy and the Allisonian yearbook, and participated in a number of Varsity and intramural sports. She received her Bachelor of Commerce in 1956 with her classmate Aileen Sabean, together the first women to receive the Bachelor of Commerce from Mount Allison University.  Thereafter, she worked in the accounting department for the DuPont Company in Montreal and Toronto, before retiring back home to Lunenburg.  She died on 9 January 2022.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Graduation portrait of Aileen Sabean, 1956.Aileen Sabean

Aileen Lois Sabean was originally from Havelock, Nova Scotia. She graduated from Digby Regional High School and came to Mount Allison in the fall of 1953. In 1955, she earned her Finance and Commerce Certificate. While in attendance, Sabean was vice-president of the Commerce Society and the House Committee, and was a staff member for the Allisonian yearbook. She received her Bachelor of Commerce in 1956 with her classmate Violet Bailey, together the first women to receive the Bachelor of Commerce from Mount Allison University. She married William Wade.