At Consuelo Corbett’s Celebration of Life held at the Seattle Tennis Club on August 25th, 2024, Nadine Fabbi made the following comments:
My name is Nadine Fabbi. I am the director of the Canadian Studies Center in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington. I bring condolences from the University of Washington (UW) – from our Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Dean Harris, our Divisional Dean of Social Sciences Andrea Woody, the director of the Jackson School of International Studies Danny Hoffmann, and the Corbett Exchange Manager Marion Ferguson.
Just over 10 years ago, Amy Scott, Director for Planned Giving at the UW, called me to ask about the Center’s interest in furthering student exchanges with institutions in Canada. She was working with a local couple who had interest in developing a program that would provide students with the same experience and opportunities the Corbett’s had enjoyed as young people. The opportunity to not simply visit but to live in the other country, to develop friendships, and to truly understand what makes us the same and what defines us as Canadians and as Americans.
Shortly after Amy’s call, we made a visit to Gary and Consuelo’s lovely home in Medina. We sat in the living room and discussed our shared passion and commitment for youth. A passion and commitment that would ensure that young people in our region understand one another and understand one another beyond the usual stereotypes. A commitment for youth to build networks that would create new cross-border communities in the Pacific Northwest.
We sat in the living room for well over an hour discussing various ideas and programs we might consider. Consuelo was as we all knew her – brilliant in her thinking, gentle in her delivery, and firm in her commitment to making a difference.
Out of that meeting we developed the Corbett British Columbia-Washington International Exchange Program. We identified partners at the University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria – the alma maters of the Corbett’s. We met with deans and study abroad programs and even the Consul General of Canada in Seattle all in an effort to build a program that would have the impact we desired.
Ten years later, today, dozens of students from the three institutions have spent four to nine months in the other country encouraged and supported to understand what makes us the same, and how we differ and what we might learn from one another. These students have gone on to hold key positions in our communities bringing that understanding to their professional lives.
This is all thanks to the vision, passion, and commitment of the Corbett’s. Over the years we have held many receptions to meet and congratulate the students. At each event Consuelo’s grace shone through. In the tradition of Gary and Consuelo, each exchange student received a journal handed to them by Consuelo. Consuelo encouraged them – ‘what you put into your computer can disappear, can be lost, but what you put into a journal is there forever. Write down your experiences, who you meet, what you learn, what you notice, why this matters to you.’ She was deeply inspiring. And I will never forget one of our receptions held in a room with a grand piano – Consuelo played “O Canada” for all of us.
Consuelo was classy, she was gracious and charming, and she was determined. And her determination will have its impact felt at the University of Washington for generations to come.
Thank you Gary and thank you Consuelo. You have lived so very well and have given where it truly matters making a difference in the lives of many many young people. Consuelo lives on at the University of Washington.
Consuelo Corbett’s obituary can be found here.