To Serve and to Parent: Karma Roberts

Karma Roberts has been a member of the BU family since her son, Mark (CGS’06, CAS’08), started his freshman year at Boston University in 2004. She became involved with the Parents Leadership Council (PLC) because she wanted to stay connected and to understand the inner workings of her son’s school. She admits that she was a bit of a “helicopter parent,” but after all, she was sending her son across the country (Karma and her family live in the Bay Area).

The Robertses quickly became ensconced in the BU community, particularly taking to the College of General Studies, where Mark’s sister, Hilary (CGS’10, COM’12), also enrolled, following in her brother’s footsteps. They made a donation to create the Roberts Family Conference Room in the Brendan F. Gilbane Study Lounge at CGS. And Mark and Hilary followed their mother’s example by joining her in contributing to the CGS lobby restoration project. “It is important to teach your children to be philanthropic,” says Karma.

Karma remains loyal to BU. She is still an active PLC member—every summer she flies to Boston to represent the Parents Program at an orientation session; every fall she attends the Parents Leadership Council meeting; and she has hosted several events at her home for CGS and Dean Linda Wells. Karma is a dear friend and a loyal supporter of this institution, and her children will certainly leave their own BU legacies.

–Christy Olson Loring, Associate Director, Parents Program