Elizabeth Rousek Ayers ’95
Elizabeth Rousek Ayers '95 with Lucy, Ava, and Matt.
By Kelly Dickson MPhil ’97
A self-professed army brat, Elizabeth Rousek Ayers '95 moved around a lot as a child, in both the United States and Germany. As a result, she craved stability.
“I wanted to be a part of something, and I found that sense of community at College of the Atlantic,” she says. “I loved my OOPS trip—a sea kayaking trip led by Ander Thebaud and Dianne Clendaniel. I loved the food at Take-A-Break and Bar Harbor in the winter—the walks back and forth to campus, walking my dog in the park, and feeling safe and comfortable all the time.”
Elizabeth recently named COA in her will. “COA is such a piece of my heart and soul, and I believe in the mission wholeheartedly,” she says. She and her husband Matt Ayers asked a friend of theirs who practices law to draft their will. “I feel like creating a will is a good opportunity to reflect on your priorities. My dad died unexpectedly when he was 50. Life can be so short. It makes you think, what can I do now and what can I potentially leave behind? It doesn’t have to be a grand amount—whether it’s $1,000 or $10,000, it shows you believe in COA.”
Elizabeth says she takes the interconnectedness of human ecology with her in everything she does now. “It can be an inconvenient world when everything isn’t black and white—but this is the completely messy, interesting world that I discovered at COA.”
Elizabeth studied alternative agriculture and botany at COA, which prepared her to work with the Royal Horticultural Society in England and for private estates in Maine, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. She earned a master’s degree at the Conway School of Landscape Design in 2001, but didn’t want to spend her life “drawing circles and figuring out parking for people,” so she continued her career as an estate gardener with the additional skill set of design. This allows her to keep her hands dirty and offers the flexibility of working part time so she can spend more time with her family.
Good news for COA: both of her daughters, Ava (16) and Lucy (13), are considering attending the college. “I appreciated the opportunity I had at COA, so I want to get them there,” she says.
Elizabeth visits campus every other year and appreciates the new dorms and classroom space. She stays in touch with former classmates, enjoys receiving COA’s alumnx newsletter, The Peregrine, and follows COA on social media. “It’s hard to be competitive in education, but I feel that COA has risen to the challenge of staying relevant.”
COA is grateful to Elizabeth and all the others who have chosen to name the college in their will. To learn more about leaving a bequest to COA, please contact dean of institutional advancement Shawn Keeley at skeeley@coa.edu or 207-801-5620.
