When people hear I came from California to East Liverpool, I will typically be asked, “Why?” and “How can you live here after being there?”

The answer is Dr. Roxanne Burns.

I met Dr. Burns during my job interview over dinner just after Dr. Swartz took me for a drive through some of the most devastated parts of East Liverpool so I would know what I was getting myself into if I took the position.  When Dr. Burns began to talk of the work she was involved in to bring awareness and environmental activism to the students of East Liverpool through community service, education, and involvement, I could tell she had a deep love for East Liverpool, the students, and the community leaders; I knew I wanted to be a part of her work and legacy.

It has only been a little over four years since I have known Dr. Roxanne Burns, but in those four years, she became my close friend, mentor, teacher, and fellow academic and community environmental activist.  Her open door on the third floor was a true comfort when I needed advice, information, a sympathetic ear, or a hug. 

When I visited her a couple of week ago, I assured her I will do my part to keep her work going as she focuses on getting well. I was not expecting to lose her so soon.  Dr. Burns with her discipline of biology, her position as professor of Kent State University, and her involvement in the community utilized her scholarship in ways that was not only important, valid, and significant, but made a difference for her students, the campus, and in the community of East Liverpool. 

Her planning and organizing was significant at Kent State University East Liverpool, the East Liverpool Lions Club, the NAACP, Beacon of Hope, and the many other organizations that I know she supported. When my daughter was in ELHS, she supported all her fundraisers.  She was constantly organizing an event on campus or in the community, attending and supporting events planned and organized by others, and sharing these opportunities with her students.  I saw her mentor and teach students each semester.  She would build a team with the environmental club, mentor and nurture them, and watch them graduate and prosper in their lives.  If I was out and about with Roxanne, we would inevitably meet some of her former students. She would greet them with a bright smile and hugs, then she would introduced them to me with such pride.

Dr. Burns lived a life of good deeds and love for all of humanity. She was the example for us so that wee may carry on in the work she began. 

My heart aches from losing her, I already miss not being able to talk or text her. Roxanne’s will not be forgotten and her spirit is with us.