According to all three sisters, despite only having one year together in the Senior School, they felt bonded by their time at Branksome Hall. Favourite memories include waiting for each other at the overpass to walk home, Carol Service practices full of giggles, and watching Big Sis Hayley deliver her Head Girl speeches. While they may still disagree on who had to wait longer for whom in the morning, it's clear that their time at Branksome was special. As Vanessa put it, "I remember feeling safe at Branksome with my sisters nearby. I'm so grateful for our relationship then and super grateful for it now."

After graduating, they each pursued post-secondary degrees, and their studies and early career years took them all over the world — from Australia to the UK, from South Africa to Maine and France, and almost everywhere in between.

Hayley AvRUSKIN'87 found herself in England playing Ultimate Frisbee and taking a Master’s of Education before coming back to Branksome Hall as a teacher. These days she's one of our fantastic Guidance Counsellors and the co-founder of Let's Grow Learning and Living Hub for people with complex disabilities. She shares life with her fellow Ultimate Frisbee-loving husband Phil and her two young adult sons, Jake and Harry. This spring Hayley is starting on the next part of her path as she is set to retire at the end of the school year. She will be sorely missed in Branksome’s halls. 

Vanessa AvRUSKIN'90 is the self-proclaimed rebel of the trio. After studying classical music at McGill University she took a leap and sent a cassette of her clarinet performance to France and subsequently spent one year studying with the principal clarinetist in the Paris Symphony Orchestra, and studying acting on the side. After returning home she worked as a classical clarinetist and as an instructor with Second City Toronto. This introduced her to corporate communications training, which became a real passion. For the last twenty years plus she has worked in almost every industry with hundreds of clients. In 2021, she started her own firm, Radiate Communications Inc. Vanessa's family includes her husband (shout out to Hayley for introducing them) and her twin teenage daughters.

Gillian AvRUSKIN'92 started her education at McGill University and after a year of travelling continued her studies, achieving a Master’s degree in Spatial Information and Engineering at the University of Maine. Similar to Vanessa’s approach, she sent a series of emails to researchers at the World Health Organization (WHO) to see if there were any openings in her field. After a year working in Geneva, Switzerland with WHO, she took a research opportunity in Ann Arbor, Michigan with the University of Michigan. Now she lives in upstate New York with her husband and daughter, although she returns to Toronto often to see her sisters and for Reunions (which she loves to share with Hayley, since they're five years apart).

Even though their paths after being together at Branksome have been incredibly different, it's so clear how connected these alum sisters are. They all share an adventurous spirit, with journeys that have involved moments of courage to create a new opportunity, and each has a deep care for those around them and the greater world. We can’t wait to see what they do next!