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In the first semester of her MBA, Victoria Morisbak, ‘99 MBA, had nowhere to go for Thanksgiving as she was new to Edmonton. She hadn’t mentioned this to anyone, but one of her classmates — Dolores Peterson, ‘99 MBA — intuitively knew.

“She invited me to her parents’ house and I joined their big family Thanksgiving dinner,” says Morisbak, who was touched by her older classmate’s kindness.

She would learn that this was typical of Peterson, who was not only a full-time MBA student but a professional accountant in her 30s who worked full-time and was raising three children with her husband. And despite having so much on her plate, she frequently held tutoring sessions to help her classmates with accounting-related coursework — often at her own home. This was a boon to her peers as Peterson was not only an accountant by profession, but a part-time accounting instructor at a community college.

“I don’t know how she managed to do it all — it’s shocking to me,” says Anna Cuglietta, ‘99 MBA, who attended many of these study sessions and remembers Peterson serving the group fancy popcorn and Pepsi. “She was confident, but humble. She wanted everyone to do well.”

After completing the program, Cuglietta and Morisbak stayed in touch with their classmate and friend and were delighted to watch her career develop over the next two decades. A few years after completing the MBA program, she’d joined Stantec — a company she’d long admired — and rose to the level of vice-president.

In April 2023, Morisbak and Cuglietta were saddened by the news that Peterson had passed away after a diagnosis of late-stage cancer. “It was sudden and shocking,” says Cuglietta. At their friend’s celebration of life, she recalls chatting with Peterson’s adult daughter, now a businesswoman herself, and having an epiphany: “Sometimes, children don’t fully realize the impact their parents have had on other people,” she says. Beyond sharing memories of Peterson, she felt compelled to preserve her legacy in a formal way. She approached Morisbak, who wholeheartedly agreed.

The two alumni approached others from the MBA class of 1999, as well as Peterson’s family, to create an endowment fund at the Alberta School of Business that would award an annual scholarship in the name of their late classmate. It seemed an ideal way to honour Peterson’s legacy of generosity, work ethic, and leadership.

The scholarship will support a woman attending an Alberta School of Business MBA program full-time who demonstrates leadership and a commitment to community. Morisbak, Cuglietta, and other alumni are working with the university to raise the $50,000 needed to create a sustainable endowment fund, ensuring the scholarship can be given in perpetuity. After only a couple of months of fundraising, they’ve already raised $16,750 and hope to award the first scholarship in the 2026/2027 academic year.

For Cuglietta, the endowment fund is a way for their graduating class to both honour their inspirational classmate and continue her legacy of kindness.

“This scholarship means she can keep helping MBA students for years to come.”

To contribute to the MBA Class of ’99 Award in memory of Dolores Peterson, visit .