Major: Paralegal Studies
Occupation: Regulatory Agency Compliance Coordinator (Retired), ITT Flygt

In 1980, Karin Douglas enrolled in Sacred Heart University’s paralegal studies program at the encouragement of her friend, the late Evelyn Conley, an attorney and wife of the University's founding president, Dr. William H. Conley. In gratitude for her excellent academic experience, Karin created the Evelyn M. Conley Scholarship. While the paralegal program at SHU is no longer operating, the Conley Scholarship Fund now provides financial assistance to an outstanding pre-law student each year.

Karin never wastes an opportunity to promote one of her special causes. When baseball icon Joe Torre spoke at Sacred Heart, Karin asked him if, during his treatment for prostate cancer, Torre was educated about lymphedema—a debilitating side effect that often follows cancer surgery with removal of some lymph nodes and causes a painful swelling of the arm or leg. She wasn’t surprised when he said no.

Karin learned about lymphedema firsthand following her own breast cancer surgery and treatment in 1992. She also discovered how little medical professionals knew about this condition, and started educating professionals and the public, forming the first lymphedema support group in Connecticut and creating the Lymphedema Alert pink wristband now used in many U.S. hospitals to warn medical professionals to avoid using at-risk limbs for procedures. As a director of the National Lymphedema Network, Karin has spoken around the country, spreading her message that knowledge is power.

To that end, Karin also became involved in Sacred Heart University’s Physical Therapy Department. Thanks to her advocacy, the department secured a $25,000 grant from the Breast Cancer Alliance to support a training program for health care practitioners in Complex Decongestive Therapy, which is used to treat lymphedema. She also created the Dr. Margaret Palliser Endowment for Physical Therapy in 2001, in honor of Sister Margaret, the Sacred Heart assistant vice president for mission who also experienced lymphedema following cancer therapy. That endowment offers scholarship assistance to SHU students interested in women's health.

“The availability of this training in our own state was a dream come true,” Karin says. “I met the 20 students at lunch, and they were tremendously grateful for the opportunity to pursue this education close to home. Now we’d like to try again. There are many more students who could benefit from such training—and patients as well.”