Kate Cowperthwaite
Financial and Administration Assistant
she/her
Ingenuity Lab
While Kate walks around Ingenuity Labs she speaks with us (graduate students) and makes our day better by making jokes and helping students in distress. Personally, she gave me boosts of positive energy when times were hard for me during my studies at Queen's. She is a lovely, empathetic, and comfortable person to be around.
Kate is a super-friendly and energetic staff! She cheers up everyone at Ingenuity Lab.
Anonymous Students
Mental heath deserves to be treated with the same dignity and respect as any physical illness. It is important to me to support the whole wellness of all the people I work with.
The issue of mental heath and wellness is very important to me. I have been fortunate to have taken several mental heath training courses at Queen’s, so I am able to support students. The way I do this is letting the students get to know me in a fun, positive way, so if they need support, they know I am someone who cares for them and hopefully, they feel comfortable coming to me in times of stress. The Graduate students I work with have all kinds of stressful situations in there lives, for some, it is moving from a different country and acclimatizing to Canada, others, not knowing any one when they move to Kingston, some times it is a heavy course load or research glitches, for some it is family pressures. When I come into the lab everyday, you never know what a student is dealing with, so a friendly smile and a chat could make all the difference.
For me, kindness is the first step in supporting mental health and wellness.
--- Kate Cowperthwaite