On June 27th, Canada celebrated Multiculturalism Day, honouring the many cultural communities that help build a strong and vibrant Canadian Society. Recognizing the diverse cultural backgrounds people come from is important for having respectful relations with others, and our environment…
“In June, we commemorate National Indigenous History Month. During this month, take time to recognize the rich history, heritage, resilience and diversity of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples across Canada.” Government of Canada, 2022 Yesterday was National Indigenous Peoples Day, so it’s…
I will be the first person to admit that taking a vacation without academic guilt is difficult and an aspiration more than an actuality. However, I have reached a point where I can take a vacation without letting academic guilt…
Everyone is stressed or overwhelmed when starting a new degree, but international students face additional stressors before the semester even starts. When you’re moving to a different country, you must run a lot of errands and fill out a lot…
The PhD-Community Initiative (PhD-CI) started in 2016 as a pilot program through the Expanding Horizons workshop series. The PhD-CI brings doctoral students from different areas of study together to form an interdisciplinary team to assist a local community organization in addressing an…
The spring and summer months stretch forth in an unending desert. Hot, endless, and with my eyes stinging I try to come up with a way to successful make it through to the other side. Many of us face the…
Apartment hunting can be tricky in a university town like Kingston, especially if you are apartment hunting from far away. As an international student who moved to Canada during COVID travel restrictions, I was not able to visit my apartment…
Last week I was sitting in my therapist’s office discussing ways to deal with emotions in a healthy way. Generally, I consider myself a mental wreck (I’m in and out of therapy, take daily medications, and I am way too…
With classes being remote for a bit, it can be hard to stay motivated to get stuff done from home, especially if you’re in another time zone like I am. Although I am happy to be back at home and…
Managing one’s mental health is already incredibly difficult during graduate school in non-pandemic times. Balancing reading, lab work, research, writing, alongside teaching responsibilities, publishing, and conference presentation is so stressful that many students find themselves overwhelmed at some point of…
