Student Support

Hi there!

My name is Dani Normandeau (they/them) and I am the Flourishing in Grad School Mentor for 2019-2020. I am a white settler originally from Edmonton, Alberta, in Treaty 6. My doctoral research is interdisciplinary, and I have backgrounds in critical disability studies, trans studies, critical geography/environmental studies, cultural studies, and queer theory. I also have working and organizing experience rooted in gender-based violence advocacy, feminist/queer pedagogy, trans activism, and radical disability praxis. In my spare time, I nerd out about the radical potentials of collective care models and political education. What might this look like in the context of grad school?

My role as the Flourishing in Grad School Mentor is to guide you in finding resources and supports that facilitate a more engaged, collaborative, and community-oriented grad school experience. Grad school often entails many instances of specific struggles and feelings of isolation, leaving many of us feeling disconnected from wider community supports (and each other!). In order to bridge these unique struggles, I am happy to help folks connect to services and resources, both within Carleton and outside in the wider Ottawa-Gatineau area. Always feel free to contact me throughout the school year to chat. You can reach me by email (danielle.normandeau@carleton.ca) or in person (if you see me around the department).

This year I will be working with the TA Mentor, Mikayla Sherry, to organize workshops and social events. Do let us know if you have anything you’re keen to organize around.

In the past, about once a week, there has been a graduate student coffee hour. This has been a wonderful opportunity for students to connect, support, and engage with each other. We hope to do this more in the next year. Please check out the department’s calendar of events to see when events and coffee hours will be scheduled.

I’ll be emailing throughout the year to keep you all in the loop about events, resources, and all things social/political/educational.

Looking forward to meeting you!

In solidarity,
Dani

Additional support and resources are also available on Carleton’s Mental Health and Well-Being page. Additionally, Carleton’s Health and Counselling Services page offers information about medical and counselling services, and information about emergencies and crisis (e.g., urgent mental health problems, sexual assault, domestic violence, etc.). Please click here for more information about crisis support, and here for a list of on- and off-campus emergency numbers, mental health crisis hotlines, suicide prevention hotlines, sexual assault hotlines, violence and domestic violence hotlines, addiction and substance abuse hotlines, AIDS/HIV hotlines, and gender and culture specific hotlines.

Hello!

My name is Mikayla Sherry and I am the Sociology and Anthropology TA Mentor for 2019-20. I am a first year PhD student, with a research focus on the subjective experiences of Black youth in the Canadian context. When I am not thinking about sociology, I enjoy taking my dog to the park with my partner, trying to gain the attention of my moody (but very lovely) cat, or listening to a podcast. I also act as the Director of Youth for a non-profit organization that offers year-round educational services to multi-racial families formed through adoption. I absolutely adore sociology (perhaps too much), and think being a teaching assistant offers an opportunity to further engage with some of sociology’s core theoretical concepts. More than anything, I think teaching undergraduate students creates the conditions to teach them how to think and act differently in the world.

Teaching Assistants play an integral role in shaping and constraining the experiences of undergraduate students, which means TAing should and will be challenging at times. It is my job to support you in this role, and as a current and future educator. This does not mean that I will be able to answer all of your questions, but it does mean that I am committed to ensuring I can connect you with someone or some thing (e.g. workshops, online resources, etc) that can help you find answers to these questions. I am supported in my role by Carleton’s Educational and Development Centre (EDC).

Over the course of the academic year, I will:

• Be available by email and in person around the department to answer any questions you may have (mikaylasherry@cmail.carleton.ca); I am also open to phone meetings if timelines are tight
• Be facilitating an array of paid TA-training workshops on topics like: new TA orientation, what older TAs wish they had known before they started in their role, healthy habits to flourish as a TA, and how to balance your roles as TAs and students, and more
• Assist you in leading TA-training workshops, set up “micro-teaching” sessions to help you practice your teaching skills while receiving constructive feedback, and facilitate mentoring sessions
• Facilitate peer-feedback sessions, led by myself or other experienced TAs

I also maintain a cuLearn page for TAs in the department, titled “Sociology and Anthropology – Mentor”. On this page, you’ll find more general orientation information about being a TA, ideas for tutorial activities, lists of campus resources for your undergrad students, and more.

This year I will be working with the department’s “Flourishing in Grad School Mentor”, Dani Normandeau, to organize workshops and social events. Do let us know if you have anything you’re keen to organize around.

Please do not hesitate to send me an email, introduce yourself, or ask me any TA/graduate student related questions if you see me around campus. I am really looking forward to spending time with you all in the coming weeks and hearing about your experiences in this department!

Best,
Mikayla

Additional information and resources are also available on Carleton’s TA Support Page. Information about Sociology and Anthropology TA Excellence Awards and TA FAQs can be found on our Teaching Assistant Information page.

My name is Christine Pich and I’m an Instructor and the Graduate Transitions Mentor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. As the Graduate Transitions Mentor, I coordinate and organize the department’s Graduate Transitions Series which provides career transitions support for graduate students and alumni. The series focuses on providing resources, strategies, and information about a wide range of career paths (academic and alternative-to-academic) available to people who have a graduate degree. This is done through seminars on a range of topics, opportunities for students/alumni to get feedback on components of their job application (e.g., a mock job talk), the administration of a social media page featuring active job postings, and one-on-one guidance and support.

Seminars are open to all current graduate students, alumni, and post-doctoral fellows at Carleton University. They focus on topics such as preparing job applications, preparing for interviews, different types of post-doctoral fellowships, writing a teaching philosophy statement, and career search insights from people with alternative-to-academic careers. In these seminars we go over and unpack a variety of items, such as communicating transferable skills, searching for jobs, the various components of a job application, what to expect and how to approach different types of interviews, and applying for post-doctoral fellowships. In addition to providing institutionalized support and resources, the Graduate Transitions Series is a great opportunity to meet peers in similar experiences and to share advice, information, and support with one another.

Additional information and resources are also available on Carleton’s Career Services page. Career Services is Carleton University’s centralized office supporting all students and alumni across the different disciplines and levels of study on their career paths.

Please click here for more information about common areas of employment for Anthropology graduates. In addition, click here to check out what some of our very own M.A. and Ph.D. graduates in Anthropology are currently up to.

Please click here for more information about common areas of employment for Sociology graduates, and here to see what some of our own M.A. and Ph.D. graduates in Sociology are currently up to.