There is a strong sense of unity among students and faculty at Memorial University as Memorial University Faculty Association (MUNFA) members enter day three on the picket lines.
Twitter and Instagram have been active outlets for students, faculty, and members of the public to show their support for MUNFA online, and deliveries of coffee, water, and donuts have come in abundance for strikers on the picket line.
On Monday, students started sharing their positive experiences with Memorial professors in response to a story call-out from The Muse.
Here is what some students had to say about their professors, who they describe as “the heart of Memorial”:
“I took SOCI 2230 Newfoundland (and Labrador) Society & Culture with Dr. Cynthia Boyd in the Fall 2021 semester. During this semester I was going through a lot of change with being new to the city and all the anxieties that come with starting post secondary. At the time my mom was also moving to a new community on the Burin Peninsula called Grand Bank and I was struggling with the idea of where “home” was. Through discussion posts, Dr. Boyd became familiar with the love I have for traveling our province and that love came from my mother. I had a few family emergencies where I had to visit my mother in Grand Bank (which Dr. Boyd was aware of). The following class she gave me a novel on the history of Grand Bank for my mom. Dr. Boyd was familiar with the area as she once did research on the Grand Bank Beach Women. This touched my heart in so many ways and had an enormous impact on both myself and my mothers adjustment to change. My mother no longer lives in Grand Bank but the novel has found a spot in her new home as a reminder of the kind gesture. Another kind gesture Dr. Boyd did was bring pieces of her own pottery collection on the last day of class for us to take home as a reminder of her class. To this day it still sits in my cupboard as a reminder.”
Rachel Benson
“I completed my psych honours degree at Grenfell campus, with most of my sociology minor courses being online through MUN, every single one of my psychology professors including my honours supervisor Kelly Warren changed my life. They were the most supportive, kind, and understanding people in helping me succeed even when times were really tough for me. The same can be said with the sociology professors at Mun, they were always very encouraging, and in particular Linda Cohen was incredible. They all showed every day how much they cared about their students, and no matter how stressful school got, they always brought such a positive energy that was needed with their students. And Kelly in particular, helped me achieve my goals in more ways than I could have imagined!”
Marissa Taylor
“Her name is Kate Lahey and the class was SOCI-2100: Social Inequalities. Kate allowed us to introduce ourselves at the beginning of the semester and encouraged us to share our pronouns. She would do a check in at the beginning of each class to see how each of us were feeling that day. She encouraged us to take mental health days if we weren’t feeling well and said she would always accommodate us with notes/extensions during those times. She was so extremely kind and understanding, I never had a prof who understood mental/physical health like she did. My anxiety was always gone during that class no matter what we were doing.”
Kyra Fancey
“Keif Godbout-Kinney. He was my sociology prof my first semester of university. I’ve had a colourful life filled with a lot of setbacks. I’m a mature student. I came in very insecure about myself and my capabilities. Especially being out of school for 20 years. He really took the time to help me realize my potential. Building my confidence. So much so, I decided to take a course again with him for my second semester. I almost dropped out this semester because I was losing interest.Last semester at the end, he pulled me into his office and wanted to talk to me about my future. I’ve never had someone believe in me before. I originally had decided to go back to school for social work. But he’s since convinced me that I’m more than capable of getting a masters and a PhD. Something I never thought I could possibly achieve. He’s made me realize that I’m smarter than I look and I can have a great future. If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be choosing to continue with my future on the university route. For the first time in my life he’s made me feel valued for my mind and not my body.”
Cara Stevenson
“My intro to policing instructor Kim Phillips from a few semesters ago completely changed the trajectory of my education. She is the reason I want to pursue graduate studies in the future and the reason I have found such a passion in the study of youth justice. She moved to NL to come to MUN so that she could complete her PhD. She saw that our tuition was unmatched. She came to this university as a mature adult looking to be an expert in her field and now we see the university crumbling all because of incapable administration who are just running this institution as a business. It’s so much more than a business and I 100% stand in solidarity with MUNFA and all other instructors at the university who are struggling right now.”
Lauren Slade
“Dr. Cheryll Fitzpatrick is quite literally one of the most supportive, positive, humorous, and caring individuals I have ever had the privilege of knowing. She has an incredible passion for teaching and it gives all students a drive to learn and succeed. I have only known Dr. Fitzpatrick for 5 months now, but I have learned more than I could have ever imagined in that short amount of time. Dr. Fitzpatrick is an amazing individual and she always makes sure that her students feel appreciated with her quick wit , jokes, her incredible lectures, and actually trying to learn everyone’s names. If any professor would be able to keep over 100 university students’ attention for a whole hour and 15 minutes, there is no question that it would be her. She makes an impact on every student who has the opportunity to have her as a professor but, she has made an everlasting impact on my life alone. For the longest time, I thought I was just a normal teenager that was processing big emotions. I was told that I felt this way because I was a “nervous”, “normal” teenager, and never gave it any more thought. Starting university in September was incredibly scary for me, but not in the way an average teenager gets nervous starting a new school. From the start of September, Dr. Fitzpatrick’s lectures have always been something I look forward to and I always leave feeling appreciated and genuinely cared about. Fast forward to the beginning of October, Dr. Fitzpatrick was lecturing on signs of mental illnesses. When she was talking about certain symptoms, and the importance of getting help, I realized that maybe what I was feeling wasn’t normal teenage feelings. After this lecture in particular (even though all her lectures are amazing), I could not stop thinking about what she said and decided to go see my doctor. After many tests and consultations, I was diagnosed with a mental health disorder. If it wasn’t for Dr. Fitzpatricks passion towards getting help, advocating for yourself, and just her overall passion for psychology in general, I truly do not know where I would be today. Mental health disorders are terrifying and something no one should have to go through. If it wasn’t for Dr. Fitzpatricks support, positive attitude, and guidance, I wouldn’t be receiving the proper treatment I need to learn how to live with my diagnosis. When speaking with my doctor at our last appointment, he said to make sure that I take time to thank the professor that encouraged me to get help, because he truly thinks that she did save my life. Like I said, if it wasn’t for Dr. Fitzpatrick’s caring, inspirational, and kind soul, I wouldn’t be receiving the treatment and learning how to cope with having a mental health disorder. In my eyes, no matter how cringey and cliché it sounds, she is quite literally my hero, she has impacted my life more than she will ever understand and there is nothing I could ever do to repay her for what she has done for me. With this being said, Dr. Cheryll Fitzpatrick is one of the all around best humans anyone will have the privilege of meeting, and the best professor Memorial University has to offer. I am thankful today, and everyday for her passion for teaching, her kind-hearted spirit, and for lending an ear whenever I need one. She is truly incredible!”
Kailee Earle
“Many! Dr. Tom Baird (Math), Dr. Linda Cohen (Sociology), and Dr. Chris Cogan (Geography) come to mind. Each of them tries their best to make sure students understand the material, and are accessible beyond what is necessary (I have gotten some email responses well past midnight!)”
Brandon Jarvis
“The professor who had the most profound impact on me was Dr. Norm Catto. He was the department head of geography and he has been at MUN for quite some time. I’m sure I’m not the only student who benefited from his help! I was doing my undergrad major in both geography and psychology, but like every other student, I was still very lost about what I could do with my degree. I wanted to do an honours degree but wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it in Geog or Psych. I went to Norm and he offered to talk to the head of the Psych department to see if they could create a double/joint honors degree for me. I was concerned and said “nobody has ever done this, having an honours degree in both Geog and Psyc.” Norm said “nobody has done it, doesn’t mean it is not doable.” I went directly into a Geography graduate degree. But I really appreciated that Norm told me that “nobody has done it, doesn’t mean it’s not doable.” I appreciate how he was willing to help me in the time that I didn’t know what to do as a student, but I also really appreciate that sentence he said, which inspired me lots in my later study/personal life—I shouldn’t be setting a limit to myself all the time, I should always try and work towards to what I want.
I also very appreciate my supervisor, Dr. Nicholas Lynch at Geography. Also, Dr. Yolande Pottie-Sherman, who is Nick’s wife (also my professor). Nick was the person who showed me the world of urban geography (which I love so much that I am doing a degree on urban/cultural geography). He also protected me from a person who tried to stalk me (the guy was also in the same class which Nick was teaching at that time) by helping to accommodate me into a different group. After I became his grad student, Nick encouraged me to speak out about my thoughts because I seemed to always second guess/not be sure about my ideas. We had a long talk before my first Christmas as an MA student and that really pumped my confidence up quite a bit to design my own research and to present my ideas in classes. Yolande was always very caring. She sent me an email to check in with me to see how I’m doing after COVID hit Newfoundland because she knows that as an international student living on campus, I would have a hard time finding off campus housing within a short period of time. During my research work with Yolande, she encouraged me to go into campaigns for Happy City St. John’s board members. Yolande also sent the email to me to ask if I was interested in becoming an MA student in the ACE Space lab. Both Yolande and Nick were extremely professional, caring, and helpful people. My whole time at MUN knowing them (about 6 or 7 years) has been a positive experience. Words are never gonna be enough to describe how grateful I am to have met them here. I also wanted to add that since I did my undergrad here, I have met most geographers at MUN. They are all very lovely and helpful people. I have also met really good professors who offered lots of help to me from the philosophy dept and psychology dept……I stand with MUNFA because of the good people that I have and haven’t met. I hope MUN will give the fair deal asap.”
Siyi Zhou
Read more about what students have to say here:
