People of McMaster celebrates the incredible people who help make McMaster a great place to work, learn, teach and conduct research. Click here for the rest of the series.
Students with leadership aspirations can thank a couple of tweens for driving Maggie Cockburn back to Mac.
Cockburn returned to her alma mater after a brief stint as an elementary school teacher with the Halton District School Board. For the past five years, she’s worked as a Faculty of Science project coordinator in the Dean’s Office, playing a key role in launching and running the Susan Cunningham Science Leadership Academy. The first cohort of 25 undergraduate and graduate students will complete the program in April.
“Maggie leads so many initiatives across the Faculty with grace and efficiency,” says professor Kalaichelvi Saravanamuttu, the faculty’s associate dean of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigeneity.
So let’s start with those tweens who made you reconsider your career plans.
To be fair, most of the Grade 7 and 8 students I taught were funny, super sweet, hardworking and dedicated. But it only takes one or two students to leave you wondering what you’d signed up for. It left me with even deeper appreciation for elementary school teachers. I’d also been spoiled working with McMaster students before joining the school board.
I’d earned a Bachelor of Education from Brock University right after completing my Bachelor of Science in biology at Mac. I spent the next five years working at McMaster as a sport fitness school director, sport medicine administrator with the David Braley Sport Medicine and Rehabilitation Centre and then a Wellness Education Coordinator.
I love teaching so I joined the Halton District School Board as an occasional teacher in 2018. I taught Grade 7 and 8 math and English.
It didn’t take long to realize that I missed being around McMaster students who are “all in” on their education — they want to be here and make the most of their time at university. I was also earning my Master of Professional Education from Western University at the same time as I was teaching — it was a lot to manage.
I returned to Mac in 2019 as the camps and clubs coordinator. Getting to supervise teams of students is what brought me back. Student development — helping students unlock their potential — is where my heart’s at.
When COVID closed the campus and shut down camps and clubs, I did a brief stint in Human Resources and then joined the Dean’s Office in the Faculty of Science. My friends like to ask just how many departments and jobs I’ve held at McMaster.
How did you get involved in launching the Susan Cunningham Science Leadership Academy?
Our dean at the time was Maureen MacDonald, who’s now the Provost. Maureen is a thoughtful and intentional leader. She knows what people on her team will want to do often before they know it themselves — Maureen’s always 30 steps ahead.
Along with supervising and developing students, I’ve always had a passion for leadership. I’d just completed the Inclusive Excellence Leadership Program and the McMaster University Strategic Leaders Program offered through McMaster Continuing Education. Maureen recognized that getting involved with the leadership academy would play to my strengths.
There’d been lots of consultations and conversations happening with Maureen, Susan Cunningham, student leaders and the planning team. Maureen invited me to handle the day-to-day running of the academy, starting with the recruitment of 25 students last spring and then planning activities and mentoring throughout the year.
What have you enjoyed most about your work with the leadership academy?
It’s been so fulfilling to help students discover their full leadership potential and see that happen over the course of the year. The academy gives students the space and supports to reflect on their personal leadership. I would’ve loved this opportunity when I was a student.
I also enjoy being creative and collaborative when it comes to programming for the academy. I’m very passionate about the many different facets of effective leadership so I incorporate as many concepts about leadership into the program as I can.
Along with running the Susan Cunningham Science Leadership Academy, you’re heavily involved in helping build an inclusive and welcoming Faculty of Science. What do you enjoy most about that work?
I feel deeply connected to the work I’m doing in the Office of the Associate Dean, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigeneity. It’s hard to put into words just how profoundly transformative my experience has been working under Dr. Kalai Saravanamuttu’s leadership. The values she embodies and advocates have truly been a guiding light for me.
It’s been really special to have the opportunity to connect the work I do with Kalai and my colleague Aaron Parry with the leadership academy programming. Kalai joined the students in the academy for a session on inclusive leadership and decision-making. We had a rich and meaningful discussion about compassionate, mindful and accountable leadership.
We also hosted a session with Aaron and the high school students from MePLUS. That’s the McMaster Equitable Pathways to Learning University Science initiative that offers hands-on science workshops, mentorship and skill-building classes for Black, Indigenous and Latin American / Latinx students.
The MePLUS students got together with the McMaster students in the academy to discuss and reflect on effective communication, feedback and power dynamics — all within the context of leadership. It was a great learning opportunity and a really meaningful collaboration.
And you’re back in the classroom as a sessional instructor. How’s that going?
I’m teaching INSPIRE 3AR3 — Exploring Leadership in Athletics & Recreation. It’s a way to revisit where I got my start at Mac and draw on those experiences in relatable ways with the students. It’s a night class, which makes for some late nights and weekends spent marking assignments. But I love every minute of it.
One of the things that’s taken me by surprise both in the classroom and with the academy is the genuine gratitude and enthusiasm of our students. It’s really impressive. Students truly value the opportunities they’re getting here at Mac. And they make a point of telling you.
This generation of students has a remarkable bandwidth to do more, learn more and find new ways to make the world a better place. In our students, we get to see the future. They restore my faith in humanity and offer some reassurance that things might be okay once their generation’s leading the way.