Friday 12th July
It’s the last morning and yes, our canoeist were out again. One last lap around the lake (or so it seemed) before breakfast, getting up around 4.30am.
There was a sense of urgency to get the last bits accomplished before we started the wrap up session at 11am today. What did we learn from this week? Did we feel we were productive? Did we feel we got the chance to relax and refocus, to make new friends and to discuss the ups and downs of doctoral life. I think we did.
We talked about what we accomplished in writing and for some it was the same amount if you think of pages, but perhaps with better clarity. For others it was a yes to more because they could focus on just that. We looked at what it meant to take a break, the effect of looking after oneself. And we talked about making new friends and a new community of support and understanding. We also talked about what’s next. Whether this will be sustainable post camp or what parts could we realistically take away and try at home.
Yes, in my opinion it was a success. I observed lots of writing focus throughout the week, but I also observed lots of laughter, chatter, amazing discussions and not just on their work, but life in general. We were a diverse group both culturally and academically, but they all found some common ground and were generally interested in every ones differences. Not bad for one week!
A camp like this could not have happened without the support of many people. To the staff at QUBS – Justine, Ashley, Gail and her kitchen crew, a big thank you. To the young researchers there for the summer, thanks for letting us take over your spaces. To my friends at SASS, Susan, Alyssa and online staff for your support in the writing process. To Dr Gerald Walton, who came down from Lakehead to give us a presentation (yes it helped he was a Queen’s alum). To my bus driver Keith, who got them all to camp and back. To my colleagues at the grad office, Heather, Brittany, Katie-Marie, Liam and Associate Dean, Chris DeLuca, thanks for your support.
Lastly to my Lake Shifters, thanks for a great week. I had fun, I hope you did too as you made my job so much easier. And to Chad, Earl cottage is now all yours.
Saying goodbye is never easy, but I do feel they will keep in touch with each other and I look forward to receiving the emails saying “I did it Colette! I defended by thesis”.
Till next time…