“Meet the CEN” is a new series that shines a spotlight on the dynamic individuals who make up the heart of our Community Engagement Network (CEN). As we continue to foster collaboration, learning, and community-building within the realm of community engagement at UBC, it’s our pleasure to share the stories and insights of those who drive this essential work forward.
Meet Kat Cureton!
In our second interview, we are excited to feature Kat Cureton, the Advisor at UBC Community Engagement and leader of the CEN. Kat’s journey in community engagement work began as a UBC graduate student, where a participatory action research project ignited her passion for community partnerships. Expanding her expertise in the nonprofit sector, Kat progressed to instruct community-engaged courses at UBC. Today, as a bridge between UBC and external partners via the Community Partner Help Desk, she fosters connections that amplify the impact of reciprocal community-university collaboration.
Dive into Kat’s interview, available in both video and written formats below.
How did you get started in community engagement work?
I started in this work at UBC as a graduate student. I did a participatory action research project with a municipality. So that means the research was co-led by my community partner. After that, I spent some time working in the nonprofit sector. I spent several years working at a neighborhood house, and that’s where I really learned about community, what community engagement can look like, what community collaborations can be, and also the strength of organizations partnering with universities.
While I was working at the neighborhood house, I was working with a faculty member at UBC who would send students to the neighborhood house for community-engaged learning projects. That was really interesting work, but I also saw how difficult it can be and time-consuming for community partners. I had an opportunity to then take over that course and teach it for a few years. So, then I was the person organizing those projects. But from the perspective of making it valuable for community partners.
Soon after that, I joined the Community Engagement office, and now my role is to be somewhat of a concierge for community organizations and nonprofits who are interested in partnering with UBC.
How does your current role support community-university engagement?
The ways in which the organizations want to partner varies quite a bit. We call this service that I offer the Community Partner Help Desk and usually just starts with a conversation and building a relationship, learning what the interests and needs are of the organization and how they think the university might be a valuable partner.
Often times, we work together to promote programs to the UBC community or the community at large. I have organizations that come every year looking for speakers. There’s a diversity symposium I work with every year, and I find faculty members or graduate students that are doing interesting work in that area for speakers. Sometimes we also have people coming with a research question, and those ones are really fun if I manage to find the person who’s interested in studying what they want to study and they can work together in a collaborative research endeavor.
Can you share an example of reciprocal community-university engagement?
There’s lots of opportunities for student projects. I had a really great example recently. It was an organization that was looking for virtual learning opportunities for older adults. They wanted to learn about health and nutrition topics, and I reached out to colleagues in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems and they had a community-engaged learning course that would fit quite well. Excitingly, the LFS students are currently collaborating with this organization via a community-engaged learning course project!
What does reciprocal community engagement mean to you?
What reciprocal community-university engagement means to me is that it truly is a mutually beneficial partnership. I think those types of relationships are best built over time. When the community organization and the folks from UBC have the time to build trust, to have accountability in their relationships, and have transparency. I really believe in community-university engagement. I think that it is what makes the university relevant — when the research is driven by community needs. And I think that together, when we combine our knowledge and lived experiences and skills together, the university and community organizations can really change the world in good ways.
If you are a community organization interested in exploring possibilities of collaborating with UBC, please feel free to reach out to Kat directly via the Community Partner Help Desk.
Stay tuned for more inspiring profiles and interviews as part of our “Meet the CEN” series.