Episode 02: Kate Kemplin

“80% of impact is just showing up.”

Dr. Kate Kemplin is a woman of many causes. In this episode, she shares her story about the power of showing up and how it led her to make a meaningful difference that will last for decades.

Transcript

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Cause & Effect, Episode 2:  Kate Kemplin, NSc’01

Host: It’s probably not controversial to say that we all want to make an impact on the world. And it’s probably not ridiculously optimistic to think that we all have it in our power to do that. The bigger question is how. And the answer, of course, is different for everyone.

But when you read or watch or listen to people who have made an impact, most of them are saying something similar: Show up. It doesn’t matter what kind of expertise you bring to the table. It doesn’t matter if you’re not the most experienced person in the room. Just be there, rise to the occasion, and give what you can. 

Nobody quotes Woody Allen anymore, but he really did say it best: “Eighty percent of success is just showing up.” Of course, we’re not talking about success. We’re talking about impact. But I think the equation is the same: Eighty percent of impact is just showing up.

I’m Deborah Melman-Clement, and this is Cause and Effect, a Queen’s Alumni Review podcast, where we dive into the motivations of philanthropists and explore what they’re passionate about and the impact they have on the world. 

If you’re a regular reader of the Queen’s Alumni Review, then you already know about Kate Kemplin’s impact on the world. If you’re not a regular reader, let me fill you in:

In the spring of 2020, at the outset of the pandemic, Kate spent two months in New York City, running a makeshift hospital in a giant enclosed soccer field -- to take some of the strain off of the city’s overwhelmed hospital system.

She was busy at the time – raising four kids and getting ready to start teaching nursing students at the University of Windsor. 

But when she realized the need, she dropped everything and showed up. Because that’s what you do – especially if you’re a nurse. She learned that from her nursing education, which, despite being raised in the American south, happened at Queen’s – which she heard about from her parents.

Kate:  From being in Canada and living in Canada, they knew the reputation that Queen’s has as far as rigour and reputation, so especially within health sciences, so going into nursing school, it was a no-brainer that Queen’s Nursing was my top choice.

Host:  Although she was continuing a family tradition by studying nursing, Kate wasn’t actually sure she wanted to be a nurse.

Kate:  I was interested in it, but I was interested in so many things. If you don’t know exactly what you love or what you want to do when you grow up, that’s OK. Pick something that will support you. Pick something to study – a trade, a degree that’s intriguing, that you can make a living at doing, which really is kind of anything. You can monetize anything. But for me, coming from a family of nurses, I knew that, while I was on the road to figuring out who I was and what I wanted to do, I would be a good nurse. And fortunately, that turned out to be true.

Host:  While she was figuring out what she wanted to do with her life, Kate got her first real opportunity to show up. Just a few months after she graduated, the World Trade Center was attacked. Healthcare workers from around the world were dropping what they were doing and heading to New York to help out. Kate knew someone who was going, so she hopped in the car and joined him.

Kate:  What I realized throughout that experience – and I was there for several weeks – was that even if you are just one person and you make a small contribution, and even if nobody knows about it, you still did something. You still effected an outcome in some way. And even if it’s just one person, or one event that was positively influenced because of your presence, that it’s important to show up. So, after that is when I decided to fully engage as a professional nurse and go into nursing full time.

If I had not gone there, I don’t think that I would have chosen to do nursing as my primary profession. I think I would have had a degree in nursing and probably been working in business or tech or trade or something like that.

Host:  That moment, just a few months into her adult life, taught Kate the power of showing up. Actually, it just reinforced a lesson she had learned at Queen’s about showing up -- – not just as a nurse, but as a human being. And she learned that lesson the hard way – in her own moment of need.

Kate: I was broke. And I had a summer semester externship that was required, and you couldn’t really work full-time through it, and I knew I wasn’t going to be successful without some financial help. And so, I was referred to Student Awards and they, within a day or two – and this was the 90s, right? So, it’s not like everything was electronic and instantaneous --  but within a day or two, I had enough money to travel and live elsewhere for a semester to do a clinical externship.

Host: Kate learned that the money had come from generous alumni who remembered their days at Queen’s, recognized that a student might run out of money in the middle of the year, and stepped in to fill a need. It was a lesson she never forgot.

Kate:  And so even when I had young kids in daycare and all of these costs of being a young parent or starting out in the world, sometimes it was $50 a month that I would give to Queen’s, sometimes it was $50 a week, and then when I was in a better financial position, that’s when I really looked at, OK, how can I initiate an endowment? How can I initiate a financial and athletic award? How can I start a bursary? How can I do this, because the more I’m able to give, the more I really wanted to give.

Host: Once she had the means to give more, Kate needed to think about her impact. Where could she make a difference? How could she make a difference? She knew she wanted to pay forward the generosity she received as a student. And she knew the best way to do that was by setting up her own financial award -- a bursary for Nursing students. But how could she maximize its impact where it matters the most? She thought back to her experience at Queen’s, and the answer was immediately obvious: 

Kate:  Everywhere I looked, everyone was white, and I don’t think as a 17-year-old in 1997, I really understood why in the moment, but what I knew from my upbringing in the American South is that when you don’t see People of Colour in an institution, there’s a reason.

Host: Kate committed to using her philanthropy to help make Queen’s a better place. It was an easy decision for her. In fact, she saw it as her responsibility as a member of the Queen’s community.

Kate: Queen’s is unique in that its alumni and students on the whole genuinely love the institution. And I think it’s an unconditional love for most of us. And those of us who unconditionally love Queen’s as an institution and a legacy and as an academic tradition want to perfect it. We want to make it better.

Host: It wasn’t going to be an easy fix. Kate knew that big change needed to happen. But she also believed that it could happen.

Kate: I think we can make exponentially faster progress in changing the racial makeup of Queen’s and ensuring that the culture shifts – because culture eats strategy for breakfast daily. You can have strategic initiatives, you can have equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives everywhere you turn, but culture changes from representation. And if we do not have students or athletes or student-athletes who are not white at this university, then as a culture, it’s going to be extremely difficult and much slower to shift, to change, because representation matters. 

Host:  Kate thought about her grandfather, who taught her that most of the world’s problems are economic. And that pointed the way to a solution: the Rocklein Reconciliation Nursing Bursary, which makes a Queen’s education more affordable for Black, Indigenous, or otherwise racialized nursing students. She also created a second award, the Kate Rocklein Rugby Award, to make the same opportunities available for BIPOC varsity rugby players.

The awards are fairly new. She established them in late 2020. And so far, two students are feeling the impact of her philanthropy.

Kate: One of the best feelings I’ve ever had happened after I established these financial gifts, and then I got an email telling me who was going to go to school that year because of these gifts. You know, who had that stress relieved like I did 20 or 22 years ago. Who had that breath of relief or that sigh of, OK, that’s taken care of. And whether or not I ever meet them is irrelevant. That felt amazing. That was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had in the world.

Host: That’s two students for now, but that number is only going to grow.

Kate:  Right now, I’m 42. So let’s hope I have another 42 years left on this earth. So I’ll be 84. Two students a year for the next 40 years, that’s 80 students that have been able to go through Queen’s because of me making that a priority when I was younger. 

Host:  Kate worked closely with the Office of Advancement and the Athletics and Recreation department to bring her gifts to life. What she’ll remember the most, she says, is how well she was treated and how hard everyone worked to make sure her gifts were exactly what she wanted them to be.

Kate:  And I have to give credit to Dave Butcher, the Queen’s men’s rugby coach, Allison Slopack, Nikki Beaulieu, Erna Snelgrove-Clark at Nursing, the whole School of Nursing staff who worked with Advancement. Their effort was amazing. And I thought to myself, I’m not giving millions, by any stretch of the imagination, but they’re putting in the same amount of effort that they would to someone who said, “I have 30 million dollars.” 

Host: Dr. Kate Kemplin is a woman of many causes: Nursing, rugby, and equity, diversity, and inclusion are just a few of them. They’re the areas where she knew she could show up and make a difference – just by giving to her alma mater. And while her gifts will have impact for decades to come, Kate says they’re also a way of acknowledging the impact Queen’s had – on her.

Kate: I think that once we reflect on – not just the fun times or the traditions or the football games or the bagpipe band, or you know, all of these lovely things that make Queen’s Queen’s, and that make alumni feel really connected. You know, how did you change at Queen’s? You know, I think to myself how would I be different if I had not gone to Queen’s? I don’t think I would be the kind of nurse who would just go to the Trade Centre or just go back to New York and run a field hospital, because Queen’s really made me believe that I have a place at the table, that I can make a difference. And so, I absolutely want to give back to this university because I wouldn’t be the person that I am without it. 

Host:  It’s that cause-and-effect relationship. Queen’s has an impact on us, and we, in turn, show up and have an impact on Queen’s, and through Queen’s, the world. 

I want to take a quick moment to thank everyone who makes this podcast possible, starting with our executive producers, Karen Bertrand and Scott Anderson. I also want to thank my Advancement colleagues, Michelle Fuko, Allison Slopack, Alex Beshara, Callum Linden, Yeshi Dolma, and Wendy Treverton. And, of course, I want to thank Kate Kemplin for sharing her causes with us so passionately.

If you have a cause that you’re passionate about, we definitely want to hear from you. Reach out to your relationship manager, or look for me on the Advancement staff directory at Queen’sU-dot-ca. 

I’m Deborah Melman-Clement, and this was Cause and Effect. If you want more, you can subscribe on Spotify, Apple, Google, or Amazon.