In the fourth entry of our "Meet Canadian Studies" series, highlighting the program's friends and supporters, we're profiling board member Kathryn Exon Smith. Read below to find out how moving to the United States actually helped her discover her Canadian identity, and how she finds strength in the Canadian Studies Program's versatility.
Give us some background - what’s your connection to Canada?
My family moved to Canada when I was a child, and I grew up in Waterloo, Ontario. I went to Toronto for university, doing undergraduate and graduate degrees in History at the University of Toronto. In 2013, my husband and I decided we wanted to experience living in other parts of the world, and moved to California, settling in San Jose. Since then I’ve been involved with several non-profit organizations that build community, including SPUR, a research group that advocates for urbanism in the Bay Area, and San Jose’s community leadership program, of which I am the alumni board chair. I also run a discussion group in San Jose, which brings together academics, writers, and community members to talk about big, important topics.
I didn’t realize how deep my sense of being Canadian was until we moved away — I think this is common for many expats. With my family being English, the only sport on our television growing up was football [soccer], but I was persuaded to attend my very first hockey game a few months after moving here (the Leafs lost to the Sharks, something I have since learned happens a lot). There I met David Stewart and heard about the Digital Moose Lounge, a social and networking organization for Canadians in the Bay Area. I started working with the DML shortly after, and was the Prime Moose (executive director) for three years, a job title I doubt I’ll ever top. In some ways, I feel even more connected to Canada here in California: I now have good friends from across the country, and I better understand the wide spectrum of experiences being “Canadian” includes. As a passionate urbanist, one of the highlights of living here for me has been meeting and speaking with mayors from across Canada, including Mayor Nenshi of Calgary, and several from southern Ontario.
How did you first get involved with Canadian Studies at UC Berkeley?
I heard about Canadian Studies two ways. I had been attending the colloquia out of my own personal interest, and I also encountered the program through my work with the Digital Moose Lounge. The DML had always hosted big celebrations for Canada Day, but for Canada’s sesquicentennial in 2017, we added additional events, including a Thanksgiving Dinner, in partnership with Canadian Studies. I remember encountering a lot of puzzled looks from locals when trying to find a caterer who could make a turkey dinner for 150 people in early October! That event was a success, and Thanksgiving at UC Berkeley has grown to be once of the signature events of the Californian-Canadian calendar. It is a chance for people to meet and share the warmth of the season, and I’m glad I was there at the beginning of the tradition.
What do you think makes this program special?
Canadian Studies is a unique mix of important scholarship and community engagement, somewhere you can go for an election party and then hear an analysis of what the outcome means for Canada in the near future. It is a cultural and intellectual home for students, academics, and the broader community. My graduate studies focused on immigration and the interplay of cultures in a historical context, and I love having a place where I can both learn what new research is taking place and witness the mixing of thoughtful, intelligent people from all over the world.
I believe public universities are an essential pillar of society, a space in which we can make intellectual discourse accessible and relevant to anyone. To have a program focused on Canada at Berkeley, one of the world’s premier educational institutions, is a signal of the role Canada can play in the critical issues of the twenty-first century, including migration, the environment, and how nations manage energy and natural resources. Canadian Studies has reach into all kinds of disciplines, and this is its strength.
What are your goals and priorities as a member of the board?
I am thrilled to be working with Irene, and feel honoured to serve on this board. In the last year, I have worked with David Stewart and Kirk Miller to bring in board members with a diversity of experience and perspectives, who are passionate about Canada and invested in the success of the Canadian Studies program. We are focused on finding colleagues who complement the skills and talents of the existing board to make the program even stronger. I’d also like to continue to strengthen partnerships between the program and the community. And as someone based in San Jose, I hope to broaden the reach of Canadian Studies to the South Bay. One of the silver linings of the last few months is how adept we’ve become at moving things online, which means the program can have a broader reach. I look forward to continuing to get to know this program and the people associated with it, and getting back on campus soon.