Kim Kiolet
At CASE, we take pride in our partners, our collaborators and our network of friends who more times than not step up to the plate to help us achieve our goals. We love to find that one organization or individual who makes our work easier and a joy.
Let’s face it, not every day is Sunday but sometimes, someone comes onto our path who makes a huge difference both for us as an organization and also for the community at large. That individual who offers encouragement when we are lost for ideas, someone who will go beyond what is asked, and someone who answers our onslaught of emails at record speed.
In speaking to some of my colleagues, we agreed that Ms. Kim Kiolet more than fits the bill. So, once again, I put on my journalist cap and met with Kim to congratulate her and to ask her to tell us about the who, the where, the what and the why of all she is and does. Happily and humbly, she accepted this opportunity to speak to me and I knew I would be in for a great story.
When you meet Kim the first thing you will notice is her pixie haircut and her huge smile. You know that smile: it lights up a room and instantly you feel at ease!
I asked Kim to start at the beginning. With the name “Kiolet” we know that her background isn’t enitrely, English.
Kim was born to a francophone family in the Lac-à-la-Tortue region, near Shawinigan. With a few extended family members who had married into an English-speaking family, Kim always had a strong interest in learning what would become her heart language: English.
From a young age, Kim had wanted to attend the English school in Shawinigan but had not been permitted due to the provincial laws prohibiting French speakers with no English history in the family, in attending an English school.
One day, at the age of 14, Kim found an ad seeking a nanny in Ontario and decided to move there for a summer to learn English. She saw this opportunity as her ticket to this new unknown world for her and its distinct culture.
Having enjoyed the experience immensely, she went back to Ontario for 2 subsequent summers, working for the same family where she cared for the children and worked at McDonalds for extra money. She also spent a summer with her aunt and her family in Orillia, Ontario, where she was a cashier at Arby’s.
Her English now in hand, she pushed on, attending St. Lawrence College in Quebec City and from here applying to McGill University where she received her teaching degree, while also achieving a Teaching English as a Second Language certificate.
Fast forward to the present: Kim has had a 27-year career teaching at Shawinigan High School, a school teaching pre-kindergarten to high school students. Kim explained that when she began her teaching career, she worked for the French school board for 4 months, but soon discovered that she would have had to wait for years for permanent status. Once in the English board system, she was able to achieve this permanency after only 1 1/2 years. Of course, she credits the determination and drive to attain her second language as having been the catalyst for this long career as a teacher.
When her own children were of age to go to school, Kim, once again, found herself at odds with the French-language education laws. However, Kim again took matters into her own hands and decided to only speak English at home with her children to ensure that her children also become bilingual as she had years earlier. Trudging through her daughter’s occasional resistance and ignoring her own insecurity with regards to this decision, she pressed on. Happily, her children are now grown adults, one studying at the University of Ottawa and the other in the Canadian Army Reserve who is easily climbing the ranks thanks to the decision this determined mother made all those years ago.
Already inspired, I moved our conversation to her drive and to her passion. What makes this woman so vibrant, so enthusiastic, and so dedicated to her family, work, and students? Twenty-seven years working for the same school, with all the changes and challenges, yet still smiling as if it is all effortless, is quite a feat!
Kim’s first words were, “I’m loyal”.
“Of course you are! It’s easy to see!” I said. “But still, don’t you get tired? Where do you get the drive?”
“Gratitude!” she answered immediately.
Kim explained that the secret to longevity is a feeling of gratitude in being able to work with children, to offer them experiences. She believes in teaching responsibility to young minds and sees it as a great privilege. She feels that helping students discover their interestsand their talents, and helping them become good citizens - good people - is a great career choice.
“I want the kids to take risks and to step out of their comfort zone in order to be aware of others. I want them to become better humans who care and who give to society in a positive way.”
Though I understand the importance of gratitude in our lives, I, personally, would not have given it as a reason for longevity. Vitamins, good sleep patterns, compromise, maybe…but not gratitude. Very intriguing!
I moved our conversation to how this “form of teaching” could relate to all of us as a community. What do we as an English-speaking community need to understand to be able to help move ourselves to a more positive, caring, and responsible society? She gave me a very profound answer.
In Kim’s view of things, she feels that English-speaking culture has subtilities which are very different from the French-speaking culture. Though she sees both as being deeply part of her, she credits the English-speaking culture (at very least, the English school culture) as being more civically minded.
She mentioned that Remembrance Day ceremonies, Orange Shirt Day, Pink Shirt Day and others have historical meaning that are not part of the French school culture, but which have a huge impact on children who are being taught to see certain realities in and of others. She notes that students at her school are made to think of what other generations have faced and how many have fought in one way or another to be here with us today.
As a result, these cultural experiences help form the children into adults who are more sensitive and inclusive of others. Kim really appreciates and honours these memories and feels that children must not forget past sacrifices and past hurts. She believes that they must be taught that their reality isn’t the same as others’ realities, past or present. They must see beyond themselves. This in turn is what the future generation of adults will carry with them thus creating a society of more aware, more sensitive, and more inclusive individuals.
Wow! Once again, I was blown away by my interview. The huge smile we see is the forefront of a very conscientious thinker.
As we approached the end of our conversation, I arrived at CASE and what CASE means to Kim. I know we work closely together, but what in fact does she think of the organization?
“You make everything easier!” she laughed!
“Can you explain that to me?” I asked, now with a big grin on my own face.
Kim explained that anything from avoiding small grant applications that are tedious to giving a small word of encouragement during a discouraging time makes all the difference in the world. She continued, “You are a wind beneath my wings. I believe in your mission to ensure minorities have access to services and I want to help you in that mission.”
What a pleasure it was for me to get to know Kim Kiolet a little bit better. If you ever get the chance to meet her, you won’t be sorry for it. We at CASE appreciate her very much. She has been a great support with our new focus in bringing services to the English-speaking community in Shawinigan. She is always ready to help us in our networking and was instrumental in helping us found our new Senior Wellness Centre this past fall.
We are all grateful to Kim, for her dedication and her drive in helping us and her school. She, as well, is the wind beneath all of our wings and, as she so rightfully said, as we finished up, “everyone wins!”
Note: Soon after this interview, Kim accepted a temporary position as Vice-Principal at Maurice English Elementary School, bringing her wealth of experience, her enthusiasm, and that smile of hers to another cornerstone institution in our community.
