Leading with Kindness

Leading with Kindness

Fanshawe launches a new hub for peer support.

The Kind Space at Fanshawe is more than a room —it is a welcoming hub where students can connect with trained peers for mentorship, tutoring or a calm place to reflect.

“Student peers provide social, personal, practical or academic support, drawn from their own lived experiences,” says Ashley Cochrane, counsellor with Fanshawe’s Counselling and Accessibility Services. “Students find it helpful to hear from other students who have experienced similar journeys, whether it’s in a particular program, being a mature student or being part of an equity-deserving community.”

For some students, campus can be overstimulating. The Kind Space offers a break from the stress of academic life, complete with tea, snacks and calming activities like art expression and a creative “Kind Wall,” where students can share their artwork.

A popular highlight of The Kind Space is Heartly, the College’s therapy dog. Heartly’s presence not only provides comfort but also opens the door for deeper conversations about mindfulness, wellness and self-care.

“Fears of judgement or not being accepted melt away when Heartly is in the room,” says Nicole Ross, director of Counselling and Accessibility Services. “He helps break down barriers.”

The Kind Space is part of Fanshawe’s Peer Support Network, a collaborative initiative bringing together various peer support programs across the College. The network was created in consultation with 11 academic areas and student-facing peer programs.

Input from students has been crucial to this project. Emily Leatherdale, currently in her final year of the Business Marketing program, is a peer facilitator—a role she describes as “enriching.”

“Working with the students has been an amazing experience,” says Emily. “I can see the impact during drop-in sessions; students feel heard, appreciated and safe. It has been transformative.”