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Shaped by colleagues, mentors and exceptional students

Nathalie Cooke

Professor, Faculty of Arts
Associate Dean, ROAAr (Rare & Special Collections, Osler, Art, and Archives)

Nathalie Cooke, Professor and Associate Dean, McGill Library (Archives & Rare Collections)

Until you teach your very first class at the university you have chosen as your professional home, you never know what it’s really going to be like.

The first class I taught at McGill was eye-opening. The students were terrific – engaged, enthusiastic, challenging. I left the room smiling, knowing that I really enjoyed teaching, and that this journey at McGill was going to be fun!

Ask me now, more than 25 years later, which university I consider to be my alma mater? I’d say without hesitation, McGill.”

Over the years, thanks to McGill colleagues, mentors, and many exceptional students, I have learned how to be a better teacher, collaborative partner, human resources manager and project leader.

I took up my tenure-track teaching post at McGill when I was only in my twenties, juggling life as a young working mother of two, armed with degrees from three other universities. Ask me now, more than 25 years later, which university I consider to be my alma mater? I’d say without hesitation, McGill. That’s where I have learned the most.