Meet Our COR Family: Kassie Robinson

Hey, I’m Kassie! I am currently a Team Leader and have been at COR for almost four years! I pursued a Bachelor of Kinesiology beginning in the fall of 2016. During my time at the University of Regina, I had the opportunity to learn about COR through my disability studies class. I watched a presentation given by Serena, who is supported by COR, and another presentation given by Kasey Mahnic, who is a family support and counsellor for COR. I applied for COR during my undergrad and began my journey in 2018. Coincidentally, I ended up supporting with Serena’s team, and would later accompany her to a similar presentation at the university!

The wonderful part of being a team leader (TL) is the ability to chase my interests in the workplace. I can work on teaching my team more about Gentle Teaching. I can work on building relationships with those on my team, and those we serve. Being a part of COR has really ignited my passion for being a good community member. A strong community with good values has helped some of the people we serve to get to where they are. If I had to nail down my favourite thing to be a part of in COR, it’s furthering the organization’s mission, and nurturing good communities. Honestly, I’m proud to be part of an organization that prioritizes me. I feel like my skills and talents are recognized more frequently by not only the people on my team, but also other team leads, and senior leadership. COR is an easy organization to be proud of in turn – their emphasis on building relationships extends to their employees. I feel like I’ve grown so much, in communication, leadership, kindness, gentleness, humour, and emotional intelligence. We are leading in our sector and forging our own path – something that I think is necessary for a future that is fruitful for everyone.

I always tell new supports to walk in with an open mind. Gentle Teaching is easy to understand, but when it comes down to having to put your feelings and conditioned beliefs aside, it can be really difficult. Support’s who are open-minded and open to feedback and collaboration can really make a difference on a team. Support’s can challenge their own ideas, realize that there are multiple avenues that can achieve the same goals, emphasize, and recognize that people can grow and change, and our approaches should too. We should never settle on something just because this is the way it’s “always been done”.

Fun Facts about me:

I read a lot and I am currently reading books on leadership. Most recently, I read the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It has great information on how to prioritize the things that are important. As well, the book Burnout has information on the stress cycle and how to combat it. I find this especially important in this field of work, where our nervous systems can be triggered frequently. Outside of educational books, I enjoy a variety of genres including classics, literature, biographies, and some spiritually related books.

I have a pen pal from Toronto.

I have a collection of books in my home that reaches almost 300!